Watching Movies
We’re now almost three weeks into the New Year-how are you doing with all those writing resolutions? As any good teacher, I wouldn’t ask you to do anything that I wouldn’t do, and I have so far not failed in my quest to watch two movies per week. These movies are movies I’ve never seen, sometimes new in the theater and sometimes new to me. I’ve signed up for Blockbuster Online, which I highly recommend. Netflix is also an awesome service, I used it in graduate school when I had to watch 3-5 often quite obscure movies per week. I think both programs are great, a really good value, and a must for screenwriters. The Blockbuster option has the advantage of letting you return a movie you got via mail to the store, which is good when you get an impulse to watch a movie that may not be in your queue-you can still run out and rent like in the olden days without paying any extra fees. I’m currently on the one-movie-at-a-time plan, which is around $12 a month-well worth the price. There are other options available and I highly recommend investing in this service, it’s not only the cheapest way to see a bunch of movies, it’s so convenient you’ll be less likely to skip out on your resolution.
But I digress.
The following are the movies I have watched so far this year with a brief note on each, and something you can learn about screenwriting from them.
Lars and the Real Girl-This was the first movie I ordered from Blockbuster online, I have been meaning to watch it for awhile and was not let down. Michael Hauge highly recommended it and even used it (along with the Bourne Identity) in one of his lectures at the Screenwriting Expo on Creating Powerful Scenes to illustrate his point that character, desire and conflict form the basis of every scene.
The film is very slow and quiet, contained and a little claustrophobic. It is very sweet and heartwarming, and Ryan Gosling is amazing. If you liked Shopgirl, I would recommend this, if you liked this, see Shopgirl. The two films are very different but they have the same small, quiet tone, and both deal with a love story that isn’t perfect, but that prepares the main character to grow to a point where they can finally be ready to love in a healthy relationship.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest-It pains me to admit I hadn’t seen this classic until now, but finally checked it off my list. The superb acting is what really made this film work for me-Jack Nicholson, of course, was wonderful, but the rest of the cast was equally great. By treating the other patients like normal people, in a way no one else ever has, he allows them to experience happiness and freedom that. This movie is all about subtlety, and while it is a little episodic due to its literary basis, it still works on screen because of how well the cast is able to convey emotion and passion with the smallest changes in facial expression and tone. The tension and antagonism that develop is interesting when you consider how little physical confrontation takes place during most of the film.
10 Things I Hate About You-Another modern adaptation of Shakespeare, this teen-comedy version of Taming of the Shrew is cute, fun, and easy to watch. It’s not the most amazing film ever made, but it’s a good teen romantic comedy. When you have such a solid story backing you, it’s hard to screw it up, and Heath Ledger fans will adore his performance.
My Fair Lady-Again, a crime that I haven’t seen this until now, but I’m glad I finally did. While, like all musicals, it was a little too perfectly cheery and choreographed, it was an excellent retelling of the classic Cinderella/Pygmalion story that has inspired so many movies and books. Audrey Hepburn is, as always, phenomenal, and it’s refreshing that even in a musical set in such a romantic era, the romance that develops between Eliza and Henry is real, grounded and a touch cynical.
500 Days of Summer-Cute modern love story, structure buffs will find the non-linear storytelling interesting, though it’s not groundbreaking or amazingly original, because the different days chosen to tell the story still follow the classic plot points of the standard three act structure.
The one major critique I have of this movie is that it did not utilize its setting well. Until one of the characters mentioned that they were in Los Angeles, I had assumed they were in New York City. It wasn’t just the love story and the dialogue that reminded one of Annie Hall, it was the settings and the people and their actions-everything screamed New York City. I was not surprised to find out that the original story was set in San Francisco, and later moved to L.A. and slightly tweaked. Even though the characters talk about the buildings, point out L.A. landmarks, and really are walking around L.A., it doesn’t feel like it’s really set here. The way they act, the places they go, and their huge reliance on public transportation belie the fact that this was originally a story set in a different type of city. The main character owns a car, but only uses it once-he and his girlfriend walk around, take buses, subways, trains. Everything looked like another city-the weather, the other people, the clothing. It was clear the writers had not meant for it to be set here and it bothered me and made the film feel less authentic. I don’t live downtown, so maybe life is really like that there now, but I have lived right outside the city for my entire life and spent plenty of time there, and movies like L.A. Story seem much more like they were actually filmed here than this one did.
