The Happy Ending

In 1953, Mary Spencer leaves college to marry Fred Wilson, beginning an idyllic life together. Their wedding mirrors the hopeful endings of the films Mary loves, and they settle into a conventional suburban routine.

Mary and Fred's relationship seems content, with Mary putting aside her ambitions to support a domestic life. They enjoy the quiet rhythms of a happy marriage as years pass in the background.

On their 16th anniversary, Fred tells their maid Agnes that he found vodka hidden in Mary's wardrobe and asks her to keep an eye on his wife. Mary decides she cannot bear the life any longer and buys a one-way ticket to Nassau, seeking escape.

During the flight to Nassau, Mary recalls the horrors of last year's anniversary party, when Fred drunkenly flirted with a blonde divorcee and she turned to alcohol in despair. The memory fuels her determination to start over in the Bahamas.

In Nassau, Mary unexpectedly meets Flo, an old college friend who has lived a carefree, hedonistic life with a string of lovers. Flo promises to look after Mary as she hides from Fred.

At a casino, Mary meets Franco, a hustler who pretends to be wealthy and a journalist covering film stars. He assumes Mary is rich and schemes accordingly, but loses interest when he discovers she is not.

Walking by the ocean, Mary recalls the time she learned Fred was in Reno with another woman and her subsequent suicide attempt. The memory touches off a spiral of drinking and reckless behavior that followed.

In the present, Sam proposes to Flo, who accepts. Mary then flies back home, stepping back into her life with Fred and Marge while beginning to plan a new life.

Agnes helps Mary move into rooms she rents away from Fred and Marge, signaling a separation and new independence. Mary begins to reassemble her life apart from her husband.

She takes a job and enrolls in night classes at the university. This marks the start of her renewed independence and a search for personal identity.

One evening Fred finds Mary on campus and asks what went wrong, noting that their friends are married and seem happy, while their own life feels unsettled. The moment triggers a painful, honest conversation.

They admit they still love each other, but Mary argues that love alone isn't enough to sustain a marriage. As they walk toward the university entrance, she asks if they would marry again if they weren't married, and Fred's lack of a clear answer leaves their future uncertain.