Paper Moon - Ending Explained

The plot of "Paper Moon" culminates in a series of events that test the bond between Moses and Addie. After their successful cons, their partnership is threatened by the arrival of Trixie Delight, a carnival dancer Moses becomes infatuated with. He spends their money on her, including buying a new car. Seeing Trixie as a threat, Addie conspires with Trixie's maid, Imogene, to expose Trixie's promiscuity. They set up a situation where Moses walks in on Trixie with a hotel clerk, leading a disgusted Moses to abandon her.

Their success is short-lived. They run a bootlegging con where they steal whiskey and sell it back to the bootlegger. However, the bootlegger's twin brother is the local sheriff (both roles played by John Hillerman). Though they initially escape, the sheriff and his deputies later catch up with them across the state line in Missouri. Since they are out of their jurisdiction and cannot arrest him, they brutally beat Moses and steal all of his and Addie's money.

Defeated, broke, and humiliated, Moses finally drives Addie to her aunt's house in St. Joseph, Missouri, fulfilling his original promise. He gives her the photo she had taken of herself on the paper moon at the carnival and leaves her on the porch. The seemingly inevitable, 'proper' ending has arrived. However, as Moses drives away, he sees Addie running after him down the road. She tearfully confronts him, yelling that he still owes her $200. As they argue, his truck begins to roll away down the hill. Addie points it out, and as Moses scrambles to catch it, she climbs in. The final shot shows them driving off together down the long, empty road, their partnership restored. The ending reveals that the bond they formed is more powerful than the promise of a stable, conventional life for Addie. She chooses the 'make-believe' world with Moses, making it her reality.

The central ambiguity of "Paper Moon" revolves around the question of Moses and Addie's biological relationship. The film deliberately leaves this open to interpretation, and different readings of their bond change the emotional resonance of the story.

One interpretation is that Moses is, in fact, Addie's father. His staunch denial is a defense mechanism, a way to avoid responsibility. In this reading, the entire film is about him slowly and subconsciously coming to accept his paternal role, with the final scene representing his full, albeit unspoken, embrace of fatherhood. The physical resemblance noted by the neighbors at the beginning of the film supports this view.

Another perspective is that they are not related by blood. In this interpretation, the film becomes a more profound statement on the nature of chosen family. Their bond is not one of biological obligation but one forged through shared struggle, mutual respect, and genuine affection. It suggests that the roles of 'father' and 'daughter' are not defined by genetics but by actions and emotional connection. The ending, in this light, is a conscious choice by both individuals to be a family, which is perhaps even more powerful than if they were related by blood.

The ending itself is also open to interpretation. Is their reunion a happy one, promising more charming adventures? Or is it a tragic choice, with Addie forsaking a chance at a normal life for a precarious existence of crime and instability with a fundamentally unreliable guardian? Some viewers see the ending as uplifting and inevitable, the only right conclusion for their story. Others view it with a sense of melancholy, understanding that while they have each other, their future is uncertain and potentially dangerous.