MovieChat Forums > Starcrossed (2005) Discussion > Assume they're STEPbrothers, and…

Assume they're STEPbrothers, and…


The movie works best if you assume they're STEPbrothers:
Darren is Lane's son, Connor is Kate's son.

I mean, right from the beginning, Lane is a big bad "wicked stepfather" archetype.

Then it just unfolds:
The core paradox for the *starcrossed* lovers Darren and Connor, is as complete as anything from Classical Greek tragedy: If Darren's dad and Connor's mom had never met, then Darren and Connor probably would never have met each other either— But because Lane and Kate *did* meet and have a relationship, Darren and Connor can (years later) have a relationship together, but one that is inherently intolerable to the people who made it possible in the first place, Lane and Kate.

In other words: The people who first dumbly brought Darren and Connor somewhat together, now dumbly want them completely apart.
("Dumbly", because they are external forces affecting the main characters' lives, and external forces in a tragedy never pause, listen to the main characters, and accordingly try to work things out.)

The ending is (perfectly) by the book— suicide with situational irony. The dad at the beginning was timing them, wanting them to stay underwater as long as possible— and at the end, well, that's what they do. (And if you want to go all the way, maybe even say that their handcuffs are a callback to Lane's wristwatch.)

Even from the sideline perspective of Lane and Kate, the ending is pretty harsh, because now in hindsight it can occur to them: "we have each other, but if instead we had stayed single, our kids would still be alive."

(Now, INSTEAD of assuming Darren and Connor are STEPbrothers: If Darren and Connor actually were "full" brothers, then Lane and Kate's reaction to finding them in bed together would have been, uh, louder, and less level-headed than a simple "they can't ever see each other again"!
And if you assume full brothers, the plot would lose all the symmetry/complexity that you get if you assume stepbrothers— I don't think the writer would have passed up that opportunity!)

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