So Ethan is troy?
Did I miss something or is Troy alter ego of Ethan
She wasn't dating anyone else ? and the double life was his book being written
Ahh - I was hoping she did choose Troy geez
Troy isn't exactly Ethan, but Troy doesn't really exist, he is the character in the book that Ethan writes while he is getting to know Jesse. When we see his early meeting with Kane, she tells him his subject needs to be more interesting. So he takes his own experiences and creates a more interesting character, better looking, more successful, etc. I like the concept, a good story, not your usual rom-com.
TxMike
Make a choice, to take a chance, to make a difference.
I agree with your assessment, but then one has to wonder, was this all supposed to be in Jesse's head or Ethan's. If Troy is not real and, as we discover at the end, the character in Ethan's book, then I'd have to say this is all taking place in Ethan's head. I did notice that every date and action he had with Jesse was than mirrored in a bigger or more expensive way with Troy. The mini-golf vs. the real course; the older car vs. the new sports car; the plant vs. the roses all over her room; etc. Yet Troy tells Jesse he loves her in the card (in the bedroom flowers scene) before Ethan does. You're right that this was in interesting twist and very little is given away that Troy is not real. I was starting to wonder what was up when Ethan suggested going into commercial marketing (Troy's profession) and Jesse just shuts down that whole notion as giving up his dream and, as implied, too much of who he is and that part of him she feels connected to and loves.
Also, and stop me if I'm misinterpreting this, but Ethan knows Jesse is hiding something or not telling him something important. So, in Jesse's conversations with her brother, they talk about the mess she's creating and that she should tell him. We're led to believe that this is about her dating Troy, but it's really about her infertility (knowing Ethan wants a family). We know she was married before and got only a vague reason why that didn't work (and then we find out). Her solution is to move away so Ethan can find another woman who can give him children, because she knows he wants a family and that's what broke up her first marriage. Ethan writes it in as Troy winning over him (changing the ending of his original story the movie starts with when he's with the publisher, Carole Kane).
When I started writing this, I hadn't quite figured out the motivation for everything and what was real and what wasn't, entirely. Now I have. I think the director throws it in our faces with the wedding scenes, one being the real wedding and one being what was in the book.