Marry that creepy old coot? She didn't love him. He could provide for the baby, yes. But she did NOT LOVE HIM. She should have stayed with Joss. She wasn't smiling at the end, so it was obvious she made the wrong decision and was destined for misery.
I enjoyed the film, but it was so depressing...
Georgy married Mr. Leamington for the obvious reason of his ability to provide a suitable and sustainable home & lifestyle that would allow her to get Sara back which was her top priority. She realized Joss would not be able to provide the security she needed--he like Meredith was very flighty and fickle.
Deep down I do believe she was attracted to Mr. Leamington--she willingly let herself be kissed by him at his party and seemed to somewhat enjoy it--until they were interrupted. Although she tried to avoid him I never got the impression that she was repulsed by his advances. I think in time she would grow to love him--I am sure she would have children of her own since she seemed to delight in them. The ending you’re left to imagine what their future would be like. I imagined she would grow and mature into her role as Lady of the House with lots of little Leamingtons running about.
James Mason's character didn't come across to me as creepy or like an old coot. If he wanted to be my sugar daddy I would have no problems with that.
I didn't find him creepy either. Just an older man, who'd been deprived of love & affection for many years. It's no wonder Georgy appealed to him.
Georgy recognized the chance at a family & home she might not otherwise have, and I think she realized she would have the capacity to love him. He made the comment to her that he & his wife had never been able to have children...perhaps he will love little Sarah with his whole heart because Georgy does, as well as the children they will have together.
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The social worker had stopped by and found out the mother had abandoned the baby and obviously the father made a fool of himself in front of her as well as announcing he was no longer employed; I don't know if that would have been enough for the baby to be removed from the home in 1960's England but it does appear Georgy was worried about it. And Georgy had come to the realization that Joss really didn't want the baby anymore than Meredith did - he still wanted to run around and have fun and not be tied down. He quit his job and wanted to still act like a man without obligations (he obviously doesn't want to marry Georgy), he is only too glad to slip away as Georgy sets him free.
Georgy certainly wasn't the first or last woman (or man) who married for reasons other than love. I didn't find the movie depressing but the ending is rather like a black comedy: James Mason finally "gets" Georgy but it's clear she has no more interest in him than before and will be as indifferent to him as his first wife.
I just rewatched this after many years and I like how bittersweet the ending is, personally. It just felt more natural for Georgy to compromise herself and marry James for the sake of the baby as it's the baby which is the thing that she always wanted, and Jos didn't. I feel that she was deeply flattered by James's attention but there was no love involved on her part - maybe some kind of love emerged from the marriage, though.
I find the ending quite thought-provoking, especially in the very last scene with the last line of the song 'You're rich, Georgy Girl' playing again and again as we see a close-up shot of her and the baby, having just married James. You can interpret that line in several ways, I think.
"Marry that creepy old coot? She didn't love him."
Because he at least loved her for who she was or whatever she wanted to be. Georgy grew up around judgmental people like her parents who only seem to live for what other people want them to be.
This marriage silenced her parents and she was free to have babies.
I kind of picture her as a person who comes into her own later in life. The other cooler friends lose their looks and realize the people they picked as friends were superficial and they only later find out what they really want in life.
It can be liberating in a way to not marry for love. It's so complicated.
Why not step into a great marriage of convenience. If James Mason cheats she's not going to be devastated.