To me a good commentary on marriage difficulties facing a modern 1960s couple who were experiencing the Swinging Sixties full on.
I just didnt believe in the ending - could any couple who had been through such turmoil have such a happy ending? Possibly tried to give hope to those going through divorce, I dont know.
What do people think?
I don't think the ending was entirely "happy." They decided to stick it out but all the issues in their marriage were left unresolved.
shareOne of the good things about this movie is that it departs from the typical Hollywood happy ending. There is no implication of happy ending at any moment. The tone of the movie is set through flashbacks to show the troublesome relation within their marriage. And if you notice, the more time it passed, the more stormy the relationship grew. The message was that no marriage is a bed of roses, and it definitely departed from the expected violins musique de fond, and live happily ever after code.
I would consider this ending as a good example of what is known as "finis ouvert", better known in literary terms as open ending. It was somewhat surprising during the mid sixties to encounter this type of movie, not quite a comedy, by no means a drama, but something that put audiences, especially married people, to think and reflect.
This is what I thought when I first saw in my early twenties. I was a newlywed and I cried a lot at the end, because it was sad, but there was still love between them. When I saw the "The end" sign I thought that sooner or later they would break up. I saw the film again last week, and I still feel the same way about the ending. However, I still think it is a wonderful movie, worth seeing. Those years of their lives were a good experience to live, and the idea was to show how much fun and good memories human beings are able to cherish, no matter the obscure moments. But life changes, everything changes.
I don't think divorce is necessarily in the cards for Joanna & Mark in TWO FOR THE ROAD. Director Stanley Donen simply wanted to debunk the cinematic myth of people getting married and "living happily ever after." As Donen says on the commentary track, "If two people are fortunate, they live together ever after" - and not always happily. When the film's final fade-out takes place, do I believe Joanna and Mark will live in harmonious tranquility for the rest of their lives? Certainly not - they'll continue to "bitch" and "bastard" each other, just as they've always done (in fact, they'll be in the States for a few years and out of Maurice's grasp, so their situation might very well improve).
What I think Donen & screenwriter Frederic Raphael were exploring in ROAD was the way in which marriage forces a husband and wife to confront one another's strengths & weaknesses; if they genuinely love each other, then they'll tolerate the shortcomings and continue along life's road together.
Just like Joanna and Mark.
Well stated, Murph 24.
share.
I think he answers this question, through this scene :
Joanna enters the room, after her affair with another man, and he says
- You humiliate me. You humiliate me and then you come back.
She nods.
He reaches out and pulls her to him, and says - Thank God!
So, in my opinion, he loved her so much, he was humiliated but
willing to move on, to give the marriage another try.
But Mark is unfaithful to her as well. Is the difference that Mark's dalliance was a meaningless romp with a beautiful blonde vis a vis Joanna assertion that she's in love with David? That scene with this dour and oh, so serious man underscores how very much Joanna and Mark are right for each other, warts and all.
I think the movie is very honest (Mark warns Joanna, continually, that any involvement with him will not be easy) and entirely credible in its depiction of the highs and lows of any marriage. murph24 said it best, so I won't even try to replicate those very wise and astute words.
Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.
Marriage is not always easy and it is not always a smooth ride. Both made mistakes and both found comfort elsewhere and again with one another. Some couples today are too quick to give up at te first signs of trouble, as if they really believed that if it is not perfect, it's time to change. Mark and Joanna know each other's problems and failings, but their love seems to rise above that. Will they go on forever? Who knows? I do not choose to speculate. This is one of my all time favorite movies and it is true to life in oh, so many ways!
shareChickenegg69 ^
Short answer: Yes
Longer answer: In my experience, if a couple who truly loved each other at the beginning of their relationship will weather the bad times, they certainly can come out at the end of those times wiser and, yes, still together.
Marriages are dynamic entities that almost certainly will have to endure changes as people age and grow. I am not defending infidelity here, as I think that being unfaithful is one of the worst things you can to do a loved one. However, a marriage can survive even that.
If more people realized that people can fall in and out and back in love with each other over the years and that any truly 'good' thing needs hard work and endurance, maybe more people wouldn't be so fast to become a divorce statistic and to put their children through the harsh world of a split home.
"I can't stand a naked light bulb, any more than..a rude remark or a vulgar action" Blanche DuBois