character study
Post-traumatic stress disorder – abbreviated as PTSD – has been a subject in film as far back as the 1946 John Huston documentary Let There Be Light. Since the Invasion of Iraq, it’s become a prevalent concept. One of the most original to have been made is Martin Scorsese’s 1976 classic Taxi Driver.
How do you categorize Maggie Gyllenhaal’s career? The answer is, you don’t- she does it for you. At first glance, her filmography may seem atypical to the average movie viewer.
I wouldn’t be surprised if you hadn’t heard the name Abi Morgan, but I would be very surprised if you hadn’t at least heard of one of her many successes. The Hour? The Iron Lady?
Film analysis, as far as I can tell, isn’t conducted any more in mainstream film criticism. That’s because these days anyone can write about film, and do. The film theorists and heavy-weight reviewers of the past have been overtaken by the age of the internet and by all the people ‘having a go’.
By its nature, sci-fi is a genre of revolution. The fantastical elements (time travel, dystopian future setting or parallel worlds) allow the genre a certain amount of artistic license. This generally results in society being represented as fairer, less discriminatory or strong themes of trying to make the world a better place.
What inspired me to begin this series was actually the knowledge that Harper Lee, the author of To Kill A Mockingbird, was going to be releasing a new novel called Go Set a Watchmen. As I had remembered being fond of Lee’s writing, I was planning to read it. (I still have not, but am hoping to get to it after this).
Breaking the boarders with transnational themes and making people cry and laugh in the same way? Genre as a global system? Why not!
Have you ever found yourself loving the bad guy in a movie? Villains come in many different forms, whether it’s the combined protagonist/antagonist situation like Mickey and Mallory Knox in Natural Born Killers, or the complete polar opposite of the hero, a dark and vicious villain like Heath Ledger’s astounding role as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. And with the recent trailer release of the movie Suicide Squad (a team of DC comic villains coming together to take on the missions deemed too horrific for the heroes), it provokes the question:
Plot, visuals, and theme are all hugely important to great cinema, but movie audiences love characters, and they remain the most memorable aspect of many films. However, the same character types appear again and again in film – the heroes, the villains, the sidekicks and the damsels in distress. We simply accept this as a part of cinema, and of stories in general, and it’s because all stories follow the same narrative structure, according to Russian theorist Vladimir Propp.
Stories are built around characters. No matter how complex and fascinating a narrative may be, the only way to make people care is by implanting interesting characters to whom we can relate, root for, loathe, or sympathize with. Character creation is a skill that too few filmmakers possess today.
The first time I saw Chungking Express, I didn’t realize what love was. An over-dramatic statement, but Wong Kar-Wai films are truly worth viewing. It’s about the human condition in terms of emotional separation from each other.
The word “gritty” is often used by reviewers to describe films which portray graphic physical violence, lone wolf characters, and probably a line of coke or two. While I feel that’s accurate, my own personal definition for a gritty film differs slightly. If I describe a film as gritty, expect it to be both emotionally and physically violent and draining.
There are some film directors who really exemplify the work of an artist. You could say their work is special in its own way, and every director has their particular style. There is no question about the passion, intensity, and creativity in the art work they create.
Have you ever noticed that some of the most resounding characters in film, either heroes or villains, usually behave in ways that absolutely baffle you? They are a dichotomy, a wonderful multi-layered creation, taking our breaths away with their grays (a refreshing contrast to the black/white of some of the more forgettable characters in films). Whenever I run across a character like this, my celluloid-loving heart skips a beat.
The New York Film Academy recently published a pretty awesome infographic on their website, featuring the top 10 darkest characters in film. I’ve been known to be partial to the darker characters – I’m still a bit unsure whether I’ve a dark passenger of my own inside me or not, but I can’t help but always like the dark characters more than the happy ones. As I see it, they make any story more interesting.
