The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

Annie Hall
21
I don’t think it’s overcome, but appreciate.
Johnson: Appreciate I’d agree with.
It’s a more generous word. Now, you were telling me about what you
think is the saddest part of the movie. I’ll tell you what mine is. It’s a
very quick scene, and it probably tells you more about me than anything
else. It’s the scene in which he’s no longer with Annie and he’s at a
beach house someplace and he’s trying to catch a lobster. He’s trying to
re-create this whimsical moment, and he’s with a woman who just does
not get him. [laughter] To me, that is so sad.
Johnson: Yeah, and the line with the smoking and the woman asking him,
“Are you joking?”
What I love about the writing is it’s so self-conscious. It’s a joke at his
expense that’s extremely sad and revealing.
Johnson: It cuts right to the heart of what we were talking about before: his
inability to change, to the point where he’s actually trying to re-create a specific
moment. Instead of growing forward with her, he’s literally restaging—
which is exactly what he’s doing with the play that he’s writing. Also, if you
want to break these waves, it’s what he’s doing with this film, ostensibly. He’s
reliving it and trying to gain some sort of acceptance on it. Meanwhile, she’s
off in Los Angeles having personally grown.
Also, in terms of connecting with personal experience, anytime you’re
in the immediate aftermath of a breakup and you start dating—for some
reason that scene cuts to the heart of my experience. Every single date you
go on a month or two after a relationship ends, you’re comparing, and they
always pale in comparison.
Or not only that, but you have, “She would have loved this; she would
have appreciated this.” You end up haunting your own house at a certain
point. You mentioned the play Alvy Singer writes, which is one of
the great reveals. There’s a great line, “You know how you’re always trying
to get things to come out perfect in art because it’s real difficult in
life.” I realize you’re still at the beginning of your career, but have you
fallen prey to that in your own work?