Antoine's scene in the closing minutes
In the final minutes of the film there is a scene of the young man, Antoine, who witnessed the crash. I would like to know what other people think of this scene. He awakes to his alarm and instinctively reaches for the necklace with the cross that he is wearing - the one he found at the scene of the crash. He looks concerned in some way; kind of guilty.
What's the point of this scene? To me the whole thing makes no sense: he found the necklace and maybe he was disturbed by what he saw at the crash. I can understand why he would want to return the necklace but I don't understand why he would be wearing it after Julie told him he could keep it. Perhaps he would keep it in case she changed her mind about taking it back (that's what I would do), but why would he wear it? Maybe he thinks of it as lucky: maybe he thought it protected Julie during the crash and perhaps he wants to keep it for its religious connotations.
Someone else said that the ending was similar to that of Donnie Darko and the character of Antoine's ending is discussed in that thread, but my question isn't answered. One poster suggested that we're viewing the other characters from the point of view of Julie's opinion of them but I don't prescribe to that theory. Another poster says that the characters are given a conclusion in reference to their contribution to Julie's readjustment into society. That's fairly self-explanatory. I understand about the other characters, but not the young man.
We learn that Julie is a kind and generous person: she derives pleasure from the happiness of others and is distressed by the suffering of others. This is something that I can relate to. In the final scenes of the film we see pieces of each character's life. We see that Olivier has succeeded in regaining a physical relationship with the protagonist, which could perhaps develop into the love he desires. We watch as Julie’s mother dies peacefully, gazing at “the whole world”. We learn that Julie’s neighbour wants to rethink her life. We see the enjoyment on the lawyer’s face as she stares in wonder at her baby, secure in the knowledge that they will be safe and comfortable.
All of these characters seem to offer Julie some form of reward in events occurring in their life. It’s human nature to take contentment from other people’s happiness. But why doesn’t the young man fit into the pattern? I appreciate any comments that anyone has to make. Thank you :)
Also, does anyone else agree that in the scene I am talking about there is a poster of Rutger Hauer? You only see half of it – one half of the face – but I am sure it’s a photo of a young Hauer.