the ending was a bit strange.. he goes to search for the pretty waitress and gets to the rooftop and falls asleep!?? he was just thinking about how much he loved her .. yet he's sleeping on the rooftop? poor guy!
I love alan rickman :)
I've never seen a movie like this before.. it's quite different... :)
And suffering a bit of a nervous breakdown, hitting rock bottom, collapsing in on himself.He stumbled around the dining room to get to the bathroom, stumbled down the stairs to get to the lavatory, dragged himself up the flights of stairs, appeared to also be on the verge of a heartattack/stroke.Going in search of the goth waitress is one of many clues as to why his relationship with Emma Thompson's character failed (cheater, drunk, average writer, pessimistic).The ending - at the beginning, Alan's character mentions the owner of the restaurant, a man named Massimo, is no longer there. No longer there because fifteen years have passed, life has changed and moved on. He snarks about how the restaurant's menu devolved. At the end, the man in the restaurant is Massimo. Everything in between is about how Alan's character can't let go of the past. Awakening from his drunken stupour, Alan's character learns that lesson. But when he sees Massimo, still the restaurant owner, he questions the lesson because Massimo's presence signifies 1) life changes and stays the same and 2) some things from the past can be recaptured and/or retained, further signifying to Alan that he could have made a serious attempt to rekindle his relationship with Emma, but in order for that to succeed, he would have needed to do so in the mental framework of the present moment and not within the framework of whatever happened in the past. He realized he could have a new [platonic] relationship with her, but not the relationship they once had. The restaurant was a metaphor for the relationship. The restaurant changed its menu but the owner stayed the same. The relationship changed its menu but Emma and Alan remained the same. The restaurant owner remained with the restaurant even though the menu devolved (changed to remain hip). Emma and Alan could have remained with their relationship even though their relationship devolved (changed because Emma wanted to be with a hipper happening writer) - they could have remained friends. But they did not.Based on the way Emma recited her dialogue, I felt she wasn't happy with her marriage, thought her husband was superficial and dull, and felt partially responsible for Alan's muddled his writing talent. She wanted to at least rekindle a platonic relationship with him, something he categorically rejected until the very end, when, after seeing Massimo, and he began to reconsider things.
shareTemporaryOne-1: I agree with most of your analysis.
I think she came intending to rekindle their relationship. She walks in full of smiles and flirtation. Even combs back her hair, preening for him. She flirts openly with the waiter telegraphing she's ready for fun even though she's endured a horrendous train, the cab ride to "arrive on time."
They eat from each others plates as lovers do.
When she refuses a second glass of wine and he continues to empty the bottle her mood darkens. She becomes more serious. Then aggitated when his eyes wander.
Going to the "toilet" signals the end to any idea of bedding him.
In fact, I was surprised she came back.
Returning to the table she lectures him about writing only one book. And why was it poetry and not something more popular. Pity.
Two bites and she's finished with the meal. Finished with him. Her waspish tone means she's done.
She was probably gone before he finished in the gents.
I just watched it and I thank you for explaining it.
To me it wasn't worth that amount of analysis. On the surface it was about 2 persons who at one time been serious lovers meeting for a little lunch. That is something you would never do unless you wanted to rekindle. So fraught with complications because if past emotional attachment.
She is all cheery while he is surly and getting drunker by the minute. No point in discussing anything with a drunk. They will not remember a thing.
I hope you aren't the author. If you are I apologize. To me it was boring. I know some men like that and I don't give them the time of day.
Temporary One and JozieLee:
Both of your analyses are valuable. I'm glad I don't know anyone like him; too depressing. Life is too short! I'm glad my parents exemplified a healthier outlook, so I was never tempted to be this "introspective."
These two are WAY too self-centered.
How can ANYONE wallow in their own self-pity like that? Egad! Talk about "hot messes." She had a short memory if she couldn't remember what he was like.
[Funny that it was done by Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman. I can't imagine how their egos both fit at that small cramped table for as long as it took to record their overdone angst.]
sorry :( spoiler alert added.
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