Adam

So there is this excellent movie, called Adam. And I will forewarn you, if you haven't seen the movie, I will be giving away much of it, aka the ending.

So I just got back into town. I had an excellent few hours on the road, and I wasn't even bummed about the 40 minute standstill. Driving is thinking time. I blasted mindless radio music, my hands not at 2 and 10, my mind on a roller-coaster. And the movie Adam popped in my head. At the end, he receives a package from a girl named Beth, with a book. Enclosed is a note: "Look how far we've come". Someone I once knew, asked me what I thought it meant. What happened to the characters once the screen stopped rolling. I didn't know.

But now I think I do. A happy ending does not necessarily mean getting back together with the one you thought was the one. It does not necessarily mean your life becomes what you had thought was meant to be. Instead, this happy ending was about growth. Those people were important people and just because it didn't turn out as you had thought, everything happens for a reason. It wasn't important whether or not Adam got back together with Beth. What mattered was that he had changed. He thought he could only be happy with her and he thought he could only survive with her. But it was the challenge of going against everything he thought, that he proved himself wrong.

I think I decided that Adam does not get back with Beth. Instead, she retains an eternal spot in his heart, for the impact she caused in his life. And he can now move on in his life and grow up. And start fresh. Or maybe he does get back with her. Actually I still don't know what happens. I thought I did for a second there. But now I can't be sure. But who knows.

Obviously I have no idea what the writers of the movie personally intended. I'd like to think they knew what they wanted, and just didn't include it so as the frustrate the viewers. Open endings are both soooo unsatisfying, but oh so good. That much I can say.

But I too would like to send a letter one day, simply saying, "Look how far we've come". I am not sure of my intentions either. Only that I hope one day I can send it.

I leave you with another quote from the movie:

"Liars is all you gonna run across in this world. A mans gotta learn the difference between just plain liars, and liars, worth lovin. " - Harlan