This movie had a reasonably good start, a slow middle, and a disappointing ending. Don’t get me wrong. I thought it was good, almost worth the time and money I spent on it, but it wasn’t the thriller the previews suggested. It was simply the coming of age story of three young men. The real problem is that the central romance did not work out. Sure, two of the guys got their girl, but the one we’re all rooting for, the one that keeps us watching the long drawn out middle of the story, does not pay off. (Margo is a McGuffin.) Instead we get a lesson in relationships. See people as people, rather than some romantic scenario we build around them that includes ourselves in their world.
Ugh! I don’t want a lesson in relationships. This might be fine for people under the age of 22, but I’ve already had my teeth kicked in, secretly pining for someone then revealing it to her only to have her run from me. I go to movies for wish fulfillment, not reality. What good is a romance without the payoff? Let Quentin get the girl, and let Margo actually be worth having. They wouldn’t even need to change the tedious drawn out middle, just make a better ending.
Quentin is better off walking away from Margo. To redeem her, she either needs to repent and make amends (Love Redeems), or there needs to be some deeper purpose to her actions. I was rather hoping for the latter. Maybe she turns out to be something uber cool, like a government agent. Or perhaps she was trying to shake people out of their complacency and get them to embrace a fuller life, so it was really for their own good.
I imagine an alternate ending: A few years later, Margo opens the window to Quentin’s bedroom and slips back into his life, now that she has herself figured out.
Apparently, the novel ends with them vowing to keep in touch, which is better than the movie.