Wrapped up in reality

We're experiencing a "deep freeze" here in Seattle, so I decided to cocoon myself in my apartment and watch movies for much of the weekend. One that I watched — on my Netflix instant viewing device, no less — was an indie film called "Broken English." It told the story of a 30-something single woman in New York with a dead-end job and a group of friends who all enjoyed successful relationships while she struggled with predictably bad luck in dating. Since this seemed like the sort of plot line I'd resonate with — minus the dead-end job and being a 30-something woman in New York, of course — I decided to go with it. (Warning: Spoiler coming. I'm sure everyone who hasn't already seen this movie is eagerly awaiting to do so.)

Nora, the main character in the story, eventually meets by accident a young Frenchman named Julien, and the two quickly become close. Alas, he ends up having to return to France, and the infatuated couple are separated. Nora ultimately decides to travel to Paris in search of the love of her life, but when she arrives, she loses the phone number he gave her and has no other way to locate Julien. Forlorn, Nora wanders the city aimlessly with a friend for a few days, until her friend has to return to New York and she stays behind. Finally, she comes to terms with the reality that she'll never find Julien in a huge city like Paris, so she boards a train to the airport to catch a flight back to New York. Shockingly, Julien happens to catch the same train Nora did, and just when the viewer might believe that the two characters would never reunite, they do — and, presumably, live happily ever after.

I was OK with the premise of this movie until I saw its ending, at which point I was reminded of how lame some story lines can be, even in independent films. I have a strong preference for movies that contain realistic plot elements — but even I'm perfectly willing to suspend disbelief in some cases. This, however, was over the top. It got me thinking about how many movies I've seen that contain conclusions that simply satisfy the expectations of the audience. That's precisely what "Broken English" did. The ending was predictable for the simple reason that it wasn't realistic, but even so, the producers of the film went with it most likely because they knew it was what their audience would want. Let's face it — how many viewers would walk away from this movie satisfied if Nora never again found her love?

But such an ending is profoundly unsatisfying for a viewer like myself — and, in fact, it tarnished my perception of the entire film. Happy endings are fine when they are plausible; but reality is too stark for movies that always conclude with the lovers being reunited, or the bad guy being caught, or the crisis being averted, especially when it happens under such unlikely circumstances. Surprises — both of a positive and negative nature — are part of the thrill of following the plot of a movie, and when a story ends predictably just for the sake of pleasing the viewer, the entire presentation falls flat and becomes a disappointment. Too many movies are like that. I'd much rather see a thought-provoking film with a less-than-cheerful or even depressing conclusion than one with an unrealistically happy ending that leaves me yawning the entire way through.