Don’t Depend on Your Characters Alone
by Terence Brody
Have you ever come across films that have very vivid and interesting characters, but often the circumstances they are in aren’t that interesting at all?
Writing great characters isn’t easy. We better know them very well before we share our story about them. So we do our homework, and we delve deep into their past to dig up all the experiences that make them who they are today, right? If you’ve ever been mired in the unforgiving muck that we call the “second act,” then you learned that your characters need to be fully developed before we can move on past Page 30. Filmmakers are inspired by characters. It is other human beings that fascinate us and force us to put the pen to paper and roll the camera. But what is it that your main character has done that’s so darn interesting, and why do we care?
As a script reader for The Shooting Gallery, many moons ago, I read numerous screenplays that were flawed by how often nothing happened in the stories. After a while, I thought it was a cruel joke being played against me. So many funny, sweet, interesting, and quirky characters with so little to do. Now, don’t get me wrong, your protagonists don’t have to save the world. We all know Napoleon Dynamite isn’t going to wrestle the missing nuclear bomb from the spurned CIA agent bent on getting revenge for being used as a hitman for most of his adult life. But it was certainly proven that Napoleon Dynamite doesn’t have to. However, he does have to be challenged. Our protagonists need conflict, and we can’t be afraid to challenge them. When we’ve decided that we have made it as difficult as possible for our heroes, throw yet another obstacle at them, maybe two. It’s not easy – we love our characters. We don’t want to see them get hurt, and it’s downright painful to watch them squirm, but it’s absolutely necessary.
I love great dialogue, and let’s be honest – we don’t get enough of it. It’s very satisfying when an interesting character says something that really makes you feel something. A simple line of dialogue that puts everything in perspective. Cool Hand Luke escapes from prison to attend his mother’s funeral but returns in a timely fashion. When the guard apologizes for punishing him, Luke responds, “Saying sorry don’t make it right, boss.” Why does that line stick out in my head? It is much more than just a well-defined character delivering a great line. That character goes through hell up to that point, and the last thing any of us want to see is Luke getting punished again. The line just breaks my heart.
What makes us spew memorable dialogue in our own lives? Ask the closest person to you what words of wisdom you shared with them that they won’t ever forget. I would bet that your most profound utterance was a result of some unfortunate situation, unfortunately. I would also bet that the line was positive, not focusing on the problem, but focusing on the solution. And it was said it as a result of conflict… or plot.
As independent filmmakers, we strive to expose the internal struggles we all go through in our lifetime. A great filmmaker finds a way to parallel that internal struggle with external conflict. This way we not only feel what our protagonist is feeling but we see what he’s up against. And films are a visual medium after all. The “Unwilling Hero,” as an example, may be a bit on the nose, but he’s certainly more popular in Hollywood than the “Willing Hero” these days. His reluctance shows that he has his own demons within to deal with and hopefully the resolution of the plot will in some way provide a solution to his inner conflict.
So many Hollywood movies produced are based on a logline. “A paraplegic marine, dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.” The characters come later. But James Cameron doesn’t develop a story devoid of terrific characters. So if we’re going to start with the amazing protagonist that everyone needs to know about, we better put him in one heck of a bind.
Terence Brody is a screenwriter from New York. He wrote the produced short film titled, “Beer, Chocolate or You”.
