I don't know whether it was because he transitioned to the album 'stadium pop' version of her song at the end or seeing all the young girls in the crowd and that he's 'changed' and what Dan said about rockstars who can't please one woman? I just want to hear what different people thought...btw I really enjoyed the ending a lot.
I'd like to say a combination of both. There was a definite change in tone in Dave's performance that aroused the crowd's interest. At the same time, Gretta observed the reaction of the crowd and likely realized that Dave was there purely to entertain, not to reconcile with her. Both are reasonable explanations for her departure, I don't think one trumps the other.
shareDave won't change, that's what she realized.
Halfblood Camper #4
Valar Morghulis
Yeap, he was almost sure to cheat on her again, despite his supposed genuine remorse.
Fanboy : a person who does not think while watching.share
I thought the same. I think at that point she realized Dave was a different person and he was changed by the stardom and even though he wanted to be with her and change his ways it wasn't going to happen and him cheating on her again was likely going to happen in the future.
shareYeah that sounds about right.
Lose the Game!!!!!!!
I agree with everyone above. My first reaction was that Gretta was watching the girls in the audience and they really weren't listening to the words anyway it was just the way the song was sung that got a reaction out of themand that crushed her which is what sparked her to not want to sign her album. She didn't want to be a "sell out" rock star.
shareI thought it was because people liked the song she wrote.
There's a hole in the world. Feels like we ought to have known. - Spike
First Gretta was enamored, he was singing her rendition of the song. He was happy to see her over there enjoying their creation. But then he got sucked back into his stardom and gave the audience what they came for (and let's be real, he had always been planning to sing the stadium pop rendition of the song anyway). He didn't care how it was meaningful to her to sing the song in the way she envisioned. He had sold out to stardom, almost beyond his will. Notice his final glance over his shoulder to where she had once stood knowing she was gone...forever. Both knew it was a betrayal of sorts and their relationship was over.
All that said, call me a sellout, but I rather enjoyed the stadium pop version myself.
In their last conversation they discussed the song. She told him he lost the songs in the production. It was their song. He said he was trying to make a hit. She asked him why then he told her she was a song writer with sole credit. It would be huge for her. She created something beautiful and that she should share it. She didn't care. She said "not that song". He asked her to come and see it performed. The whole energy in the room changes. She asked him again "Please don't sing it like that".
The song had special meaning to Gretta and she was hoping it held the same meaning for him. In that moment she realized the truth. He couldn't possibly do what it took to make her happy if he couldn't even honor her request about the song. His stadium pop version did change the energy in the room. The crowd (mostly women) were at his command. And that's what he really wanted more than her. So she let him have it and decided to move on.
I've re-watched this scene over and over again. Very moving scene, imo.
This is a great thread as that scene had me screwed up trying to figure out her thought process.. But I agree with most of you that when he switched over to his rendition she was crushed.. I don't know, who can figure chics out..
This discussion should be higher up..
Great film
The transition she saw is on Dave, not on the song. I really don't think there are 2 versions in that performance. he stayed true to the acoustic-sounded arrangements Gretta liked, totally different from the fast tempo, electro-remixed version on the CD he showed Gretta. It was really a beautiful performance from the heart. I suppose people think that the falsetto part "betrays" Gretta, watch carefully, the crowd were turned on and she is already teared up before he started that part. The falsetto is just a nice touch to make the song his own. Gretta sees how good it is and she sees how the crowd loved him. She is happy for him but she also knows they've grown apart in different direction. she finally accepted that things will never be the same, that's why she left.
Think of it this way. The real life "lost stars" released by Adam Levine is the same version of that performance in the end. if it consists of any part that is depicted as "sell-out" to the writer (himself), he would have changed it.
I generally do not say "you're wrong" when it comes to art interpretations, but..."you're wrong."
