Bastard Out of Carolina’s ending is heartwarming, and we shall explain it to you. The film has drama and gores violent scenes and thus, it is advised to watch the same with parental supervision. It was released back in 1996 and shows the elements of how a woman, even after going through a toxic relationship, might find it difficult to get out of it, even when it costs the health of the people she loves.
The narrative that we see on the screen is through the eyes of a small, abused girl named Ruth Anne. Her mother calls her Bone. The plot has been taken from a novel written by Dorothy Allison which throws light on the American step-parent culture and how sometimes it can be the cause of trauma among children. Bastard Out of Carolina manages to showcase some of the real elements that happen in families and even won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting.
Coming back to the plot of the film, we see a young girl named Bone who lives with her mother in South Carolina along with her extended family. Her mother, Anney, gave birth to her out of wedlock and is currently single. Anney longs for a man’s love and is desperate to get it. Anney soon marries a man named Glen Waddell.
Plot
Anney, Bone, and Glen start living together in a beautiful home. Their life is going perfect until Anney gets pregnant but loses their child at birth. This is all a tragedy befallen upon Bone as Glen starts abusing and molesting her. News breaks out that Anney cannot have more children. Glen becomes overly furious but does not show anger at Anney, but rather at Bone. He starts beating Bone and sexually molesting her in the bathroom or wherever he would find her alone.
One night, Bone is unable to walk because of all her injuries. Anney takes her to the hospital and turns out, Bone’s coccyx is broken because Glen hit her so hard that night. Anney now knows the truth and she slaps Glen’s hand away as he tries to make amends. She obviously wants to take care of her child and drops the little girl off to her sister Alma’s child in irder to heal and move beyond the trauma.
Glen tries to become a better man and promises to never abuse Bone. Anney returns to him once again as soon as Bone is recovered. Although, the abuse starts a short while later and Bone is now trapped in the house with Glen yet again. The plot starts developing soon as Anney’s relatives starts finding out the truth. One of her uncles beats Glen terribly for doing what he did to the innocent kid.
Bastard Out of Carolina Ending Explained
Bone starts living with her aunts. Although, Anney is quite unhappy without her and Glen feels terrible. When her guardians are not at home, Glen goes over and tries to force her back to his home. When she refuses, he rapes her. Anney finds out about the rape and smashes a bottle over Glen’s head which results in him bleeding excessively.
Anney tries to leave with Bone although, Glen screams his apologies at the top of his lungs. Her mother tells him to stay away from them and it feels like she is finally driving off for good. Although, Glen starts to hit his head against the car and asks Anney to kill him if she can not be with him because he loves her. She soon forgives the man and unfortunately returns to him. As for Bone, she narrates how she is now disgusted and has a hatred for her own mother for the first time.
The police then places Bone with her Uncle and Aunt Raylene. Her mother visits one last time before the ending of the film and brings a birth certificate without the illegitimate mark on it. Her mother could either choose Glen’s love or her daughter’s support and she decided to go back to the man who raped her daughter continuously. The movie ends with Bone crying as she describes herself as a Bastard Out of Carolina.
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