Why do we pair-bond?
Compatibility, desire, neediness, companionship, children etc.
Does true love - the ostensible reason for pair bonding really exist?
People readily oppress and box each other in…
whether it be formal society or “outsiders”.
To truly be outside is very difficult.
It is said that to not need others to be a god or an animal.
The film takes the animal route from start to end.
Love. Does it exist? Not here. “Successful relationships” (the bleeders fake and real, the hotel manager willing to kill the wife he loves very much etc. will make it through). Their fates are not shown but the societal pressures shown will weld them back together.
Which brings to the stars - Farrell and Weisz . Their love threatens the outsider system. The end of the film is supposedly up to one’s interpretation but if one looks at the relationships the director presents, we can figure out what happens.
Weisz is shortsighted but gets caught by her desire to see. She knew something was wrong but had to get better vision. She, of course, is now near helpless. Farrell stops bringing her the goodies - rabbits - and gets tired of playing games with the helpless blind girl.
She senses this from him, lies about better senses (when she couldn’t hear clearly enough to tell her leader tricked her into murder, and couldn’t feel the tennis ball was not a fruit), and does the “If you love me, blind yourself”.
That ain’t love. Love wants to lift the loved one up. She wants to bring him down…echoes of 1984…she asked the leader, “Why didn’t you blind him?”
The screen goes blank. To trick the viewers. To give us the false dichotomy: 1) He blinds himself 2) He doesn’t blind himself.
He leaves.
The end scene mirrors the first scene of the woman shooting a former partner (now an animal) to end the relationship.
He goes because she demands more than he can give.
