"Stop talking about love. Every asshole in the world says he loves somebody. It means nothing... what you feel only matters to you. It's what you do to the people you say you love--that's what matters. It's the only thing that counts." (from The Last Kiss)
I'm no film critic, but I do know what plots interest me, with which characters I can identify, and which stories touch me on a very human level. The Last Kiss, starring Zach Braff, is the most recent addition to my list of all-time favorites. It's not a favorite because of funny lines or happy endings. I fell in love with it because of how truthful its portrayal is of love and commitment. Braff plays a thirty-year-old seemingly-happy man in a relationship with the perfect woman. When she announces her pregnancy, he suddenly panics, fearing the finality of his life with no future surprises. With a desire for something new fueling his panic, he cheats with a younger college girl. The movie deals with his struggle to realize that what he really wanted all along was the woman he'd been committed to and his determination to win back her love and trust after her discovery of his bad deed.
Tony Goldwyn, the director, said, "Our greatest aspiration for The Last Kiss was that it be emotionally honest [about] the themes of the film:
*The romantic ideal we set for ourselves in love.
*The reality we discover at having made a long-term commitment.
*The inexorable pull of our fantasies, of paths not chosen.
*The disorientation of having the foundation pulled out from under us when we least expect it.
*And the growth and renewal that are possible when we finally get honest with the people we love."
These are very real issues that people deal with everyday. When someone decides to make a commitment, all of the missed possibilities come flying out of the woodwork. Choices abound, but making the wrong choice can lead to terrible consequences, hurting the one person for whom the misdirection was never intended. All of the soul-searching and apologies in the world cannot always mend what was so carelessly and selfishly broken. The writers for this film Americanized the last scene by having her open the door, allowing him back in; but in the original, Italian version (probably the more realistic of the two), he's left sitting out in the rain, and the door is left closed in end.
Being that it's now after 3 A.M., and I'm still unable to fall asleep, I think I'll slide it into the DVD player and watch it again.
"You know, life is pretty much in the grays for the most part. If you insist always on black and white, you are gonna be very unhappy." (from The Last Kiss)
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