We have just witnessed the impeachment of a President for his lies and prevarication in a civil deposition, while the U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that it would not criminally prosecute the corporate CEO's of the country's largest tobacco companies who, under oath, testified before Congress that the nicotine in tobacco used for smoking was not addictive. While Attorney Generals in various states and, now, the US Department of Justice have filed civil suits against tobacco companies, we cannot expect the corporate leaders of these companies and the legions of lawyers who helped placed them beyond the law for so many years will ever be criminally punished for their work. This may be a great mark of justice, letting capitalists do what they do and in the way they do it, or simply a measure of the evil we tolerate in our economic and legal system. In still another scene, Kirkland talks with Judge Fleming while he is swimming, and attempts to explain to the Judge how the punishment of Jeff is unjust. Just punishment doesn't work.
Rehabilitation is a farce.
It might be interesting to note that Weir studied both arts and law at the University of Sydney before he dropped out of school and headed off to London. I have to be honest and say that I didn't find the solution to the problem of how to end the film. I have seen it happen with other filmmakers. . . . You can't end it. You can try to be clever, and I tried a couple of other endings . . .