MovieChat Forums > The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) Discussion > Question about the ending...

Question about the ending...

posted 20 years ago by subtlenuance79
38 replies | jump to latest

... I love Woody Allen and I liked this movie a lot... I was really curious because I've been reading the Stig Bjorkman book and Woody says this is his favorite and the one that was nearest to his vision from the very beginning...
Anyway, my question had to do with the final shots of Cecelia in the theater... I was wondering if anyone else watching the end anticipated Gil tapping her on the shoulder... I mean, even after I saw Gil on the plane, my first thought was that he was flying back to get her, and as I was watching her sit there I just *knew* that any second there would be a tap on her shoulder or something, but alas...
But I still liked the ending because it was kind of ironic how the message of the movie was that there is fiction and reality, and while fiction is always nice, neat, tidy and leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy, reality hurts... and the irony is that this was a fictional movie which didn't leave me feeling entirely warm and fuzzy... I felt a little bit of despair for Cecelia.
Anyway, the question I had was whether anyone else anticipated Gil or maybe Tom or anybody who could fill in a happy ending for Cecelia.
And if this was a "common" occurance, I was wondering if anyone had theories on why... personally, I think its part of the genius of Woody... he left this very long, very static-ly charged shot, and even the framing seems to hint at something coming. I don't know, maybe I was just being overly optimistic, but I felt like Woody was manipulating our American assumption that romantic movies end happily, but of course, Woody is not American, in the artistic sense.
Anyway, did anyone else feel that way? (Third time I asked, this time I'll let you answer)

[–] beth_e2 20 years ago

I was totally drawn into the idea that Cecelia's romantic life would have that stereotypical hollywood, fairy tale ending. I was so shocked when Gil wasn't there to take her to Hollywood with him. I definitely think Allen played into our human emotions at the end. He developed Cecelia (Mia Farrow) to be a woman that we all felt for. We felt her frustration with her husband, her happiness at the movies, her stress as a waitress, and her joy when she found Tom (and Gil, later). Then, Allen did a great job of dumping the ending on his audience. We all wanted what Cecelia wanted and when she did not get that, we had a sore reaction. This could have been shock, anger, amazement, or just a sick pain in your stomach (I, personally, felt like I was kicked in the stomach after the shot of Gil in the airplane.). I think Allen was going for that feeling.

Allen played with the sense of reality and daydreams. At the beginning, I never imagined that Tom would pop out of the screen. That would have been the last thing I would have thought of. Allen did a good job of playing with our emotions and our sense of reality. That is what good art does. It "suspends our sense of reality" and makes "the familiar, strange".

[–] suckerdwsp316 18 years ago

hey i was shocked too! after the credits began to roll, i went "what?? thats it!? he's not coming back to get her?? what the hell is going on here?? he has to come back! otherwise, what's life all about anyway?

[–] snz27 16 years ago

Allen didn't play into human emotions as much as he did hollywood-viewer expectations. The irony is that you, like Cecelia, expect a happy ending.

[–] rick_7 20 years ago

Mia's character looked to escape from reality by watching movies entirely detached from her own existence. I think the ending to Purple Rose is superb: it touches upon what we all love about movies (and that I love about Top Hat!)- wonderful escapism. I'm glad the film didn't have an altogether happy ending, it would have seemed unrealistic and certainly would have jarred with me. In all honesty I didn't expect one.

"If you can't sleep, it isn't the coffee. It's the bunk."

[–] le_pooploser 20 years ago

I was thinking for a sec:

"how is Woody Allen going to do to take Astaire off the screen?" lol.

PS: if you see Gil on the plane, he is not happy about leaving, at all.

[–] twm-2 20 years ago

"All together happy ending?" Far from it. This was one of the most devastating endings in cinema--for my money. What a contrast! Astaire and Rogers in one of their greatest scenes, their dancing embued with grace, romance, elegance, and timeless beauty--no trace of unhappiness, no shred of fear or doubt, no worries about tomorrow--there is only a perfect, wonderful now. And Mia Farrow, sitting alone in the theater, completely absorbed in the beauty before her--her life the antithesis of the joy on the screen. She has nothing, nothing to look forward to, no loving family, no security, no refuge from despair--except the odd moment when she can slip into a chair in a darkened theater and be transported--away from the mind-numbing drudgery of her life, into fabulous worlds of celluloid dream. No, I didn't expect happiness to tap her on the shoulder--at the end of the movie, or at any time in her future. I also didn't think Jeff Daniels looked all that bereft as he headed back for Hollywood. He looked as if he might have been feeling a little regret, or guilt, but his overriding feeling was smugness at a job well done.

