Guido is an ex-cop, but he still has the instincts. (once a cop, always a cop. But why is he ex- now?). He knows Sonia's bad. He knows she's done him wrong. Why does he not turn her in? To me he's a coward. And so is she, for duping him.
I guess this make them both human (ugh).
Very unsatisfying ending.
You must be a guy.
(SPOILERS)
He didn't turn her in because for the first time in 3 years he felt alive again. His wife had died, he led a very solitary existence as a guard and here this fragile, beautiful woman comes into his world. Altho she duped him, she made him feel like a man again (note the sex scene in the hallway -- be still my heart). For her part, she left a bit of herself with him, too, as you could see the uncertainty in subsequent scenes if she wanted to proceed w/the boyfriend.
In the end, it showed that he felt he could love again when the film showed him returning to speed dating.
All in all, a fine film.
I'm also a guy who was unsatisfied.Particularly unnerving was the inability to read the subtitles
in white completely blending with the white background.
It seems you're only focusing on the personal relationship aspect of the story. There's also a moral, as well as a legal dimension to it. Sonia has not only deceived the man personally, she's also been stealing from people, including her own father, for a long time. She took part a major armed robbery in which people almost died. She's no good in the sense that she's a menace to society and should be put in jail. This is why I asked, why is Guido an ex-cop? I don't see that it's because he was corrupt. Why does he investigate Sonia, spy on her, even catch her in the act, if he doesn't suspect something's not right? It doesn't make sense from a holistic point of view. And I do not for one minute see him as having his life turned around by this infatuation. He should have been turned around in that parking garage. That was the only responsible, moral, feeling thing to do.
A man usually finds the greater part of his self-worth from what he does for a living, not from his personal relationships. He seems pretty pathic the more I think about him.
I agree with tuda. . . . . Guida felt alive with Sonia, and was perhaps in love with her. I don't think he was pathetic at all. I think he was very human. He had an understanding of Sonia, and acted according to his feelings of compassion, not necessarily justice.
shareAgreed, he fell in love, and while he was conflicted, and devastated, he did not want to blow the whistle on her. And Sonia was indeed conflicted at the end, because she fell for Guido, but was in way too deep with her boyfriend. Life is not cut and dry!
shareIn the real world, yes, I'd say the right thing to do would be to turn her in. However, this was not the real world in at least two ways that are relevant to the question:
(1) Sonia is a bad, immoral person, as another comment points out. In real life, such people are seldom as warm, caring and lovable as Sonia is in the movie. IRL, if you act like a lowlife, you probably are a lowlife. Movie Sonia, OTOH, is presented as a basically good person, or at least a loving, caring person, who has just taken a little wrong turn somewhere.
(2) Guido is what in TV slang is sometimes called a "Gary Stu" - a male version of a "Mary Sue" - that is, a character who is unbelievably good and perfect in a certain way (usually a romantic and/or heroic way). Unless you are a 100% heterosexual male, who wouldn't run off into the sunset with a man who is so handsome, sexy, warm, loving, smart, poetically tragic, decent, kind, passionate ... yada yada yada?
I'm OK with both of these characterizations because this is a movie, not real life, and in any movie with a romantic theme, I'd rather watch attractive, appealing people than a warts-and-all portrayal of messy real-life relationships.
So, I can live with Guido's behavior in a fictional context, given the kind of romance-novel hero he is portrayed as being. In fact, I could quite happily have lived with a so-called phony, Hollywood happy ending because, really, why not feel good at the end of a movie rather than depressed? Why not get a nice warm glow from seeing two such appealing, if rather unbelievable, people end up together?
Very nice defense, essex9999. But no, because 1) Sonia did not just take "a little wrong turn somewhere" -- she participates in very destructive, even potentially murderous, criminal activities, and has been doing it for a long time; and 2) this is not just a romantic date movie kind of picture. This is also a police investigation, including an ex-cop who still is in the business in that he does security and makes security equipment as a hobby (again, is there ANYONE who would like to venture a guess or point out the scene that would illuminate the rest of us as to why he is no longer on the force?) That is, a movie does not have to cater to an illusion, i.e., the "Gary Stu" one, to make internal sense, be emotionally satisfying and mark one up for integrity. Has no one ever seen "Von Ryan's Express" or similar fare, where a man's affections do not prevent him from doing the right thing? That scene, in which the Frank Sinatra character must shoot the escaping and devastingly beautiful and sexy German spy whom he loves in the back as she's running away is seared in my brain forever.
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Guido was devastated by the death of his wife and so left the police force--too much stress, perhaps--for the quieter life of a security guard. Half-heartledly, he engaged in speed dating, partially for sex, partially in the vague hope of meeting a soulmate. Although he became aware of Sonia's crime, he had fallen in love with her and so gave her a pass. That's the way love works. Sometimes it overcomes duty.
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