Ending makes no sense

The fault of a kid?

That is very true. I grew up in that type of family as well. Michael wanted to get his side of the story out and that was all well and good but he realized especially with his mom's affair and her not being able to take it either that there isn't a bad guy and a good guy but everyone is imperfect. Some just more so than others and his dad although he messed up a lot did love him.

Holistic gardener I have to agree with you having grown up in a dysfunctional family myself, only it was my mom I had issues with. When we both grew older I saw a different side of her but remnants of the old mom still existed unfortunately. We never really made our peace so I was glad in the movie that Ryan's character learned before he was too old and his father was gone too.




"Sometimes you have to know when to put a cork in it."
~Frasier

[deleted]

I hate getting my picture taking but would never edit myself out of pics or movies.
One, cuz that would be pretty neurotic and weird and two, I do want my kids to have some memories of what their mom looks like.

I don't think it was the mom's doing intentionally, it was for the plot, so we could see the dad as having two sides. Maybe the kid had a faulty memory and that was the message. Maybe he only saw the bad or saw them worse than they were and STARTED to realize that when he saw the film, I dunno.

The kid is definitely not at fault and the dad was beast from what we saw and no one is a beast 24/7 so there were bound to be some good days and times and that's what I think we're supposed to see along with Reynolds.


"the only way through it is through it " -Jackson Browne

I agree. I grew up with a family very similar to this. Cruel treatment by my father, and a mother who should have saved us all and left, but chose to stay... and I paid the price for it over and over again.

The feelings of hate and running away are strong, yet same with the feelings of being stuck and trapped and just existing one day at a time because what can you really do?

There were some scenes in this show that really hit home. The whole "I'm sorry and things will be better now". Or the being hurt so badly that it hurts to move. And realizing that any excuse any parent made to cover it up just is completely unacceptable... yet during the time and the situation, the excuses were always accepted, or considered good enough and the paged turned to a new day and a new awful memory yet to be written.

But then also the scenes where time has passed and you are grown up and not the victim anymore. And you see the parent more aged, vulnerable, and then there are moments you see that parent's positive traits... even though there was once a time you never believed any were there. Then trying to reconcile all of that - the man who you had come to know as a monster - someone only capable of inflicting pain, is also a man capable of kindness... and you realize that you do in fact have good memories. You just did have to search harder for them, but they are there. And now what do you do with that?

As with my father, (although mine died) the time comes when all those painful memories that you were holding onto, as though they were the sum total of one's childhood experiences, no longer seem like something to carry around anymore. Like how Michael (Ryan Reynolds) burned his novel, leaving those memories in the past and choosing not to continue to carry them into the future becomes something you find yourself doing, and in doing so, it's almost liberating.

There was a time I once only hated my father and everything he did to me and my family. I thought that out of everyone I knew, when his death came, it would be easy for me, as I thought I had disconnected myself from him. Severed any emotional tie. Yet in fact I found myself in pain. And all those good memories I forgot existed, were the ones so easy to find. All of a sudden,all the painful ones lost their vividness. Dropped to the wayside. Not forgotten, but not... I really don't know. They just seem like old stories now. The reality of the present, the current seems to be more important. More significant.

And strangely, my father's last name, which I have carried throughout all my life and always hated, all of a sudden I am no longer ashamed of it. My father died a different man. A man I couldn't hate anymore. A man with his own pain and regrets.

I think the ending (and the movie in whole) was so well written. Deeply moving to someone like me who can find so many similarities and parallels to my own life. I haven't cried so much watching a movie in years. And as sad and painful as it was watching this movie, it was profoundly comforting as well. Even therapeutic when you still have some open wounds, questions, confusion, and a whole lot of stuff you just don't know what to do with.

I saw the beginnings of a reconciliation as such, and for those two characters it is a huge step as subtle as it may look on the outside. When you have a fractured relationship for so long, giving into the idea alone of letting go of your own bitter and twisted hang ups is very hard to do even when your intelligence tells you its the right thing to do. I thought those last scenes between them was spot on, just the right level of tension and awkwardness with little gestures and expressions peeking through to suggests that they have eased off each other and there's a recognition that it's a starting point for them both.

"Your hatred energizes me - Bring it on, and watch me RADIATE"

I just saw this movie today and although I found some scenes to be very touching, I'm still a little confused about the point of the story. The whole movie the father is shown to abuse his son and at the end he burns the book after seeing one home movie of his dad hugging him?

From reading all of your comments, I too think something must have been edited out or something. I found the acting to be really great and I could relate to some of the dysfunction in the family. But, I sort of scratched my head at the end and wondered if I had missed the whole point the movie was trying to make.

I felt like there was this sort of creepy under tone of when Michael and Jane were kids that something was going to happen between them. Anyone else get that vibe? I was SO glad it didn't (or at least it wasn't shown).