I get that a lot of people are put off by the ending, that we get nothing more than Kevin stroking Black's head, then a shot of Little at the beach. For a moment -- just a moment -- I was miffed too. Until I realized that the film's climax lay not in sexual resolution (eg, Kevin and Black having sex) but in Black's confession.

Let's face it: we were all waiting for some kind of narrative resolution, to have Black's troubles wiped away and to have visual affirmation of the desires he so obviously wants to fulfill (and that we haven't seen him fulfill, save with Kevin on the beach). But what we get instead, in the third part, is a film that mirrors Black's reticence to speak. (Remember what Kevin says to him, about Black not saying more than three words at once?) The third part is a build up to Black's admission to Kevin, of the love and desire he once experienced and presumably wants more of. The climax of the film, if you will, is this very confession.

Undoubtedly, Black could have sex whenever he wanted, what with his stunning face and body. But he has not sought, it would appear, sexual release (if we are to believe him -- which, I admit, I found a bit difficult to take); he wants emotional connection, one that would presumably entail that kind of sexual release and fulfillment. He seeks that with Kevin, at the end, and the beach is a touchstone that connects him to Kevin (as Chiron) and to (the now deceased) Juan, when he was Little.

Yet despite that this makes perfect sense, I will say that the film is still somewhat of a cheat at the end. Why can't queers have films that do show emotional and sexual fulfillment as part of a film's resolution? It's not as though there have been tons of such films out there, ever. Perhaps Jenkins wanted to eschew such "traditional" endings, lest the film appear too formulaic. Could be. But I want to have my cake and eat it too. haha!