He spends all of his younger life making big plans to fulfill his dreams, goes through all of the hard work required to qualify as a doctor, and then chickens out.
He goes for the safe option, and spends the rest of his life reliving his growing up and wondering what might have been.
A Clockwork Orange.
In a society over run with thrill seeking serious crime, a solution is found that doesn’t require killing, incarcereating, or even supervising previous offenders after treatment.
But Do Gooders playing politics stymie this, even though they’ve been victims themselves.
Result ?
The raping, murdering, burgalries and assaults carry on.
I thought this was one of the worst endings in movie history. That necklace was worth a fortune. She could have given it to her family, or auctioned it for charity…but to selfishly throw it into the ocean?! :mad:
Bravo! I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Of course, I was told I wasn’t romantic (I’m probably not, but this has nothing to do with it).
I hated that ending. What a selfish bitch. Her granddaughter probably could have used the money to take care of her wrinkled ass. But no… she’s almost dead, her life is over, why help out anyone with the money that necklace was worth?
The problem is that the solution and the system which imposes it are as brutal and inhuman as the offenders. It doesn’t really solve anything. In the book there is another chapter in which Alex basically grows up and rejects his violent hedonistic past. Burgess was a bit miffed that Kubrick left it out, but from a cinematic viewpoint the ending in the film works better.
About Titanic: the old lady dropping the necklace in the water was clearly the set-up for the sequel.
What makes you think he wasn’t still a doctor? There’s obviously the need for another doctor in town, otherwise he wouldn’t have been sentenced to work in the local clinic, he enjoyed family practice, and the locals seemed to like going to him. The obvious thing would be for him to take a job with the old guy he was filling in for, then slowly take over the practice as his boss edges toward retirement. If his dreams were of being a doctor, they’re fulfilled. If his dreams were of helping people through the practice of medicine, they’re far more fulfilled than they would be doing boob jobs in LA.
The only way he gave up on his dreams is if he specifically dreamed of plastic surgery, of being filthy stinking rich, or of living in Beverly Hills. And honestly, there are plenty of small things in a family practice that would benefit from plastics experience in a family practice and he would still be quite well-off compared to the community.
And, of course, if he’d gone on to LA, he’d always be wondering what would have been if he’d stayed.
The real sadness of the movie is that this community needs a good, qualified family practitioner or internist…and instead they got this guy. Yes, he’s a doctor and he can sew up a cut or deliver a baby in a pinch or tell if you’re having a massive heart attack right now. But he probably hasn’t looked at an abnormal EKG or listened to a case of pneumonia or given the first thought to diabetes management since his last internal med rotation in school, which was at least 5 years ago. I’m certain he could and would go back and learn what he needs to know to be truly be useful to the community, but as it stands right now he’s really not.
Except that the diamond was stolen from her fiance Cal. Let’s not forget that part. No doubt Cal made an insurance claim those many years ago, and the insurance company became, effectively, the owner of the diamond. When that very distinctive diamond hits the market, the insurance company will come a-callin’, saying “Hand over our merchandise.”
That reminds me of my favorite part of the movie- where it turns out that the irascible, elderly redneck doctor (Barnard Hughes) was a lot smarter than the young hotshot doctor assumed.
A kid was brought to Michael J. Fox with a strange combination of symptoms. He was nauseous, was turning blue, and had an irregular heartbeat. The nurse called the old doctor at home, and the old doctor said, “Give the kid a Coke.” Michael J. Fox was outraged at this country quackery, and was all set to have the kid taken to a hospital by helicopter for heart surgery.
As it turned out, the old doctor knew his patients very well, and knew exactly what he was doing. The doctor knew from experience that the kid sometimes used his daddy’s chewing tobacco, which gave him an upset stomach. He also knew that Southerb families often give kids a homemade concoction for stomachaches- a concoction that can give the skin a blue hue, if too much is consumed. A Coke to settle the kid’s stomach WAS the right prescription!
The old crank actually DID have something to teach a younger, smarter man about being a good general practitioner.
there’s a scene where he presents the necklace to her, puts it on her and everything. i don’t think it was meant to imply he was giving it to her, but more that he was showing her what he was capable of giving her. the line goes something like “there’s nothing i can’t do for you, there’s nothing i would deny you, if you would not deny me.” which i take to mean if she puts out more there would be more fabulous presents forthcoming.
there was definitely an insurance claim, brock asks old rose at the beginning who the name of the person was that filed said claim, to verify she was who she said she was.
Absolutely. Also, he gave her the necklace when she was engaged to be married to him; his supposition was that it would be worn by his wife, so that essentially it would still belong to him. It wasn’t so much a gift to the person Rose but to the role of Cal’s Wife.
Perhaps Rose couldn’t have sold the necklace since it was so immediately identifiable (although surely the chain was also valuable but not so unique), but it was an exquisite treasure. So she doesn’t want it anymore; so what? Why couldn’t she present it to a museum and let them duke it out with the insurance company, assuming it still existed, and leave this object of beauty in the wider world where it could be appreciated?
That ending ticked me off but good, and the deleted ending even more so.
I don’t think the law recognizes conditional gifts like that. IIRC, lawsuits trying to get engagement rings back after the marriage was called off have been unsuccessful.
So I think the necklace was hers, and Cal (unintentionally) committed insurance fraud. I don’t think they’d be successful in getting it back from her or her daughter (I guess they could go after Cal’s estate, if it still exists in some form).
I think they should have gone with that ending, with one small change – the large, bearded man shoves everyone else overboard.
I guess the kindest spin to put on the official ending of Titanic is that the diamond was too well-known for Rose to ever sell it without running into some kind of legal or personal trouble. IIRC she took on a new identity after being rescued and her mother and evil fiancee thought she’d died. After hanging onto the thing for years Elderly Rose figured she’d take the opportunity to return it to the wreckage of the Titanic, and let the treasure-hunters find it if they could. Even if they wound up having to hand it over to the insurance company, there’d at least be some fame and glory involved in recovering a famous diamond necklace from the Titanic. Although even then it seems like it would have been easier for Rose to just give the necklace to the treasure-hunters, let them say they found it in the wreckage, and ask them to cut the granddaughter in on any profits.
wow, i’m…really glad they went with the ending they did. that was terrible. it annoys me too that she tosses the necklace overboard, even though i understand why they did it. the scene they went with is at least a lot more subtle. we don’t need rose to spell out for us that love is all you need and is more important than material things. we get it. we just watched a 3 hour film where that is a major theme.
and, yes, brock would totally not have let that necklace go. or one of them would’ve dived in after it.