How this could've been truly great -- *** spoiler warning!! ***

Rating: 8/10 (15 October 2007)

I propose a very simple fix to the story that could've turned this from a gritty, edgy, disturbing, but a bit flawed and confused film to one of the great horror tragedies of all time:
Don't have him abandon her in the beginning -- make the separation between them unpreventable (they end up separated by forces beyond either's control). Look what ensues:
1. You have her "miraculous" immunity which allows her to survive and eventually reunite with the husband.
2. The reuniting carries with it no taint of regret, revenge, etc. Only pure re-kindled love.
3. What seems to be joyful reunion turns into tragic betrayal/murder.
4. This eventuality plays in perfectly with the theme of the film: survival of the individual has taken total precedence over love and human-to-human connection. The lie the two believe is that the blessing of her individual survival can carry on to encompass their love as well. In a horrible irony, just the opposite occurs. The blessing becomes a terrible curse. Absolute love is doomed to be completely inverted into absolute hate, and becomes a terrible symbol of a society dependent on love and community for survival imploding in on itself.
I don't understand why the film-makers couldn't have seen this. What we have instead is an irritating ambiguity:
1. If she's bent on revenge for his abandonment, which some scenes such as the vision he has later of her bitter expression indicate, then it wouldn't seem practical for her to plant the kiss of death on him when she herself has no chance of escape.
2. If she's planning revenge/suicide, the horrified reaction she has to his transformation belies this.
3. If she's simply forgiven him, then what is the purpose of his abandoning her in the first place?
Frustrating...such a missed opportunity.