A lot was going on in this movie; if one saw the ending without having seen the rest of it, they would conclude it was about a troubled marriage that was resolved, evidenced by the husband and the wife hugging and saying, "I love us." For me this was a weird and unsatisfactory ending to a movie that had so many issues touched upon. Here's a rundown: there was the issue of aging; changing body image; changing one's lifestyle from wild and crazy to settled and stable; all the issues of having not one, not two, but three children including the issues of pregnancy and childbirth; the issue of breast feeding and the considerable impact it has on one's body and one's lifestyle; the inevitable chasm that develops between a stay-at-home mom and a hard-working husband who also is trying to be a good dad; lack of sexual relationship for many justified reasons; post-partum depression; ruing the loss of pre-marriage and motherhood interests (in this case, she was an English Lit. major in college); homoerotic feelings and referred-to relationships, including implications of such between Theron main character and the nanny; need for self-care, respect and support; the considerable difficulties of having an autistic child; dealing with extended family; family financial issues; and ultimately the presence of subconscious dreams and goals present in both day and night dreams, impacting on her sense of her day-to-day life.
Yes, all of these were in this film, and there may be more which I've left out. Very ambitious to try and touch upon all this in an hour and a half or so. Though I enjoyed watching it, thanks to Charlize Theron's superb acting skills and much less to the script, when it finished I was sitting here going "Huh?" Is that what Diablo Cody intended? Somehow I don't think so, but then, who knows? Perhaps she was aiming for an overall sense of chaos with an ending that didn't really feel resolved.
Yes, all of these were in this film, and there may be more which I've left out. Very ambitious to try and touch upon all this in an hour and a half or so. Though I enjoyed watching it, thanks to Charlize Theron's superb acting skills and much less to the script, when it finished I was sitting here going "Huh?" Is that what Diablo Cody intended? Somehow I don't think so, but then, who knows? Perhaps she was aiming for an overall sense of chaos with an ending that didn't really feel resolved.