Comments on: The Two True Realities That Explain the Movie Certified Copy

By: Ajitesh Pathak

Ajitesh Pathak — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 21:04:43 +0000

Why is the last word of the movie…..Jjjjjames by She?

Was the direct trying to tell us something about a correlation between Marie, her husband and She?

That ending has to mean something?

Thanks

By: Taylor Holmes

Taylor Holmes — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 11:38:16 +0000

In reply to Sam Bartlett. I just wanted to say… I saw it! Hahahah. Great comment.

By: Sam Bartlett

Sam Bartlett — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 07:30:06 +0000

I love all the responses and I know this probably won’t get seen by anyone, but this is my interpretation of their relationship and the surface narrative. Their entire relationship is happening over the course of a single day. They met, begin dating, in the coffee shop scene is where they begin to question marriage as an option. They get married (all the married couples around them in that place (also his unwillingness to get his picture taken could be his regret about the marriage as he isn’t always emotionally or physically available)). And as the rest of it play out, they get older, argue, and then the ending is them coming to terms with their relationship, they’ve lost the good years. Whether he walks back in to see her or out the door is up to our interpretation. Much like with Taste Of Cherry with how the people of differing ages represents the different aspects of his own decision, the people around them can represent their stage of their relationship. Most notably with her son at the start, then the young married couples, the older couple giving him advice, and then the older yet couple when they walk out of the church towards the end.
I notice a lot of things done with reflection, and that can go into that same thing, just making us take notice of the reflections in the outside world, and also with their theory of copies, as stated all through this article. I really enjoyed this movie, and while I don’t think there’s any clear answer, I think that’s the point. Very excited to be watching it again in the future!

By: Steve

Steve — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 18:10:32 +0000

I haven’t watched this great little film in a while, but I remember thinking when the credits rolled that James and “She” were having a years-long affair (15 to be exact), and that they met from time-to time when the opportunity arose. They have a child together that he acknowledges as his, and the son isn’t aware that the man is his father. He loves her, but at the end of the day (at 9:00 PM in this instance) he always goes home to his “real” family. “She” and the son were his “other” family – a copy of the original. That’s why “She” was so interested in his newest book, as it explored a theme close to her heart. Was their relationship illegitimate because it wasn’t an authentic marriage, or because he had a second family? Perhaps I’m far off the mark but it made sense at the time.

By: Em

Em — Sun, 09 Aug 2020 20:05:06 +0000

I think they were not married, the biggest clue is the coffee shop where they entered as polite acquaintances and left as a married couple of 15 years. They each looked a bit taken aback when they were first referred to as a married couple – why would a genuine married couple do that? And then you can see them consciously take their roles as husband and wife, tentatively checking details with each other etc.
The other clues were there in the beginning She had a reserved seat at the talk because she has an art shop/gallery in the town and might be well connected due to her job/interests. James had been staying ‘upstairs’ in the hotel where the talk was being held. Why did She get the editor guy to send a message to James to meet her? The son teases her about her crushes. She doesn’t appear to be a super fan, she was very interested in his book’s message, and quite critical of it overall but she was excited to talk to him about it. If they were married, why talk about the book THAT day during his visit to the town and not before in all the time he was writing it? She had to spell her sister’s name when he was signing the books. She paid for the books…
She played the role of married partner particularly well, while James fairy awkwardly went along with it. His refusal to have his picture taken with the young couple is telling, because he knew it was inappropriate. He barely touched She in the hotel room, but showed consideration for her jacket. He didn’t want to be physical or lead her on, she saw this as a rejection and played the neglected wife. In the end, it was clear the game was coming to an end. She wanted him to love her, James had to catch his train.

By: Amber J Unthank

Amber J Unthank — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 16:37:26 +0000

At the beginning she arrives late and goes to the front and sits in a special seat with a note next to his right hand man. Now I am unable to make what the note says but I have never been to a book signing that has super fans sitting that close to the editor. Also her son goes right to the front just like an authors son would. No other child would of been able to be allowed to do that. The rest of the entire auditorium was packed and the speech gave the impression that he was a very important author. I believe she is his wife and the boy is his son. If they were not they would not have been able to make that much noise and commotion during when James the author is speaking. Also if she was just a super fan and paying through the nose for special seats she wouldn’t of left after 5 minutes just because her son was hungry. That is my take. Figured it out in less than 20 minutes. Liked it a bunch though. Seemed real instead of watching them act.

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 07:42:46 +0000

Wow, people really keep finding this article and have been commenting sporadically for a couple years now. After watching it once, then going back and re-watching several key scenes, I’m fairly certain that, while it’s definitely left open-ended and vague, there are several reasons to believe that they ARE married with a son, and that the first half is a bit of role playing, meant to try to recapture lost romantic feelings after an aborted 15th anniversary the night before. A simple fan would not be so easily frustrated by and be so critical of James’s words and actions in the first half. Or even moved to tears by several things he says in the second half. I think the son called him “James” because he has basically no relationship with him, to the point that the son looks at James as more of his mother’s boyfriend. Also, the fact that “She” gets so upset about the son mentioning his surname is another tip-off that there is a pre-existing relationship between James and the son. There are other signs that confirmed my hypothesis, but these are the two biggest.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 05:49:09 +0000

Thanks for this write up. My wife and I just watched it and we’re trying to sort it out. Here are a couple of odd statements in the movie that must be clues: The son makes a big deal about the mother not telling James his last name. Then, at one point, she says she wasn’t well then, talking about 5 years before. Not completely sure what those mean but pretty sure they’re clues.
Also, it was interesting that the ending was also vague. Did James leave the bathroom and stay with She? Did he leave for the train?
I agree with you that they are both or maybe it just doesn’t matter. It’s the trip that’s important.

By: Phil Sykes

Phil Sykes — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 02:57:05 +0000

In addition to the intriguing mystery of the plot, the style of this film is incredibly interesting and challenging. There is something quirky, and often relevant happening in the background of almost every shot and the use of reflections to show characters’ expressions and other off camera details is brilliant.
The performances of Juliet Binoche and William Shimmell are beautifully nuanced which helps to make the surreal nature of the story even more of a brain teaser. The only thing that I found jarring was the behaviour of Jack in the trattoria. It seemed quite out of character with his demeanor in the rest of the story (almost a stereotype of the ugly English tourist).