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"There's something authentic in every forgery."

posted 10 years ago by Bob_Brooker
8 replies | jump to latest

There is a pivotal scene when Virgil and Claire talk about forgery and authenticity over dinner, during which the following conversation occurs:

Virgil: There's something authentic in every forgery.

Claire: What did you mean?

Virgil: When simulating another's work the forger can't resist the temptation
to put in something of himself. Often it's just a trifle, a detail of no interest.
One unsuspected stroke, by which the forger inevitably ends up betraying himself,
and revealing his own, utterly authentic sensibilities.

That's the speech, the whole dinner scene was working up to and while these words sound deep and foreshadowing, the actual gist of it, that the forger (Claire) may make a mistake by giving something away of herself that could threaten the whole caper never gets explored any further. In fact, she doesn't make a mistake or struggle with 'becoming the mask' (developing real feelings). However, Virgil does make mistakes and I feel they should have written this dialog differently focusing on his pride as a 'forgery buster' which later gets trampled on.

How do you feel about this?

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Last movie watched: The Best Offer (8/10)

[–] caree2020 10 years ago

Undoubtedly, the segment you mention is key. I think Claire's sensibility comes out when she is at Virgil's hotel room, the one full of portraits, and she says "Oh, Virgil. If anything should ever happen to us,I want you to know that I do love you."
For a moment we tend to believe that Claire -as you said, the main forger in the story- has real feelings and would have preferred to stop the 'betrayal plan'.
Perhaps, I'm empathizing with Virgil's perspective since it is him who ends up being unable to determine whether Claire is gone forever or will return to freely express those real feelings towards him.
P.S. I hope I've been clear enough. My first language is Spanish.

[–] Superunknovvn 9 years ago

agree with everything that's been said. i think in the end it's meant to be ambiguous. oldman thinks of all these things, like her telling him she loves him, in case something should happen to them. them making love. the hint with the restaurant in prague that turned out to really exist.

on the other hand, the fact that he wanted to keep that automaton a secret, that she was clearly disappointed, he didn't put it in the catalogue, were signs that when forced to make a decision between her and the scam, he still chose the scam. so it's likely he got what he deserved, and it was his own fault, because she might have acted differently had he not continued to cheat her.

We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school

[–] zee944 9 years ago

on the other hand, the fact that he wanted to keep that automaton a secret, that she was clearly disappointed, he didn't put it in the catalogue, were signs that when forced to make a decision between her and the scam, he still chose the scam.

It's an interesting theory, and possibly would've made the ending deeper, but it's probably wrong. I don't think it was implied that Claire was looking for the automaton in the catalog and was disappointed not founding it.

And I wouldn't think anyway that Virgil not telling her anything about the automaton would mean he chose that over her. He could be very well afraid he'll lose her trust and ruin the relationship if he admits he was more attracted by the automaton first and stole it after all. Or he just thought he can have both: the girl and the automaton too.

[–] phelix-josie 9 years ago

I think Claire's "true signature" that Virgil discerned at the end was her inclusion of her favorite cafe in Prague. I believe he thinks she won't be able to stay away from it forever.

[–] morganseer 9 years ago

And that perhaps she was even hinting where he could find her after it was over.

[–] shruti-bittu 9 years ago

I know it probably sounds like a stretch from what we know of her... but is it possible that during the course of events, Claire did develop some genuine feelings for him, even if a little bit ? after all the restaurant in prague was an authentic detail too.. btw I absolutely loved this dialogue... 👏👍

[–] Black_Lies_Matter 9 years ago

Of course it gets explored further. The whole reason he goes to the cafe in Prague at the end to wait for Claire is because of this sequence. He believes it could be the little bit of authenticity Claire included in her forgery.

[–] Bob_Brooker 9 years ago

Good point.

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Last movie watched: Stations of the Cross (8/10)