OK, I'm assuming that he wasn't attracted to Fisher by the way he recoiled from her whenever she tried to kiss her and the lighting speed with which he got into the other girls pants. He does making a comment before the accusal (that wasn't) that was fond of her. But, he continues to recoil from her. At the end, she makes a desperate pitch for a marriage to him, he recoils again then grabs his hand like he's going to do it.
Any insights out there?
I haven't read the play, but my best guess would be that he, like Vinnie, (the other girl), is in it for the money. The end left me figuring that Jimmy was too honest to respect Vinnie if she had kept the diamond and too honest to pretend that his and Fisher's match was going to be a love match. I'm left wondering if he would have gone with Vinnie if she hadn't told him she was going with the other guy or if there was any chance for affection if Fischer hadn't asked Jimmy to check his pocket for the earring. I think it's a very Williams style ending.
shareYeah, my take is that Jimmy didn't want to close the door on Fisher. He had already talked to his dad about maybe giving Fisher what she wanted, a life w/him, if that would enable him to take care of his father and mother. If he just said a flat 'NO' he might never get another chance. The way the movie ends I think he keeps his options open. After all...he is fond of Fisher.
"Time is the fire in which we burn"
I admit it has been a little while since I watched it, but I thought that Jimmy genuinely cared for Fisher throughout the whole movie and she cares for him. The ending, to me, read that his kneejerk reaction was that he didn't want Fisher settling for him because it'd make them both miserable in the end if she was picking him because her grandma would approve, she could offer him things she knew he was looking for (stability for his mother's care, dad's livelihood), and because he was the only one who would be willing to take her up on such an offer - yet when he sees her genuine hurt as his reaction, he realizes that Fisher (while yes, somewhat crazy, high strung, and suffocated by her positin) actually cares about him and isn't just making the offer for the reasons he thought. I think when he sees that there is real emotion on her part and that she had feared he didn't care (hence, he offering his dad a job no matter how drunk) she had offered all these other reasons/incentives for him to do it because she thought her attachment/caring wasn't enough for him. [Really, as a character, it seems Fisher always finds herself lacking, not being enough to satisfy her grandma, father, or peers.] When he reaches out and stops her from walking off, I think he is basically asking her to give him a shot at really caring about her - no paying him to be her escort, no parading him in front of her family/peer group, and no mixing ecominics with courting, just an honest shot at seeing what they feel for each other. And her stopping, looking up at him, and waiting a beat is her taking a moment to read his non-verbal offer and to take him up on it.
I kind've hoped that, after the movie, they do take a second chance at getting to know one another and getting to just spend time together (no parties to go to in winter, so probably listen to music, read, have dinner, and things like that where they didn't have such an audience or expectations). Then, months down the road, getting together/married and being happy together because by that point they understand each other much better, they know each other more deeply, Fisher's not feeling sorry for herself or so spiteful anylonger and Jimmy isn't constantly worried about his parents, job, or how people see him. They could learn from each other - him learning from Fisher about just cutting loose, not worrying so much what others think, and enjoying simple things (like music at a distance) while she could learn to reign in her temper, to trust people more, and to not judge books by their covers. They were good for each other. It's just a shame that, within the story, they didn't get to spend more time on those moments between the two of them and a little less on how she interacted with the girls at these parties she attended.
"There is still hope."-Arwen