I thought it was obvious? John couldn't give Steven what he wanted - to come out and be together. Steven had matured since the beginning of the film and wouldn't stand for a covert relationship.
Such a bittersweet ending.
This question has already been discussed in a thread on this message board: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162973/board/nest/78951295
shareLong story short they couldn't be together because John wasn't willing to come out. But who knows they ended the film abruptly so you never know they could've reconciled in the future. John more than likely wouldn't have went near him anyway because Steven had officially outed himself. It's pretty self-explanatory tbh.
shareThe most important reason they split up is because of the contrast between Steven's gay pride and John's gay shame.
John never learned how to overcome the feeling of shame when he realized he's gay. The first night he spent with Steven, he started crying just as he was about to reveal that he is attracted to Steven, and he looked at Steven and asked "What's wrong with me?" That statement reveals that John was much more than just afraid of anyone else finding out that he is gay, he actually felt that his feelings were "wrong." The sense that he was still ashamed of his sexuality was reinforced in the later scene - the night he went out with Christina and lied to Steven about it - in which he said "I guess I went out with Christina tonight because I needed to feel good about myself."
The John Dixon we see in the movie won't ever be able to sustain a relationship with any guy unless he gets over being ashamed of his sexual orientation.
Thank you all so much.
Twitter: @seanytron
I think he was not only ashamed to be gay, but also afraid of what his life would become. It was not until 2001 that having gay sex with a man younger than 18 (which I think Steve was) was illegal in the UK.
So he might lose his scholarship and stuff like that.
I had not thought of it as if John could be afraid of being charged with a crime, but I certainly saw his fear of what could happen to his future in other ways. I saw how John would be afraid of losing his dad's support, because if it weren't for his dad, John wouldn't be able to go to Oxford. I inferred from the story that John's admission into Oxford was mainly a matter of "legacy," rather than a scholarship, because of the fact that his dad went there too.
But when I see John crying, while he's talking to Steven in Steven's bedroom (right after the dance), I see equal parts shame and fear pushing those tears out of his eyes. Likewise when John was telling Steven why he went out with Christina, he gave Steven two reasons; one of those reasons was rooted in John's fear of people finding out that he's gay, and the second reason was rooted in the fact of feeling ashamed that he is.
"Don't you see? If I see her from time to time, then no one will suspect that you and me - ...."
"I guess I went out with Christina tonight in order to feel good about myself."
Yeah, I agree. I meant it more like, the laws being like they were, it was just another confirmation that being a (young) gay man wasn't considered "normal", that it wasn't likely he would be accepted. So that obviously made it harder to accept himself.
And I think you're right about that scholarship/Oxford-part, it's been a while since I watched it.