MovieChat Forums > The Night of the Iguana (1964) Discussion > Heartbreakingly bittersweet ending

Heartbreakingly bittersweet ending



Who else felt this way at the end? Hanna had left, and the way Maxine told Shannon "I'll always get you up baby". wow. Very great IMO.



"After all, TOMORROW is ANOTHER DAY"

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Shannon and Maxine were sort of outcasts of their world, Hanna was sort of a wanderer, I thought it ended quite appropriately.

Plus I think hanna was a lesbian.
Whoa! That never even occurred to me! I thought she had a thing for Burton's character. But, now that you mention it, I can see where she may be lesbian, based on her tales of her love-life and how odd they were---maybe cause she really wasn't attracted to men but didn't feel she could act on any lesbian urges? Then again, she may simply have been asexual.

As for the ending, I loved it too---so very much, because of Ava. Her final line was perfect! The one little problem I have with it though is Burton's character---how do we know he stays with Ava because he loves her? I was a little bothered, because it seemed (to me) that he might have been staying with her because Kerr's character was leaving. I felt, watching it, that it was Kerr who made the sacrifice, and had she not, Burton's character would have stayed with her without giving Ava's character much of a thought. So, that kind of spoils it for me, but not too, too much.

Please excuse typos/funny wording; I use speech-recognition that doesn't always recognize!

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I agree with you about Burton's character. He wanted to go with Kerr and Ava knows this. When you throw in Ava's houseboys, which I doubt Ava is going to give up, I'm afraid their future together is tenuous at best.

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I think she was ready for something more meaningful. She only had the cabana boys because her ex was really old, and no longer interested in sex.

On the other hand, Burton was very randy, and possibly not able to be monogamous. Which made him staying with the more open Ava make more sense then him being with Kerr. Kerr could never have handled his impulsiveness.

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Liked the ending. Loved the movie. But that poem... too long.

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I think the poem is exquisite. Not only is it beautifully written but it describes perfectly what each character is going through, the desperate need to summon inner courage in the face of life's fears and uncertainties. The poem is just long enough for this to fully resonate. It's a perfect scene.



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Burton clearly wanted to be with Kerr, and Ava Gardner knows it - that's what makes the ending so bittersweet.

Could any hell be more horrible than now and real?
-Jim Morrison

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