The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

24 Rian Johnson
As a filmmaker it’s the most terrifying thing in the world to try to do,
because if you try it and it doesn’t work, then it’s pretentious. Everyone in
the theater will roll their eyes at the same time. It’s done so consistently
throughout the film and it molds so well into the tone and the text of it.
For me, the key is that it’s never done for the sake of itself. Like the conspiracy
theory line, he turns and directly addresses the camera. That’s not
what I remember about that line. What I remember is the truth of it. He’s
not turning to the camera for a wacky aside; it’s because of this fundamental
truth about what he’s doing in this relationship—that he’s deceiving himself
in order to avoid sleeping with her. The weight of it has just hit him, and it’s
snapped him out of the scene and caused this huge realization.
It’s not done for the sake of a stylistic gimmick; it’s done in the service
of the moment and scene. Consistently you can point to most of the stylistic
flourishes throughout the movie, and I think that’s the reason that they
work: they’re always to an end, never for themselves.
How has this film aged? How has your experience with this film changed
throughout the years?
Johnson: That’s the amazing thing: very little. If anything it has grown in
stature in my mind. What it achieved has become even more remarkable. I
hate the tendency to say, “Films today don’t do what they used to,” because
usually that’s bullshit. In any generation, people are reticent to take the risks
that this film does. One thing I’ll say about today versus back then, the idea
of taking the risks that this film took is frightening because there is less
tolerance on the part of audiences today. I’m emotionally affected by it each
time I see it. I appreciate what it pulled off.