Can someone please explain the ending of this movie to me?

I'm thinking 'black heart' is more appropriate for the book. In the book he does kill the elephant, rather than decide against it at the last second. For some reason that was changed for the movie, maybe to make the character not look so bad. The author seemed to feel the real John Huston had a sadistic streak.
It's a very good read if you are looking for something in more depth.


Jason sings:https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xS7s6YkV KEI

How is his masculinity false? Should he have been more tactful with the antisemitic woman or the racist waiter? He's a larger than life character who is (barely) sustained in his behaviour by his talent and success as an artist. He gets it in his head that he wants to kill an elephant, for reasons he's not entirely able to put words to (although he's certain that a "Balkan rug peddler" like the Spiegel character wouldn't be able to understand even if he could). Most of the arguments against this have no impact on him, given his philosophy. He doesn't care about the risk to his own health. He doesn't care about the time he's wasting for the money men. But, as the writer points out, its not only the money men who are relying on him to get the movie made. And, ultimately, it's the undeserved consequences for others that put his brashness in check. Considering the expectations of the audience with regard to the film's ending could be seen as a similar concession, although I'm not sure it's the best symbol. But, for the most part, we enjoy being witness to "Wilson's" antics, and we root for him, although we're probably happy that we don't rely on him for our livelihoods.

I'd like to point out that it's doubtful that John Huston ever fully renounced the philosophy which his character espouses in this film. Even in his last film, The Dead, the main character expresses regret in fading away rather than burning out.