Major spoilers!!

You have been warned.

Seriously.

Ok here we go. When I saw this movie I could've sworn that he drove the scooter over the cliff and I thought it was the perfect ending. He's obviously ruined his life, is more hooked on drugs than ever, penniless, homeless, hated, banished from family & society and locked in a death spiral that can't be fixed. Short of a 'deus ex machina' ending, death is his only release.

Then I read a critic's review of how he walks away from the cliff in the opening flash-forward, so I watched the ending again and sure enough he's not on the scooter as it goes over. Great movie either way, but does anyone else feel sorta cheated that this kid who has repeatedly done everything in his power to sabotage himself into a hopeless corner would suddenly, in literally the last 2 seconds, have a dramatic turnaround that implies a happy ending? The Who fans, is this how the original story ends?