This article discusses the ending of the Netflix film For Jojo, and will contain spoilers.
Ready Steady Cut film critic M.N. Miller calls For Jojo, “Funny with notes of Melancholy, Barbara Ott’s film is a hidden gem.“
Did Paula try? Oh, boy, did she ever. However, let us return to Jojo (Nin Gummich) and Paula (Caro Cult), two inseparable childhood friends. They would often play on the beach, no matter the weather, in their German seaside town. Now, in their late 20’s or early 30s, these two millennials are stuck in the worst case of arrested development since Buster Bluth zipped up his mother’s dress and had his hand bitten clean off by a seal. They are approaching the age where the Tinder life has begun to lose its charm—their dynamic changes when Jojo meets Daniel (Steve Sowah). When Jojo tries to tell her about it, she knows what will happen — it will not go over well.
And it does not. She even parks her car on a bridge in the middle of the day, stalling traffic. This new relationship is not a fling. This causes her to feel threatened. But why is that? Paula’s mother killed herself as a child because it was the only way out of an abusive marriage with Paula’s father. (He had a substance abuse problem and most likely used alcohol to self-medicate a mental health disorder). Essentially, Jojo has been her security blanket for decades. Any relationship is a threat.
For instance, when Paula sees Jojo riding some random guy on her bed from the balcony early in the film, she opens the sliding glass door to interrupt them. When Paula drops off Jojo at the airport, she smothers her when Jojo runs into Daniel. She wants to be the one who walks her best friend to the security. When they fly back into town, and he is there, she walks away pouting and leaving Jojo’s bag in the middle of the road. When Daniel’s ex-girlfriend approaches them at a restaurant, Paula incredibly offers her to join them instead of letting the awkward moment pass.
Paula has trouble finishing things, including law school. She spent six years cracking the books, failing her last exam, and never returning. Paula has no job and borrows too much from Jojo. She refuses to take one the unemployment office sets up for her. When they cut off her financial aid, she offers to sleep with her representative instead of working one of the two new jobs he has set up for her. She takes a job at a bowling alley as a maintenance worker. Paula has all the traits of someone with a borderline personality disorder. She fears abandonment and is terrified of being alone, which is why she hates the idea of marriage to Jojo. Paula has a history of unstable relationships. She is impulsive and demonstrates self-destructive behaviors. She is angry, has extreme mood swings, and feelings of emptiness.
Netflix film For Jojo ending explained
Paula befriends Daniel’s ex Ellin, and after they get drunk on the pier, Paula brings Ellie as her guest to Daniel’s house for a dinner party. Of course, everyone is caught off guard, and they never officially broke up. Ellie needed space and went to Mexico, while Steve thought that meant things had ended. (To clarify things, Ellin is team Rachel, while Daniel is team Ross). Paula leaves, and Jojo gets in her car to catch up with her, only to get out and push her into a field. They then drive to the dunes and walk.
What happens next is open to interpretation. There is a party on the beach and dancing. When Paula and Jojo lock eyes, they begin to dance together. She holds up her right hand, and they touch palm to palm, finger to finger. Paula says let us go home tomorrow and, “I need you.” They then put their left hands together. They begin to walk through the fields to the beach. As Jojo walks, she goes off-screen, and Paula watches a bird fly away. They are signifying that she should set Jojo free. Paula then walks onto the beach alone, sits, and looks out at the beach.
The following scenes show Daniel and Jojo getting married, and Paula is nowhere to be found. The film ends with Paula still looking out at sea.
What did you think of the ending of the Netflix film For JoJo? Comment below.
You can watch this film with a subscription to Netflix.
