Great Ending! - Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012) Discussion

[–] whjunk 12 years ago

I thought the ending was refreshing - avoided the happily ever after syndrome without being depressing.

That's in contrast to another rom-com I saw some months ago - the title escapes me. You could tell in the first five minutes how it was going to end - the "bad boy" would grow and get the girl while his buddy would reconcile with his wife as his consolation prize. Everyone happy.

-Wm

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[–] greenpen33 12 years ago

Was the movie you're thinking of "This Means War"?

Jennie

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[–] avajoseph 12 years ago

Whjunk, I believe you are referring to This Means War.

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[–] BarronsGirl 12 years ago

I really liked the ending too. It's not quite a "happily ever after" ending, but just more of a "things are going to be okay" feeling of closure for the characters and even the viewer. I'm very familiar with when you've lost something/someone you just want to regain a sense of normalcy somehow and I'm glad that by the end you can see that Celeste and Jesse could make the friendship work. It's a double whammy when you lose not only your boy/girlfriend but your best friend. It's nice to see that they didn't have to lose it completely.

"God said, Let there be light. I said, Say please." - JZB

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[–] jorgemgarcia25 12 years ago

I'm not sure if the ending needs to be described as "great" or not. It's simply the choice made by the writer/director. I'm just not sure I agree it accomplished what people would like it to accomplish, or what the writer/director may have been shooting for. I think they were trying to make it feel a bit more like a "feel good ending" by showing some hint at closure and also a hint that they could remain friends. But I didn't feel that. I didn't buy it one bit. I felt that Celeste and Jesse had an uncommon bond and friendship that comes around once in a lifetime. No matter where they go from here, everything else will be second best, and there will always be longing in their hearts. You could see that although Jesse "felt something" for his new woman, he still deeply LOVED Celeste. His anguish was noteable. And although Celeste was ready to begin dating again, she was still madly in love with Jesse. Her regret was palpable. They let something wonderful slip by. A once in a lifetime, undeniable connection few ever experience. I felt that "loss" in my gut. It wasn't a good feeling for me. I found it truly sad actually.

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[–] yp_6441 12 years ago

I completely agree with you. Somehow, this movie has stuck with me because of how sad I felt at the end. In a way, it really made me feel like how one would feel in real life with these lose/lose situations. The knowledge that you are forced to let go of something that you should really hold on to. To display this so consciously was a little painful.

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[–] ericjstacey 12 years ago

Liked the ending-and not truly and ending, as I think both characters will go through "what ifs" and bad days for a while-people sometimes marry for the wrong reasons, and Jesse may find that out down the road.

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[–] martytamu27 12 years ago

Excellent description - you crystallized my thoughts exactly.
It was painful to watch because what they had was more special than once in a lifetime. Most people never experience anything remotely like their relationship.
the ending was watching that opportunity, maybe the last opportunity, to save it pass by...very sad and very heartbreaking.

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[–] Mystic270 12 years ago

Good description. I, too, felt sad/at a loss for the rest of the night after seeing that movie. And now, a week later, I'm still thinking about the tragedy of it.

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[–] bas1311-1 12 years ago

I couldn't agree more at the bad feeling the end left me. It felt like these two were never going to be happy and just an unconventional for unconventionals sake ending, but I did enjoy the movie.

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[–] gossipgirlrockstar 12 years ago

I think you absolutely nailed it. I felt like it was a nice ending in that they moved on. But I felt it was utterly heartbreaking because of everything you said. Because when two people who love each other so dearly let go it's just tragic. And I don't think they'll ever really be happy with anyone else.

And at once I knew I was not magnificent.

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[–] cesardlg 10 years ago

I was sad too. They were meant for each other and they screwed it up. That much is obvious...it happens.

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[–] mrrbiu-93-689322 9 years ago

You're right. Very sad. But Jesse has matured and now must meet his obligation.

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[–] a_cardboard_sunset 12 years ago

I am usually a big fan of realism over romance, but I have a lot of conflicting emotions about the ending. It's not that it's bad--it's how I expected the film to end, and I think it's really true to life. But it just FELT wrong. I know that they both needed to move on to go forward and mature, but I can't imagine them ever having anything like the relationship they shared. How sad to let it go.

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[–] LeftbLane 12 years ago

I liked the ending. The entire movie felt refreshing. I went into the movie thinking it would be about two people who find their way back to each other. Yet it ended up being about two people who found their way apart and that is okay. I really enjoy these indie romcoms.

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[–] martytamu27 12 years ago

I thought the ending was somewhat realistic, but very, very depressing...because what Jesse and Celeste had is not just once in a lifetime, its much more rare than that - most people never come close to experiencing that kind of love and friendship. And to let it go or see it end, whatever the reasons, just hit very hard. It's just extremely depressing to me to see two people who have this amazing relationship let it go, or to see it end.
Yeh I can see her dating Yoga and Jesse being happy with Veronica, but neither will ever be like they were with each other.

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[–] LindsayElisabeth 12 years ago

I agree with all of the above...

The whole time I watched the movie, I was just hoping they'd get back together. What they had was something most only get to dream about, but never find. I truly envied their relationship. It was something so beautiful and it got thrown away. It all just felt like such a waste.

The ending may have been more realistic, but I was still deeply disappointed. I swear indie movies always end badly when it comes to love. Call me naive, but I am a sucker for a happy ending. It's nice when movies have happy endings because life often rarely does. It feels good to make believe once in awhile, even if it is ignorant. Then again, I'm just a hopeless romantic...

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[–] usernumber655321 12 years ago

I thought it was funny when Celeste says to the guy something like "I really need to be alone while I go through my divorce" (the implication, or so I thought, being that she needed a while to figure herself out and stop relying on partners in a relationship to fill her sense of self), but then like two days later she is calling him up telling him she's "ready". It is doubly funny because the film makers aren't perceptive about the character they've created. The irony isn't intended. They don't intend schadenfreude, they're just oblivious. I see some people calling the film tragic, but the filmmakers obviously want the ending to be bittersweet, not bitter.

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[–] ZeEarGoggles 12 years ago

I had the impression she called him months later, after actually being ready. Not a few days later.

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[–] usernumber655321 12 years ago

Even still . . . a couple months? Is that how long it takes for someone as 'lost' as she was to find themselves? It felt cheap to me.

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[–] ZeEarGoggles 12 years ago

They had been separated for six months before the start of the movie. Plus I'm sure before she initiated the break up she'd been thinking about it for a while. Add the span of the movie, like what 2-4 months (based on the growth of the pregnancy bump)? All that was unhealthily spent with Jesse and without real closure to the relationship, and probably a good bit of denial - but it was still working up to closure.

And then finally a few months (we actually have no idea how long of a time it was) of actual healthy healing before she called him again. I think she was ready to move on.

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[–] usernumber655321 12 years ago

Fair enough. I just thought the way the film makers handled it made it seem like a brief time. Basically, it seemed cheesy and insular to me, much as the film as a whole did.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] doldrums452 12 years ago

I don't know, I just don't get why two people who obviously still loved each other couldn't make it work. Had they not loved each other anymore and still wanted to remain friends, then I think I would have gotten more into the movie.

Baby, you are gonna miss that plane.

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[–] leader (1959) 5 years ago

Because the child changed everything.

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[–] 12 years ago

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