The Whisper (yet again)...
Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 5:25 pm
OK – this has been talked to death – what more can possibly be said? Well, I’ve been thinking about this in relation to something that happened in my life – not my “Charlotte” situation, but something else. And I finally see the “reaffirming” reaction that many people had at this scene – vs. the “kick in the stomach” that I and so many others felt.
This may be hard to follow – but I’ll try my best. First – I’ve always believed that LiT was semi-autobiographical for Sofia. That actually seems pretty likely from things I’ve read. I always wondered who “Bob” was in her life – not that it mattered – and how things ended for her. I always thought it more likely that they ended in the unsatisfying way they did for Bob and Charlotte at the hotel. Looks, thoughts, but no words.
One of the criticisms I always had of the whisper scene was how ridiculously unlikely it was that Bob would happen to see Charlotte on the streets of Tokyo – and get that last chance at closure that slipped away just minutes before. Contrived – I thought. Sofia could have written that out better.
But I also recall Ebert once writing that EVERYTHING that happens in a film is intentional. Every scene – every word – every item in a shot (well, there are bloopers that get past the editor, but you know what I mean). So maybe the “contrived” nature of this actually was intentional.
OK – I’m getting to a point that may be giving her more credit than she deserves, but I have just very recently thought of this differently. First – Sofia was disappointed in how her Bob/Charlotte situation ended – and she wrote that in as the awkward part in the hotel. Then she wrote in the type of closure she wished she had – but in such an unrealistic setting as if to say “in real life, it’s unlikely that you would ever actually get the type of closure that Bob and Charlotte managed to get.”
And then there is the whisper. Always, to me and most people, it was saying that Bob and Charlotte shared a private moment – after seeing them interact through the movie, we now are not privileged to hear what Bob said that made Charlotte smile, Bob smile, and both of them seemingly be able to move on. Some of us want to believe he said “call me”. Others of us want to believe it was one last expression of support for her to find her own way in life. The words were not important – the fact that they were said and had their effect of a satisfying closure was.
Now here is the real stretch. Maybe – Sofia didn’t get her closure in the same way, but after some time realized it was there all along. Whatever Bob whispered was unlikely to be something Charlotte didn’t already “know”. It may have been expressed for the first time verbally, but I suspect she knew how he felt. Had Bob not “miraculously” ran into her, would she live out her life wondering how Bob felt or wondering if Bob cared or wonder if Bob supported her? Of course not. So it may have been for Sofia. The “whisper” may have symbolized the voice in her head that told her – in the absence of the closure she wanted – how her Bob really felt.
In other words – as much as we want certain words to be said to us to close out a chapter in our lives, those “words” are probably already there. In the chapter in my life that made me think of this – I was the one wandering the streets so to speak, hoping for something more to help me move on. Wanting a “whisper” – one more verbalization of the support I needed. (Or better yet, one more night of karaoke or conversation.) But that’s not always realistic. It would be unfair for Charlotte to expect Bob to find her on the street and say exactly the right thing. Sometimes the circumstances aren’t right for that to happen.
Sofia realized that and maybe was trying to say that in this scene. Anyway – that’s what I take from this now. We would all like to think that Bob and Charlotte could meet again someday. And maybe they can. But for now, there is a greater need for Charlotte to assess what she has and doesn’t have – and continuing hanging out with Bob would just delay what needs to get done.
Can they meet again? Of course they can – when the time is right. The connection was never severed. But if they don’t – that doesn’t reduce the significance of what happened. Anyway – that’s not what is important at this point in their lives. In fact, it would be an insult to the connection they had if Charlotte dwelled on Bob and Tokyo rather than move toward fixing what was wrong. I’m sure now that Bob wouldn’t object to hearing from Charlotte at some time – but he would object if he thought it came at the expense of her working out her life.
It’s nice to get that last “pep talk” – that last “whisper”. But I suspect Sofia eventually did just fine without it - because it was there inside her all along.