This was a wonderful movie, one of Woody's best, but not for any solace found at the end. There was no solace to be had.

"THE SPOTS!!!" --The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

[–] Drumm09 20 years ago

I thought the ending of The Purple Rose of Cairo was ABSOLUTELY SENSATIONAL.

Rather than giving us a sappy Hollywood-Happy Ending, Woody gives the viewer a glimpse of how powerful movies makes us feel.

All of a sudden she goes to the movie theater and sees that scene of Fred and Ginger dancing to the song "I'm in Heaven".... and verrrrryyy vagely you can see Cecile's eyes grow a little happier and a small smile comes out of her.

Meaning no matter how sad we all can be at times, movies touches us and makes us feel happier and "forget" our daily lives. I really believed that in that exact moment Cecile was really, like song sings, in HEAVEN.. and so was I :-)

[–] jughead10m 20 years ago

In the ending I did feel sorry for her because she wanted to get away from that bully husband of hers that hit her alot and her low paying job at that diner was no good and it was in the time of Great Depression and yes she would go to that movie house to watch that same movie a million times to get away from reality problems like people do today with Television and rented movies on VHS and DVD and their computer too. So her fantasy came true when character Tom Baxter jumped out of the picture to see her and yes she was happy when he took her in the fantasy world inside the movie and yes she was happy to meet both the actor Gil and character Tom. One good part was where Tom let that bully husband of hers that hit her alot have it for a change. However she was happy to be living in the movie world of Toms but Gil told her get out of that picture and he would take her to live in Hollywood with her instead of that small town but unfortunatly he left for Hollywood without her and she couldn't go back to the theater and say Tom take me back into your world because the theater management burned the film. So we don't know what direction she went to and it was a confused ending for her.

[–] twm-2 20 years ago

I agree the ending was, in fact, "ABSOLUTELY SENSATIONAL." But I think the ending much more powerful than a mere plug for the transporting magic of movies. There IS that, of course, but compared to the devastation and hopelessness in Cecile's life, the solace offered by this "magic" is precious little. As I noted in an earlier post, I felt the beauty and grace embodied by Fred and Ginger on the screen served more as stark contrast to Cecile's bleak situation: trapped, alone, without resource, without the love she so longed for. Yes, it was nice that Astaire and company could offer her a brief respite from her situation, but she must leave the theater eventually and reenter the desolation of her life. Heaven? Hardly.

"THE SPOTS!!!"

[–] jughead10m 20 years ago

In my opinion it is still a crazy puzzling ending for Cecilia, because she can't go back to the Purple Rose Film inside that theater because after Tom got back in there and Cecilia got out, the management burned the film and Gil flew back or took the train back since it was just a short time after the Wright Brothers just invented the airplane, to Hollywood without her and she couldn't get back because she didn't have any money for it after losing her diner job from telling off that boss there. Plus the money she and Tom had in the movie fantasy world was no good in the real world either. She was stuck with that no good bully husband of hers or the poor ghetto world street in the Great Depression time so what was to become of her.

She was where she wanted to be when character Tom took her to his movie world where life would be forever perfect for her. But however Gil should not have told her to get out of there and promised her and lied to her saying he will take her with him back to Hollywood, because he was afraid it would ruin his career. How could that possibly be? He ruined her life in two directions.

Yes the bully husband of Cecilia that kept hitting her got what he deserved when Tom beat the you know what out of him, but she either stuck with him or no place to go at all. Plus without that diner job.

Character Tom was caring for her even though thats a fantasy plot in the movie because he was shouting, "Hey You There" in her seeing it 5 times already in caring.

As you know many of us including myself run away from real world problems and imagine interacting with fantasy people and in our real world its not real but in that movie world it came true for Cecilia when Tom was concerned and jumped out into the real world to see her and yes when actor Gil first appeared in that town she thought Gil was the character Tom.

