The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

18 Rian Johnson
The Godfather, and this film comes after Keaton starred in the first two
Godfathers. This is Allen and Keaton’s fourth film together (after Play It
Again Sam, Love and Death, and Sleeper), and they had a romantic history.
He is essentially directing his ex-girlfriend.
Johnson: [laughter]—in a film about their relationship.
Maybe not about their relationship explicitly, but about a failed relationship.
Did you know that going in?
Johnson: I know that now, but when I first watched it I didn’t. It’s hard to
try, as a viewer, to attribute the genuineness of the film to that, and I’m sure
that’s there. At the same time, it’s such a swamp to get into—to try to and
attribute the success of the film to whatever personal contexts you as a film
viewer or as a reader think you have. The reality of the situation between
them, the reality of how much of [Keaton and Allen’s] relationship was in
there. On a basic level it’s hard to imagine that he had a history with her and
they were broken up at the time. Also, it’s hard to watch her performance
and not feel like there’s something genuine at work there—not feel like he’s
tapping into something that’s fundamentally her.
What scene sticks with you most?
Johnson: There’s a lot because this film, almost more than any other, is presented
as a series of tableaus, as a series of scenes. There’s the second scene
when she sings at the cabaret. In the first one they’re on their first date, and
it was awkward because she sang and nobody listened to her.
Then, in the second scene, you see her commanding the crowd through
her performance on the stage, and through the ambience of the cabaret.
The fact that it’s quiet and people are listening—through that you see more
than you could in any other way. I can’t imagine a stronger way to portray
her growth as a human being from that first scene to the second scene.
And, at the same time, realizing what that means for their relationship, in
the context of what the whole film is about—their relationship. It’s a very
powerful thing, especially when you think in our own lives about how we
get into relationships with people, and then people grow. How it’s wonderful
for them, but that line about a relationship being like a shark. It has to
be constantly moving forward, otherwise it dies.