10 Movie Scenes Everyone Gets Wrong

9. "I'll Never Let Go" Isn't Literal - Titanic

Ghostbusters Ray
Fox

Folks love to make fun of James Cameron's Titanic for the climactic sequence where Rose (Kate Winslet) tells Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), "I'll never let go," only to quite literally let go of him moments later as she's rescued.

Despite how widely-parroted this scathing reading of the scene is, it's of course completely wrong.

Rose isn't literally talking about the physical act of letting go of Jack as he freezes to death in the water, but of holding onto life, not giving up, and ultimately living the adventurous life she wants rather than the one that's expected of her by her family and her status.

And ultimately, that's what she does, with the moving final sequence showing the full, joyous life Rose ended up living.

This should all seem obvious enough to anyone who's actually watched the movie, and yet, it's basically the most low-effort putdown that gets fielded against Titanic whenever somebody feels like lazily slinging mud at it online.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.