This speech gave Joe's fiancee's family back to themselves, as he saw himself leaving it; as he had really never been part of it, or never would have been - even if his fiance hadn't died.
This gesture was the ultimate loving act, and the most liberating act for all concerned.. to help the dead girl finally rest in peace; to help the killer get some shot at mercy; to help himself move on, as well as helping the dead girl's family get free of imppossible grief, obligation, revenge-motivation, and all the rest. It helped Susan Sarandon get back to her writing. And most of all, it helped the audience, who might have ever been caught up in any kind of remotely similar quandry...to identify, to find a similar strength to get clear, and then likewise move on.
This is a magnificent film, with luminous legendary talent alongside of some equally impressive newcomers.
This is a film for today's truth seeking audience, the kind of audience who might have remembered another "Ben" played by a post-graduate Dustin Hoffman, and another famous scene of his back in 1967 where he ducked breathless into a closet to escape some carniverous party-goers, so close to the action of this film's protagonist, that it couldn't have been an accident....
This is a film, as Francis Bacon (sort of) put it so long ago in his reference to thoughtful books, to be "chewed slowly and digested."
This is a film in the best tradition of original storytelling for the benefit and uplift of us all, and in my opinion, succeeds marvelously. I say bravo to all concerned... actors, director/producer, writers, and thank you all for using your craft to make the world a better place.
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