Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
~Laozi
After posting my True Romance Story Map/Beat Sheet, I received a question regarding the ending. The person asked how the movie had changed the significance of Tarantino’s original ending. Now, we’re jumping into extremely subjective waters here, as you could easily argue that there are multiple themes centered around love in both the original script and movie. Then again, the climax is generally the ultimate expression of the theme, and Tony Scott changed it. You see, in Tarantino’s world, Clarence dies in the big shootout. I’ve read drafts from March ’91 and August ’92, the latter being closest to the movie. The March ’91 draft ends with Alabama contemplating suicide after Clarence’s death. She glances at the “You’re So Cool” napkin with the gun in her mouth and ultimately decides to live. Here’s how the script reads:
