MovieChat Forums > You Can Count on Me (2000) Discussion > Am I missing something? What was the poi...

Am I missing something? What was the point of this story?

posted 12 years ago by rob599999
11 replies | jump to latest

Don't get me wrong I did like the film, it was easy to get into, you got to know and like the characters, it was a nice film. But when it ended I thought to myself "Is that it?" I had wondered if I had nodded off and missed something. It just seemed to end without any completion to the story line. It just seemed a bit random, they lose their parents as kids, the girl grows up to be a single Mum, her brother is in trouble and comes to stay and then eventually leaves.

Its a nice film but could have been better. I think I could have written something better than this or given it a better ending.

What do others think about how this film ends? Were you like me thinking "Is that it?"

[–] rachaelov 12 years ago

A better ending? In what way?

Surely, the ending was open, because their lives were open, and unknown... their stories weren't complete, so why should the film tie up all neat and tidy just like that?

But everything that had gone on changed everyone, they understood themselves a little more, and now they were trying to find a way forward. They had a lot of living still to do.

So yeah, that was it, that was enough for me.

[–] Dejay 12 years ago

I liked the ending as it is as well.

They could have easily have given the brother a love interest, him struggling then settling down together in the lovely town, or have given the sister's love affair a more romantic resolve, like make you root for the guy who wanted to marry her and they get together in the end (though she'll probably will marry him I think). But it would have drawn focus away from the subtle growth in the characters. You know man, like, little by little, things gonna be just a little better. It was a conscious choice from the screen writer, and probably pretty unpopular with the movie distributors.

You guys think she'll marry Bob? (Jon Tenney). I mean even after she told him head on she won't marry him, and he has to grow up, he is there for her when her kid is missing, stays with her all night and drives her around without even saying one thing. I dunno but she could do way worse in that little town. That look she gives him in the car?

[–] SteveH2002 12 years ago

I liked this movie a lot as well. I don't think there was a point so much as a character study of the two grown siblings. The ending seemed right - there was no great break, no great getting together, but a slow growth and mutual understanding.

[–] Trigonometric 12 years ago

This was a highly realistic film and real life doesn't have neat, resolved endings. I think the film focused more on how we still learn and change even when in adulthood. It was just a small window into a brief period of a lot of peoples normal lives.

[–] ladylaughinglizard 11 years ago

I felt that way at first too ... But then I realized I was really waiting the whole time for them to bring up their parents dying when they were kids and they did. I mean, the beginning of the movie is so shocking. And then it is never mentioned again. Until the brother says "Remember when we were kids?"

So it kind of made it full circle.

[–] mmitsos-1 11 years ago

Life is rarely a neat little loving package, so why do films need to be? This was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL film. I love it and wstch it every time it's on (as I am now), and I have it on DVD as well. The music is beautifil as well...very sad....perfect for the film.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Percivalx 10 years ago

"Let us be crooked, but never common."

[–] itsahoverboard 8 years ago

If you're not familiar with the "slice of life" genre, that's pretty much exactly what this is. It's not a story in the big, traditional sense, it's a story in the small and nuanced sense. Basically a snapshot of a character or characters' lives.

[–] JaysonT 7 years ago

Sorry but I agree with the OP. This ending sucked, and as a student in screenwriting class we are always told to make sure the characters grow and that there is closure. This movie had neither. Obviously this screenwriter (nominated for an Oscar no less) had connections to get this made. Because had an amateur submitted it, he would have been told to rewrite it immediately.

Let's start with the fact that the plot goes NOWHERE. The opening is the best. A car crash. Too bad we don't see the parents die. That would have been more dramatic. Instead the editing, much through the film, is choppy and we cut to a church with unknown people.

Laura Linney is at a job she can't stand. Her boss is a jerk, but they have an affair anyways. Why? It's never really explained. Broderick is unhappily married to a pregnant bitch. The ending should have been that Laura Linney and Broderick realize THEY are in fact in love. Opposites at the work place, but perfect for each other. Like the ending of Pretty Woman with Richard Gere on the fire escape, Broderick should have rescued Linney at the end and saved her from her dreary life.

Mark Ruffalo is a loser. He has no prospects and treats Linney's kid like dirt. His purpose in the movie is pretty much to show up and then pack his bags- just like he did in The Kids are All Right (2010). The way the screenwriters should have dealt with him was to get him a real job at the end, and for him to agree to take the Culkin kid with him- just like the boy expresses. Then the two could ride off in the sunlight together, and Linney (knowing she's a bad mother) is now with Broderick.

The last line of the movie- which my friend Helen and me were waiting for- should have been "You can count on me." Just like the title of the film. That never came either.

FINAL GRADE: D for Disappointing

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5947) a year ago

Yeah, suspect it was supposed to be a lot more funny in places, but it didn't work. Not the right performers, perhaps. Overall, a misfire. No idea how it scored a 7.5. It's a 6 for me.