Happy endings and films

Why are we so suspicious of happy endings? Is it simply because we want to assert we are no longer children and deserve an adult approach? Or is it for fear of moral convention and lazy commonplace entertainment? The happy ending in films is often disregarded by critics who see it merely as an element much too marked by convention and external influences to be worthy of interest. On the contrary, this volume, which includes a series of twelve original essays preceded by a methodological introduction, places the question of the positive outcome under scrutiny and reveals that it is a mistake to consider it as monolithic. The essays in this collection, by noted film critics and promising young researchers, provide insight into «rom-coms» as well as auteur and heritage films and reflect the diversity of the relationship between films and happy endings. Contributions ranging from classical Hollywood cinema to contemporary film thus point to the complexity of a too hastily dismissed convention.