Director
Rob Reiner
Leading Actors/Actresses
Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Carrie Fisher, Bruno Fisher
Genre
Romantic Comedy
Language
English
Awards
BAFTA Award, Best Original Screenplay (Nora Ephron); American Comedy Award - Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Meg Ryan) Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Billy Crystal)
Date of Release
July 21st, 1989
Producer
Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman, Nora Ephron
Setting and Context
New York, 1980s, focusing chiefly on the dating game of young professionals
Narrator and Point of View
There is no narrator; the movie is presented from two points of view, Harry's and Sally's, although the premise it is based on - that men and women cannot be friends - is Harry's perspective.
Tone and Mood
Funny and flirtatious; romantic
Protagonist and Antagonist
At several points in the movie, Harry and Sally are both protagonist and antagonist because they disagree so profoundly about the potential of men and women to be friends. Generally throughout the film Harry and Sally are the protagonists, and romance, and the search for love, is the antagonist
Major Conflict
The main conflict in the movie is Harry's contention that men and women cannot be friends because sex gets in the way. Sally disagrees with this. When they become close friends, and then best friends, he has to agree that she is correct; when their friendship becomes awkward after they have sex, Sally has to agree that he was actually right.
Climax
Harry confesses his love to Sally, and tells her all of the little things that he has come to realize he loves about her.
Foreshadowing
When Harry and Sally have sex, it foreshadows the end of their friendship.
Understatement
Harry states that "sex gets in the way" which is an understatement, since after they have sex, their friendship deteriorates quickly,
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
There are no particular innovations or techniques used in this film.
Allusions
Harry and Sally spend many enjoyable afternoons together at various New York museums and allude to popular exhibits in residence at the time.
Paradox
Harry believes that men and women cannot be friends but he does not understand the paradoxical nature of being in love, because real love is not just sexual. If you are lucky, you will be married to your best friend, and this is the paradoxical nature of love that he takes so man years to understand.
Parallelism
Sally and Harry are deeply missing each other on the first New Year's Eve that they spend apart. There is a parallel between Sally's missing Harry and Harry's wandering the streets coming to realize that he is in love with Sally.
