Certified Copy

Saw Certified Copy, an arid, Linklater-ish film where a man and wife talk and talk and talk. The occasion is the publication of the husband's book which provocatively argues that a copy of a work of art is almost always better than the original, a position he admits to not totally believing himself. His wife is an antique dealer and is of course only interested in authenticity and originality. Their marriage is uneasy and they snipe back and forth about these topics for a while. Essentially, the husband is a pragmatist, valuing the results and effects more than the intent, while his wife is an idealist, caring about the idea behind the reality, and the thought behind the action.

They are given juicy little monologues and moments together. Their son is a prototypical indolent youth, always craning over his cellphone and annoying his mother with his indifference. In reaction to tales of the son's behavior, the husband praises his hedonism. The wife points out that his hedonism comes at her expense, but the husband shrugs this off. She accepted this life, he reminds her. This is essentially the crux of their relationship woes. He is doesn't want to be put upon and tied down, she does not want to be abandoned.

This film offers little in terms of hedonism on its own. There's very little to sensually delight in. There's very pretty plazas and buildings but these serve only as backdrop. The actors wander through museums but the camera stays fixed on the actors, leaving whatever curiosities there are off screen. There is, of course, not a single car-chase. This reveals pretty clearly where the film's heart is and indeed the idealistic wife comes off a lot better than the defensive husband. This may be due to my preoccupations however and I suspect that this is one of those films you could show to your friends and every one would have a different interpretation.

Here are a few observations: There is a theme of newlyweds. The husband and wife go to a very popular church where bride and groom after bride and groom parade by in the background, while the wife and husband are endlessly arguing. Also, the film seems to heavily imply that the pair are speaking at cross purposes. The film is multi-lingual and sometimes they are literally speaking different languages. The wife, and later the husband, are told that they should just relax and accept their partner, flaws and all, but of course neither of them can really do that. Divorce is never brought up, but then the two seem borderline estranged already.

I really didn't like this film. It's thinky and interesting but it's completely over my head. I found the endless bitchy sparring utterly tedious and silly. At one point, they are in a restaurant and the wife decides to put on earrings and lipstick, hoping to amuse or surprise her husband. When she comes back, he is industriously complaining about the service, the wine, and finally even turns on her brittle, let's-just-have-a-good-time cheeriness. It's such an annoying and obvious scene. The ogerish, hedonist man vs the idealistic, hopeful woman. There's even a shot of a marriage party just outside of the window. It's such boilerplate war of the sexes.

This will sound ridiculous coming from me, but I think this film is pretentious. Its philosophical preoccupation about the real thing vs the imitation thing is not that interesting to me. The woman has a point that authenticity and verifiability are important and the man has a point that essentially nothing is truly original, but these are not actually opposing views. They are treated as such by the characters, but the characters are mainly talking past each other, at cross purposes! This leaves us only their childish squabbling to consider.

I understand that married couples can easily fall into petty arguments and I understand that they are not really arguing about what they're arguing about, but I also understand what it is that they're arguing about! She: you don't love me enough. He: I love you as much as I am able to. Repeat. Hiding the emotional core behind a veil of noise, language, and plazas is realistic but also neutering, boring, and pointless! I feel this suspicion that I've missed the boat here, but so far as I can tell, this film was two intelligent people talking past each other for two hours. I think I hated this film for the same reason I hate screwballs. They're just infuriating. What reward is there here for me? I think none.