The song was delicate and fragile...and she told him it should be played that way, while they were on the bench. He tried to argue with her that it was better to have a hit to share the song to more people. When she was leaving, he told her that he would sing it the way she wanted it to be sung.
So she showed up...hoping for that connection again.
He started the song off soft, and she almost fell in love again, but midway through, the band joined in, and it became a stadium pop hit that she despised. That's when her tears came, and she left. She realized what Mark Ruffalo said - that he would never change...he was addicted to the lifestyle, not the music.
Very clear ending - very great movie.
I agree with you.
When Dave and Gretta arrive early in the movie, some girls want a photo with Dave; Gretta takes it. You can take that scene literally and metaphorically. Dave now has fame and women. Gretta is out of the picture.
When Dave performs "Lost Stars," Gretta looks at who? Not a group of men and women enjoying a song. No, she focuses on the girls reaching up for Dave. She knows she can never trust Dave again. Fame changed him. Which scares her - she doesn't want fame to change her. Hence, in the next scene, she turns down the contract.
You hit it perfectly. Watch the scene again and watch Gretta's eyes. First she tears up as she hears the beautiful renditon of her song -- and then she looks at all the young lovely girls in the crowd, arms swaying, and she knows without a doubt that her life with Dave would be a never-ending battle of all the temptations he would face.
shareI find it interesting that nobody has mentioned the fact that Dave motioned to Gretta several times for her to come up on stage and perform with him. Had she, its likely he would have paid her more attention, and she might have seen the whole scenario differently. The fact she choose not to is compelling, IMO. She'd just released an album, she could've sung a song from it to promote it. Granted, she's not in it for the money, but the promotion would have brought her work to more ears...he stated desire.
If you ask me, she left because she realized she was over Dave. He was living up to his promise to her, and it wasn't making the difference she thought it might. She saw him fulfill his promise and she didn't fall back in love. Call it a rite of passage, but she went there to see if he could win her back, and she realized she didn't want him back.
To me this is backed up by her surprise visit to Dan. Again, IMO, she went there in the hopes of pursuing a relationship with him, only to be disappointed but happy to hear he was getting back with Miriam.
Those scenes sum up the movie...go out and around and come back to the beginning. She had had two big rides on her trip to NY, and both had come back to her starting over...and Dan starting over, and Dave...the "bad guy", continuing on his path...Good people get a second, third, fourth chance.
I just watched this again looking for a "blended version" of Lost Stars. The pace of the recorded version Gretta listened to is definite, and distinctly different, than the version he performs in concert. I'm now of the opinion that Gretta really didn't want Dave to perform it in concert at all, despite suggesting he "remix" it and lose its "produced sound" he turned it into on the album. That's why she leaves...he didn't get that he just didn't want him to perform it at all.
shareThis is exactly what I was thinking. She realised she doesn't want Dave (if she did, she'd be up there with him, happy, performing, and they'd reconcile). She visited Dan in hopes something would happen (I think Keira was superbly nuanced in that scene). It's a clichéd unfolding, but it was well acted and wasn't over the top with emotions.
shareI really liked the 'merged' version he ended up performing, but . . .
I think she realized that if he couldn't stick to a commitment of the few minutes it took to sing one song, she couldn't expect him to commit to her or their life together, either.
Despite best intentions, people won't change for you -- we all learn that sooner or later -- they'll only change for themselves. Sometimes, that's to the benefit of their near and dear . . . sometimes, not so much. C'est la vie!
Remember, always be yourself.
Unless you suck.
-- Joss Whedon
I really liked the 'merged' version he ended up performing, but . . .
I think she realized that if he couldn't stick to a commitment of the few minutes it took to sing one song, she couldn't expect him to commit to her or their life together, either.
Despite best intentions, people won't change for you -- we all learn that sooner or later -- they'll only change for themselves. Sometimes, that's to the benefit of their near and dear . . . sometimes, not so much. C'est la vie!
Remember, always be yourself.
Unless you suck.
-- Joss Whedon