When Harry Met Sally is my favourite movie of all time. There - I’ve said it. OK - it’s not particularly high-art, but - love it or hate it - it’s a brilliantly constructed, executed, and performed piece of movie making. It goes against lots of the rules we get taught at film school: it’s dialogue heavy, the scenes are really long, and Act 1 is three-quarters of the first half of the film (rather than the, perhaps, more customary quarter). I must have seen the film over 30 times since it was first released in 1989. Watching it is part of my pre-Christmas warm-up - it has become a ritual that never fails to raise my spirits. Its 95 minutes of utter joy: funny, heart-warming, iconic in equal measure. The characters are loveable, fallible, and flawed, while the story is engaging, recognisable, and a time-capsule of a simpler time. The script, written by Nora Ephron, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, and won a BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay. The movie is rated 7.6/10 on IMDb, 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and won a range of awards, affirming that When Harry Met Sally isn’t just a great piece of cinematography, but a treasured classic. Of course, the chemistry of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan may have breathed life and comic tension onto the screen, but the actors also had an influence on the development of the script. In fact, that infamous diner scene is alleged to have been based on Meg Ryan’s idea, while the killer punchline, “I’ll have what she’s having” was Billy Crystal’s input. If you’re feeling sad and lonely (fans will recognise the reference), there’s no better remedy. When Harry Met Sally was genre-defining and is now considered a classic piece of feel-good cinema. And even better - it’s on the Netflix catalogue (for the UK), so get watching.
I’ve dedicated Episode 7 of the WriteForTheStage Podcast to this classic film. I explore how the film relates to the 3-act structure, so if you’re looking to create an enduring classic for yourself - whether it’s for the stage or the screen - you might just gain some new insights into how to apply some new techniques for yourself.
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