31 Silver Linings – A Writing Challenge {Day 20}

I remember the first time I saw a movie in the theater that didn’t have a happy ending.  I can’t recall the movie but I do recall my feeling of betrayal.  Where was the happy ending? Why weren’t the storylines tied up in the end with a neat little bow? Why couldn’t I just leave the theater feeling good?

I went to see The Judge tonight with a dear friend.  Overall, I felt it was very well done;  it really catches its groove about a quarter of the way in and then there is no turning back.  It’s the tale of a prodigal son, returned for his mother’s funeral and then caught up in helping the father who’d turned away from him many years before.  The family dynamics are real and touching; each character’s pain is almost palpable as they are forced to deal with not only what broke them apart but also what brought them back together.  The end was not quite as I’d expected and that will have to suffice, lest I give too much away.

But I will say this:  I’ve come to appreciate the movies that leave you wondering how it all turned out or what happened next, that leave you hoping for an outcome but uncertain as to whether it will be so or not – the tales where everything is not neatly wrapped up in the end, where sometimes things are still just a mess.  Because guess what?  That’s life.  It’s messy.  It doesn’t always turn out the way we’d hope and we’re often left wondering what is next. We’re not entitled to a happy ending and it’s by no means guaranteed.  But oh how much sweeter it is then when we do find one…