I loved this movie, but I don't understand why he still wanted to kill himself (which is presumably what is implied by the note he wrote). It seems to me that he finally had something to live for after re-uniting with his sister and niece.
sharebut I don't understand why he still wanted to kill himself (which is presumably what is implied by the note he wrote).He didn't. By plugging the phone back in and making plans with Maggie he's essentially deciding to live. The next thing he does is get out of the tub and write the note. The note was for Vista (who was dead) and it just said "I love you. I miss you so much. Love, Richie" I took that to mean that we was not going to kill himself. He was beginning to confront the prospect of a life without Vista, and the first step toward that was to articulate how he felt about her and her loss. We see her ghost/memory-self with Richie because he'll always carry that with him. But I definitely had the impression that he was choosing to live. share
That makes sense. I missed the bit about plugging the phone back in, and your interpretation of why he was writing the note to Vista at that time didn't occur to me.
shareHe decided to live but only on the flimsiest of excuses. Living for his stuck up sister and spoiled brat niece? No. It would have been a better and more truthful film if he had killed himself.
shareNo opinion on his excuse for wanting to live or not. But his sister is not "stuck up," nor is his niece a spoiled brat.
His sister is not stuck up for wanting her brother out of her life. She was a teenager living in a very troubled home, who got pregnant and wanted her daughter out of that environment. Clearly she made a poor decision getting pregnant at such a young age, but she wanted to do better by her daughter. I know it seems like she "abandoned" her brother, which is why I think you're calling her stuck up, but what could she do at such a young age? All while being alone and scared out of her mind?
As for Sophia, how exactly is she a spoiled brat? Was she sporting Gucci clothes, or texting away on her iPhone 6? I don't know, hubble-hallow. All I remember is a girl wearing plain clothes and a simple backpack caring her school essentials.
To be fair, Sophia initially treated him like one of her school essentials instead of like you should any random person. Especially someone there to help you.
Also, she's too smart for an iPhone. I'm sure she had a rooted Android device with a Mandarin UI.
I actually agree with you in a way. I think it'd be more truthful if he had killed himself too. People who are chronically suicidal...usually that doesn't just go away so easily. Maybe give it five days and he'll be back at attempting to kill himself again.
I know the point of the movie was for someone to see value in him, give him a point to live, help him move on from his grief etc...but still. When he went back in the bloody tub for a flicker I thought, oh he is going to do it, that is realistic! And then he didn't
Would have been a lot more depressing of course if it ended that way.
[deleted]
Saw Curfew first. It's the better film. This is where the feature failed in the end because we are not too clear what he's thinking. I know he's nothing going to kill himself just because I saw Curfew as well. Otherwise if I watched only this then I wouldn't be clear. And what's the deal with writing a not for a dead person? That's why i wasn't sure if she was really dead.
---