Jack resolves to commit himself in order to save his wife, believing that it is the only way to set her free. This occurs roughly two hours into the film, which has gradually developed its myriad interpersonal relationships, and so comes as an abrupt and very unjustified shift. Furthermore, this change is not reflected in Jay Anderson's character development; he continues to behave in a self-absorbed manner even after making the decision to move forward with the project. This ending is extremely disappointing because it removes any hope for a happy one where everyone can live their lives together again. It also contradicts what we have seen so far from the beginning, when many people believed that Janet could survive if only she had a chance. By killing himself, Jack denies Janet this chance and replaces it with loneliness and despair. At first glance, this ending might appear to be in line with the original story by Charles W. Dyson where Jean Renoir's character dies at the end. However, this was only true in the original version of the script where everything ended happily ever after. In the final cut, they changed the plot so that Jean Renoir's character survives.