I only wish the ending was she got back to the theater in time after Gil left for Hollywood without her and Tom took her back for good then the management of the theater burned that film.

[–] twm-2 20 years ago

Yes. But of course, that "happy ending" would not have been possible for many reasons, though I too wish it could have been so--at least on an emotional level. Woody's ending was the most satisfying--if the most devastating. Alas, I don't see it as being "crazy puzzling," but rather unbearably sad.

"THE SPOTS!!!" --The Miracle of Morgan's Creek

[–] furious8 19 years ago

What if, the whole movie took place inside her head? She made the whole thing up to forget about her life for a while. After she's concluded her fantasy, she returns to the cinema and starts again.

[–] twm-2 19 years ago

I think you can make a reasonable case for that--though I don't think "reasonable" is what's called for here. Essentially one would have to postulate that our heroine had had a psychotic break--which in literal terms would make more sense than believing that a character in a movie suddenly stepped out of the screen and became "real." Of course, I don't think we are "supposed" to be viewing the film in that light. It's a fantasy, and on that basis, I had no trouble accepting that Tom Baxter could step out of the screen and into Cecelia's life. Psychosis would actually be a preferred condition to the one Cecelia is left with at the end. A sad, sad film.

"I'm a lover of beauty--and a beauty of a lover!"--The Court Jester

[–] phogarth 18 years ago

I think you're absolutely right. Cecelia had a depressing life, she escapes from it by going to to the movies, and she just imagined the whole thing. Tom Baxter did not really come off the stage, Gil didn't ever come to the town, and this whole frenzy was just inside Cecelia's fantasy world.

I think we're supposed to conclude that, because it's the only way that the story could truly make any logical sense. The movie is intentionally vague about the line between fiction and reality, and that's how it all comes together.

The first time I saw this movie, I felt really robbed and angry by the ending (I'm a hopeless romantic who likes happy, Hollywood endings), but looking back on it I now understand that it had to end that way because the movie is all about how reality is not the way it is in the movies.

It's just absolutely depressing to conclude that she goes back to live with her *beep* husband.

[–] inlite10 19 years ago

See, I see that this movie is about the psychology of facing or avoiding reality and the ramifications of both. She could go into the fantasy of the movie, she could fall in love with the character in the movie, even talk to him and have him invite her to his world... but it wasn't REAL. She wasn't just TRICKED into not going with him, she COULDN'T have ever gone with him. And the reality is that the actor was only trying to save his own career. He didn't care about her. Nor does her husband. Her only way out is to STOP escaping. But she instead choses to escape. And that's okay if it's okay with her, which at the end, it appears to be so. That is the choice we all have, to face things or to escape things. That is something everyone can relate to. We want to believe that she "could have" gone with this guy or with that guy but I say no she couldn't! Unless she truly FACES her life, face her reality, she will be held in that state of fantasy. And because she was so extremely engrossed in fantasy, it actually swallowed her up for a moment and spit her back out, right where she started. However, in the end, she knew more of what she truly wanted and that perhaps it DOES exist somewhere in the world. That little seed may be all she needs to move into that direction. Or not. Either way, that is the path of all life really. I absolutely love this movie. I own the DVD and in watching it more than once you really do see more and more in it.

[–] hottma1edotcom 19 years ago

i loved the end soo much. Gil didn't come back because it was the point about the difference between reality and fantasy. about how you have to stay in reality, but in the end it doesn't always have a happy ending, but the movies are her escape every so often from the downs she experiences in real life.

[–] brandon_here 19 years ago

I’m not sure that the end of this movie is intended to be that simple or pat. If you think of the film as an allegory for romance in the movies, the ending has a stronger resonance. As Cecelia sinks back into her chair to bask in the elegance of Fred and gingers breath-taking moment, you know both the impossibility of celluloid grace of this scale, and it’s worth. Our lives are as impossible as the love triangle played out in the movie, as difficult to reconcile with the nature of desire, and all the time shadowed by life not how we wish it to be, but how it is... but they really are beautiful when they dance and that is something that can sustain us. As with the best of Allen’s films there are no easy answers, rather complex possibilities.
Yeah, this is a funny movie, but I think it also asks what it is to watch a movie.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] JR541 19 years ago

...that Gil was going to "tap her on the shoulder" so to speak. When he was on the plane he was simply heading back to Hollywood. He may have felt a little bad about tricking her but thats about all he felt.