(I do want to end by saying that I actually did get my “whisper” in the situation I was referring to. Obviously I would have moved on without it, but I’m certainly grateful it came.)
This may be hard to follow – but I’ll try my best. First – I’ve always believed that LiT was semi-autobiographical for Sofia. That actually seems pretty likely from things I’ve read. I always wondered who “Bob” was in her life – not that it mattered – and how things ended for her. I always thought it more likely that they ended in the unsatisfying way they did for Bob and Charlotte at the hotel. Looks, thoughts, but no words.
One of the criticisms I always had of the whisper scene was how ridiculously unlikely it was that Bob would happen to see Charlotte on the streets of Tokyo – and get that last chance at closure that slipped away just minutes before. Contrived – I thought. Sofia could have written that out better.
But I also recall Ebert once writing that EVERYTHING that happens in a film is intentional. Every scene – every word – every item in a shot (well, there are bloopers that get past the editor, but you know what I mean). So maybe the “contrived” nature of this actually was intentional.
OK – I’m getting to a point that may be giving her more credit than she deserves, but I have just very recently thought of this differently. First – Sofia was disappointed in how her Bob/Charlotte situation ended – and she wrote that in as the awkward part in the hotel. Then she wrote in the type of closure she wished she had – but in such an unrealistic setting as if to say “in real life, it’s unlikely that you would ever actually get the type of closure that Bob and Charlotte managed to get.”
And then there is the whisper. Always, to me and most people, it was saying that Bob and Charlotte shared a private moment – after seeing them interact through the movie, we now are not privileged to hear what Bob said that made Charlotte smile, Bob smile, and both of them seemingly be able to move on. Some of us want to believe he said “call me”. Others of us want to believe it was one last expression of support for her to find her own way in life. The words were not important – the fact that they were said and had their effect of a satisfying closure was.
Now here is the real stretch. Maybe – Sofia didn’t get her closure in the same way, but after some time realized it was there all along. Whatever Bob whispered was unlikely to be something Charlotte didn’t already “know”. It may have been expressed for the first time verbally, but I suspect she knew how he felt. Had Bob not “miraculously” ran into her, would she live out her life wondering how Bob felt or wondering if Bob cared or wonder if Bob supported her? Of course not. So it may have been for Sofia. The “whisper” may have symbolized the voice in her head that told her – in the absence of the closure she wanted – how her Bob really felt.
In other words – as much as we want certain words to be said to us to close out a chapter in our lives, those “words” are probably already there. In the chapter in my life that made me think of this – I was the one wandering the streets so to speak, hoping for something more to help me move on. Wanting a “whisper” – one more verbalization of the support I needed. (Or better yet, one more night of karaoke or conversation.) But that’s not always realistic. It would be unfair for Charlotte to expect Bob to find her on the street and say exactly the right thing. Sometimes the circumstances aren’t right for that to happen.
Sofia realized that and maybe was trying to say that in this scene. Anyway – that’s what I take from this now. We would all like to think that Bob and Charlotte could meet again someday. And maybe they can. But for now, there is a greater need for Charlotte to assess what she has and doesn’t have – and continuing hanging out with Bob would just delay what needs to get done.
Can they meet again? Of course they can – when the time is right. The connection was never severed. But if they don’t – that doesn’t reduce the significance of what happened. Anyway – that’s not what is important at this point in their lives. In fact, it would be an insult to the connection they had if Charlotte dwelled on Bob and Tokyo rather than move toward fixing what was wrong. I’m sure now that Bob wouldn’t object to hearing from Charlotte at some time – but he would object if he thought it came at the expense of her working out her life.
It’s nice to get that last “pep talk” – that last “whisper”. But I suspect Sofia eventually did just fine without it - because it was there inside her all along.
(I do want to end by saying that I actually did get my “whisper” in the situation I was referring to. Obviously I would have moved on without it, but I’m certainly grateful it came.)