Relationship In The Movie “When Harry Meets Sally” Essay Samples

The movie, When Harry meets Sally says much about the relationships that exists in the society among males and females. Screenwriter, Nora Ephron, depicts the conflicting relationship between Harry and Sally. In one instance, the relationship flows smoothly, and in the next instance there are simple issues that breaks the friendship and both characters are out of the relationship. One could easily state that this conflicting relationship is typical of the relationship that exists among the average male and female in the society. Billy Crystal plays the role of Harry in this modern day love story and Meg Ryan is Sally.
The truth is that the movie, When Harry Met Sally is one that is a favorite among many movie lovers as it presents relationships in a humorous manner. Additionally, the movie looks closely at the relationship that exists between members of the opposite sex. College graduates Harry Burns and Sally Albright leave Chicago for New York City together to start a new aspect of their lives. The main theme in the move is whether males and females can maintain a platonic relationship. The main characters bring out this theme as they often argue about the type of relationship and the sex that exists between males and females. For the next twelve years, Harry and Sally, meet at different times as their lives cross. Harry is persistent as he goes against his personal philosophy. Eventually both characters become friends. They are inseparable even as they visit museums, go on dinner dates, and talk constantly on the telephone at nights. Still, they go on dates with other people in an effort to deny the underlying feelings in their relationship.
Harry comforts Sally when she goes through problems in her relationship and shows that he shows a realistic representation of being there for his friend. But, when sex becomes involved in the relationship; there are unavoidable confrontations that rock the foundations of their relationship. Still, they are able to reflect on the value of their relationship and the love they feel for each other. Finally, their feelings take control and they end up in a sexual relationship. The movie reinforces the idea that from a realistic perspective, sex often complicates a simple relationship. Clearly, Sally and Harry share a relationship that is intimate from an emotional perspective, but eventually the level of comfort the characters share leads to an open relationship. Both Sally and Harry are able to talk to each other quite frankly about sex without the humiliation that is often present. Technically, they are not in love, but by the end of the movie, the viewers see that they are deeply in love. Critically speaking, one could argue that relationships that stem from platonic friendship are stronger as friendships form the foundation of a good sexual relationship.
Conversely, Harry is not the typical romantic hero as he has a receding hairline, is short and is quite an idiot with the women he has relationships with. On the other hand, Sally is the typical high maintenance girl who meets Harry for the first time in college. Harry tries to get into a relationship with Sally when they first meet, but she turns him down quite readily. Nonetheless, they meet again a few years later and they soon become friends. The relationship matures and turns sexual, but the changes in the status of the relationship causes problem and leads to a number of conflicts.
Arguably, the film suggests that men and women cannot main a platonic relationship because the idea of sex often surfaces and complicates the relationship. In the film, Harry reinforces the idea that men and women cannot be friends because sex often complicates the relationship. In contrast, Sally reflects on the number of male friends that she has had and there is no sexual relationship involved in the relationship. Harry finds Sally attractive and his sexual feelings surfaces and give him an emotional rush that leaves him fantasizing about sex with her. Many critics note that the movie truly reflects the belief that having a platonic relationship with the opposite sex is next to impossible as at least half of these male and female relationships find one of the friends holding a sexual fantasy for the other sex. Sally best-friend, Marie indicates that the in the instance where there is no sexual feelings in a platonic relationship, and then there will undoubtedly be a number of quarrels which will eventually destroy the relationship. Nonetheless, the movie reflects a relationship that shows two different characters equally balanced and equally compatible with each other.
The truth is that the friendship between Harry and Sally becomes strained after the night of passion that they share. In her moment of despair of realizing that her ex-boyfriend is marrying someone else, the platonic friendship changes to a sexual one. This changes the way they see each other and one easily see the complications that arises when ‘friends’ become sexually involved with each other. This breakup is not uncommon in relationships that are intense. In fact, the deeper the relationship stands, the harder it is to go back to being just friends. Arguably, the relationship promotes a number of resentful moments as none of the friends is able to return to a platonic friends built on brotherly and sisterly love.
In scene 3, Harry sees his ex-wife and her new husband and becomes angry at his friends as they move in together. He wishes that they will end up in divorce and Sally reprimands him for this belief. There is an argument and Harry changes the focus to Sally’s previous breakup. Harry questions her recent relationship status as he believes that she has not gotten over her relationship with Joe. He suggests the typical view that sex with other men would show that she no longer loves Joe. The scene involves two diverse sexual relationships even as Sally defends the belief that sex does not often show affection and intimacy.
In concluding, the traits of the male and female heterosexual lifestyle and defines and characterizes the recreational sexual relations against the relational situation that exists when sex is involved. Apparently, the movie implies that recreational sex offers a more realistic perception of the way men see relationships, while sex based on a relationship is a woman’s perception. Either way, the movie reflects the problems that surfaces when two simple friends become sexually involved. The fact is that not many relationships can withstand the rigors in sex, but still there are those friendships that become more concrete relationships even after there is sex. The film raises the question of whether it is possible to have a platonic relationship with the opposite sex and the viewers realize that sex often complicates simple friendships.