Aahana Swrup
‘The Spectacular Now,’ James Ponsoldt’s 2013 coming-of-age film, primarily centers around the relationship that ends up becoming a life-altering collision between two teenagers. In his senior year of high school, Sutter Keely retains the same life lesson he has been holding onto his entire life—to live in the now. However, things change when he encounters Aimee Finicky, a girl almost too nice to a fault. Unexpectedly, the pair form a bond, learning life’s more challenging lessons from the other—even if not always to a favorable end.
The relationship that blooms out of Sutter and Aimee’s friendship becomes a defining moment in time for each individual whose lives end up forever changed in the aftermath. However, as things complicate near the end of their senior years, the duo’s relationship faces some extreme obstacles until it arrives on unstable ground. For the same reason, one can’t help but wonder whether their last encounter was a precarious end or the start of something new. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Sutter Wants to Rescue Aimee
From the beginning, Sutter’s and Aimee’s relationship has a shaky start. Sutter’s girlfriend, Cassidy, has recently dumped him after realizing he would never take his life seriously enough to escape his perpetually juvenile personality. As such, the boy is on the rebound, looking to get over his first real romantic heartbreak while simultaneously trying to avoid the permanent end of his relationship. Consequently, he doesn’t immediately feel any attraction toward her when he meets Aimee after waking up in a stranger’s yard with a hangover. In fact, at the start, the two steer their relationship toward a very platonic direction.
Sutter has no issues ghosting Aimee for days at a time, only to reach out to her again when he needs something. In turn, Aimee doesn’t hold the same against him even though she is visibly thrilled to catch his attention whenever she does. Still, the former always maintains a friendly disposition toward her, even going as far as to take a genuine interest in her life and hobbies. As such, it becomes evident that Sutter doesn’t have romance in his mind regarding his new friend. Instead, he almost views their dynamic as a mission to “save” Aimee by helping improve her life. She lives with a single mother who’s overtly controlling over her life to the point of exploitation. The teenager regularly completes her mother’s paper route without expecting any compensation for herself.
In fact, her mother has thrust this job onto her daughter as such a vital responsibility that she won’t allow Aimee to go to college after graduation. As a result, despite her lack of complaining, Sutter can see that Aimee lives a suffocating life and attempts to bring regular teenage antics—such as partying—into her routine. Furthermore, Sutter encourages Aimee to stand up to her mother since he can relate to the concept of living with an unavailable single mother. Therefore, somewhere along his quest to rescue Aimee from her unfulfilling life, Sutter opens up to the girl and lets her see the cracks in his own reality.
Aimee Compels Sutter to Face Reality
Sutter perpetually obfuscates his life in an attempt to downplay his own pain. From implying that Cassidy only broke up with him because she wrongfully accused him of cheating to painting a fake image of his father—the teenage boy wants people to believe his life is much simpler than it has been. Perhaps a part of his unreliability as a narrator emerges from his own unwillingness to hear the truth about himself. Therefore, things begin to change significantly as Aimee and Sutter’s dynamic moves past platonic friendship and into a romantic relationship. As the two grow closer, he begins to open up to Aimee in ways he hasn’t done to anyone else before.
Even though Sutter attempts to downplay their relationship at first, he eventually realizes how instrumental Aimee and her presence are in his life. However, in accepting the same, he also ends up facing the more brutal aspects of his reality, such as his father’s abandonment. Sutter desperately wants to believe his father, Tommy, is a good guy with complex reasons behind leaving his wife and kids. For the same reason, once he realizes that his father is simply an alcoholic who’s scared of reality, he can’t help but realize he’s paving the same path for himself.
Throughout this entire journey, Aimee remains a constant presence by Sutter’s side, offering support. Nevertheless, he realizes that his faulty devil-may-care perspective on life will only harm her in the long run. As the truth about his father emerges, he’s forced to face every other truth about himself—including his alcoholism and inability to grow up. Ultimately, the same leads to a tragic accident, where Aimee gets hit by a car as a result of an argument. Even though she recovers and forgives the boy in the blink of an eye, it opens up an inextricable truth for Sutter about his own toxicity. Consequently, in the end, Sutter abandons Aimee, compelling her to leave for college without him.
Aimee and Sutter’s Reunion in Philadelphia
As their relationship progresses, Aimee and Sutter make plans to move to Philadelphia together after graduation. However, when the time comes, Sutter leaves her hanging at the bus stop. Despite being left high and dry by her boyfriend, Aimee moves forward in her life and leaves for college on her own. Meanwhile, Sutter’s life spirals even further out of control. His awful grades prevent him from graduating, and his alcoholism leaves him unemployed. By that point, Sutter seems to have given up entirely, accepting that he’s too afraid to grow up as a fact of life.
Sutter’s entire life, he has been able to hide behind the mask of nonchalance as everyone around him assumes he is better off without any guidance. However, in the end, all it gets him is a lonely place in a near-empty bar. Yet, all is not lost for the teenager. After Sutter returns home, drunk and disorderly, he and his mother have a confrontation where the latter instills confirmation about Sutter’s positive qualities. He hides behind his class-clown, life-of-the-party persona that can’t exist beyond his high school years.
Therefore, once Sutter’s mother affirms he’s bigger than his perceptions by reminding him of his helpful and kind nature, Sutter is able to hold on to a version of his future where he doesn’t end up as his father. As a result, in the end, he decides to get better, even if the path ahead seems complicated. One aspect of the same is his relationship with Aimee. Sutter knows he messed up with Aimee on several levels. Yet, he can also feel the undeniable connection they had. Thus, he travels to Philadelphia to see her again.
However, once Sutter and Aimee’s paths cross, uncertainty lingers. Unlike her old self, Aimee isn’t instantly ecstatic to see her ex-boyfriend, willing to throw every complication to the wind for the chance of a reunion. Her time at college has likely brought new perspectives and friends into her life that have made her re-evaluate her relationship with Sutter. Similarly, it’s also likely that she hasn’t been waiting around for him and has moved on already. For the same reason, all Sutter gets for his presence is a small, awkward smile and a metaphorical sea of distance between him and Aimee.
The ending seems to signify an unseen growth within Aimee, where she has learned from her past mistakes and is willing to put her own well-being first. While the same doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no possible future for her and Sutter—it certainly enforces an imperative change has occurred that will prevent her from allowing mistreatment again. Ultimately, the ending reminds the viewers that even though Sutter is the protagonist of his story, his actions affect others in substantial ways. Therefore, his decision to seek out Aimee again remains a complete shot in the dark, concluding his story on an ambiguous note as he finally faces the uncontrollable consequences of his actions.
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