[–] jamiepotter17 19 years ago

I didn't expect the Hollywood ending, but neither did I find Cecilia to be reverting to a fantasy escape mechanism. The telling point is that, instead of returning to her wonderfully crap husband (seriously, this guy had absolutely NO redeeming features! Even Hitler loved dogs!), she goes to the cinema. God knows what would have happened after this (probably why WA did it this way - if you can't make your film poignant, give it an ambiguous ending), but I notice that pretty girls don't do too badly in life. I just got the feeling from her expression that she enjoyed Fred and Ginger for what it was, and wasn't investing it with the same rapture as previously. It all depends on how you look at things - are they tragic or are they comic? (sorry - I saw Melinda and Melinda recently as well...)

[–] overratedcritic 18 years ago

I actually half-expected her to step into the screen.

Perhaps that is quite cliche, but I was sort of hoping for that to happen...seems intangible, but it would have made sense in the context of the film's whimsy and its transcedence of reality.

[–] TheRetroCritic 18 years ago

Woody Allen is a genius. He totally surprised me with this clever, brilliant ending. I was expecting a happy ending, completely. I was expecting either Gil to appear right next to her, or Cecilia entering the Top Hat film or even Fred Astaire to come out of the screen to meet her! How wrong I was.
I forgot how brilliant Allen could be. It's an unexpected, touching and mostly downbeat ending. Cecilia may be feeling that slight moment of happiness when she's watching Top Hat but you just know that when she steps out of the cinema, her life will be a living hell. That's reality for ya!

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[–] alice_doesntlivehere 18 years ago

I don't remember if I expected a happy ending - I saw it in the theater when it first came out. I do remember that I was enchanted with it from start to finish and thought the ending was perfect. My friends, though, hated the ending and complained about it. I remember feeling that they completely missed the point and that I wasn't going to explain it to them (we were pretty young in 1985!)

[–] renot108 18 years ago

I expected the exact same thing. I was 100% sure he would come back. Even though the end was heartbreaking, it was perfect!

[–] ferris_wheel_romance 18 years ago

I lovethis movie but I was dissapointed with the ending, too. I guess I just love happy endings and it would of been better to me if they would of ended up together! It's like he told her he loved her just so Tom would go back on screen. All I could think of is that she was going to have to go back to her awful life with her husband.

,Scarlett
"Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment"

[–] alice_doesntlivehere 18 years ago

I think he did tell her he loved her just so Tom would go back on the screen. Then you saw his look on the plane - he looked guilty but regretful too, I thought. I didn't think he loved Celia, but maybe for a little while wondered what it would be like to live a real life with a real person who saw the best in him, not the shallow existence he was living. Or he was regretful that he wasn't the man Celia thought he was.

[–] susan8one 18 years ago

Spot on analysis alice . . . I agree.

Even though I know it was the more "real" ending - the whole picture wasn't about reality, so a happy ending would not have disappointed me, but it would not have been as memorable.

This film is an absolute gem. Beautiful little movie. One of Allen's best.

[–] alice_doesntlivehere 18 years ago

Thanks, Susan. It is a gem and a beautiful little movie. I'm not really a Woody Allen fan - I can take him or leave him most of the time - but I love this one.

[–] JR541 18 years ago

I had agreed with alice in an earlier post. I too felt that when we see him on the plane that he feels guity about lying to Celia. Some have suggested that its a look of relief or worry of what would happen to his career.

He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?

[–] ghetarr2001 15 years ago

I loved the ending. There was no way that Gil could realistically take Cecilia with him, and it's hard for me to say just after seeing it for the first time whether he really loved her at all, right now I'm inclined to say he never loved her, and was just a very good actor, though the parts where he tells her how much she loves his movie etc., those seem genuine to me. Anyways, I'm SOOOOO happy that Allen made the ending this way, anyone who was just expecting Gil to fly back or you know, come to her rescue, was kidding themselves, just like she was kidding herself the whole movie. This is my favorite Allen movie I've seen so far, (Annie Hall, Manhattan, Crimes and Misdemeanors and Nothing to Lose), is there anything he's done besides this that fans of TPRoC would say is almost as good? Clearly nothing's better!

[–] 16 years ago

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