So much has been written about those few words at the end that Bob whispers into Charlottes’ ear. We can’t hear them. They seem meaningful for both of them. Coppola said she didn’t know. It wasn’t scripted. Advanced sound engineering has been used to produce a fuzzy enhancement. Harry Caul of The Conversation would be proud of it, but it’s entirely irrelevant. Those words weren’t for our ears. Coppola (1) didn’t write the dialog, (2) didn’t intentionally record the dialogue, and (3) was happy to release the movie that way, so we cannot hear. Why must we know? Do we need closure? This isn’t a closure kind of movie. We get all we need in simply knowing they share a moment private to them, and seeing that it contains something true before they part forever.
Britta: You’re right, you know. I am a phony. I try to act compassionate because I’m afraid that I’m not.
Jeff: Oh please, I invented phony. You care about people. I accuse you of faking to convince myself I’m not such a jerk.
Britta: Jeff, you help people more than I do and you don’t even want to. You’re not a jerk, you’re fine.
Jeff and Britta are Community’s two least honest characters…with themselves, but especially with others. The walls really come down here in a very personal way, which is why I love this scene so much. Their dialogue also cements a very special part of their chemistry. In their own way, Jeff and Britta both care. They both help people. They are both ashamed of the darkness inside of themselves, but they can’t completely escape it. At their core, they are both fakes and phonies, but they are also deeply sensitive and emotionally genuine. These are fears and problems that they have only ever been able to talk about with each other. They wear their masks with the rest of the group..only showing their true selfs on accident or in the moment.
Why I love them both (especially Britta) and why I love them together.
