QIf Joel threw his tape out the window, how did he listen to it later?
AThe tape that Joel threw out the window of his car isn't the tape from Lacuna. This point probably confuses more people than any other single point in the movie. It's a music tape -- perhaps prerecorded but more likely a mix tape, based on the lack of any visible label. Notice that when Joel ejects the tape, the music (Beck singing Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime) stops and the console briefly flashes the frequency of a radio station before the cut. According to Kaufman, this is a mix tape which Joel and Clem had enjoyed together and that the song is "their song." (It's been noted that using a cassette tape in 2004 is, like many other things, a retro element of the movie.) At the time Joel tosses the tape, he is on his way home from Lacuna, with the erasure planned for that evening. The movie is running in "real time" at this point, but has just jumped backward from the morning of February 16 (when Joel and Clem stop in front of Clem's apartment) to the evening of February 13, just before Joel's erasure. According to Howard's instructions, Joel should have turned this tape in to Lacuna. Probably in his haste, he just forgot. On the way home, he realized that he still had the tape, and either tossed it to avoid encountering it later (per the Lacuna procedure) or just found it too painful to keep. This fits in with the rest of the movie, since Lacuna kept everyone's tapes (as seen with Mary returning them), and at the end of the movie, after the reunion, "their song" comes on again over the final credits and plays in its entirety.
QWhat happened at the end of the film? Will Joel and Clementine remain together?
AThe original concept of the film involved Joel and Clementine getting together and breaking up many times, indicating that they will be somewhat 'together' forever. This was cut short for time, and they only ended up having one (and a half) relationships.
The laughing at the end signifies that the two are happy as they are, and even though there is the distinct possibility that eventually they will get sick of each other and break up, their current feelings towards each other are strong enough for them to continue their relationship no matter what the outcome may be. The viewer in this case gets to decide what the outcome is. However, just before the credits, it can be seen how they are playing in the snowy beach, several times, before the movie fades to white, black, and credits. This can indicate a draft of the original concept.
QWhere are Montauk, Rockville Centre, and "the frozen Charles?"
AThe route from Montauk to Rockville Centre to Boston can be seen here. Most of the story takes place in Rockville Centre NY, a town on Long Island about five miles east of Queens (the easternmost borough of New York City). It's just a few miles east of the easternmost road leaving Long Island. Joel's apartment is about 0.4 mile from the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) Rockville Centre station. Montauk NY is about 100 miles east of Rockville Centre NY, at the eastern tip of Long Island. Montauk Point State Park is at the very tip, and the town of Montauk is adjacent. The train ride would be about two and a half to three hours. The Charles River is in Boston MA. Boston is about 220 miles from Rockville Centre NY, about a 4-1/2 hour drive, perhaps 3-1/2 hours late at night. (It's all on freeways, but the traffic is heavy.) Thus a trip to the Charles River (in Boston) from Rockville Centre is a major drive, about 7 hours round trip, minimum. From Rockville Center NY, the bearings to Boston MA and Montauk NY are only about 30 degrees apart. However, because the only way to cross Long Island Sound east of Rockville Centre is by ferry, Boston and Montauk might as well be in opposite directions from Rockville Centre. The location of the Lacuna office is in lower Manhattan. However, this isn't really significant in the movie. Technically, it's a bit less convenient to reach from Rockville Centre than you'd guess from the movie. It's portrayed as something local, and that's the significant part.Some people have noted the apparently rural character of the "frozen Charles" scenes and the apparent incongruity with the location in central Boston. Nonetheless, there's little ambiguity about the location, because the Charles is a short river, with the source only 26 air miles from the mouth. See here for more information. There are lots of parks along the Charles River even in the urban area. However, the scenes could also imply the outer areas of the Charles, which are closer to Interstates 95 and 495 nearer to the source. The distant headlights in the background would imply this. Also in these areas, the ice would be thicker given the shallower depth; within the immediate Boston area, the ice is generally too thin to safely walk across.
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