MovieChat Forums > Near Dark (1988) Discussion > Anyone feel that Mae.....SPOILERS

Anyone feel that Mae.....SPOILERS

posted 10 years ago by Posh_babe
4 replies | jump to latest

I know that this film has been around for nearly 30 years now but I stuck a spoiler in the title in case someone still hasn't seen it.

I saw this a long time and loved it. It was on very late at night so it was either going to be rubbish and a filler or adult...in this case violence.

BUT I have a big problem with the ending: Mae gets to live. She may not have had much choice when she was turned (when was that by the way?) but she still chose to kill. She must have killed at least hundreds. Yet she gets to live? At least Caleb hadn't killed anyone and decided to let someone go - the bar scene - so I'm glad he was reunited with his family. Mae didn't deserve to.

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I'm not posh, I just like VB's clothes.

[–] resmat-1 10 years ago

I think the way the rest of the film is written left Bigelow without an easy choice for an ending, so I'm pretty okay with what we got. The audience is invested in Mae and Caleb's relationship, so an ending in which she's alone or dead would probably be too depressing.

It'd make Caleb's victory over the more evil vampires less satisfying because he'd have robbed Mae of her only companions, and it'd also arguably contradict Mae's earlier characterization and make her seem more evil because she's ignoring the chance to become a human again.

Jenny Wright, the actress, actually says something similar in her interview with the Punk Globe...

My character Mae longed for companionship in eternity, love. And in the end she nearly destroys herself to save a human..very unvampirick.. The ending was controversial but I believe in my heart that Katheryn Bigelow could not bear to see Mae destroyed along with the rest. Or wandering heart broken through eternity. Too sad. So it doesn't really work either way. I believe the director made the right choice.

http://www.punkglobe.com/jennywrightinterview1211.php

[–] Bamfurlong (26) 6 years ago

I would have liked a next day conversation between Caleb and Mae with Mae asking herself how she can fit in after killing so many people. How do you go from treating humans as food to treating them as equals.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

I’m quite happy with the movie the way that it is. Few resolutions in life are neat and tidy.

[–] PaladinNJ (21630) 6 years ago

She repented and save the little girl. In Caleb's mind that earned her the right to be saved.