If you're like me, you've heard real smart critics drop a new catch phrase describing the latest and greatest story every other month or so. They talk about "character-driven plots" like every good plot should be written this way. Then, like a North Korean scientists, we're left to reverse engineer these phrases in a "what the hell are they talking about" sort of way. Once we figure that out, then we dive into a pit of introspective judgement world where we examine everything we've written previously to see if it measures up to this new metric. It's not until much later that we feel comfortable with the phrase to compare it against new media we take in and see if they measures up. It's not until examining several pieces of work that we learn, some of our favorites measure up, and some of our favorites don't. And that's okay. Some really awesome stories are character driven and others are more event driven. It's only after we've digested this new little way of think about story that we can regurgitate it in our own works and choose to apply it or not.
So character driven plots? Event driven plots? I'll speak no ill-word of event driven plots. Some of my favorite movies are spurred on by one fantastic event after another while the protagonist is simply drug along for the ride. Star Wars, Snatch, Total Recall, Blade Runner, Indiana jones and the Temple of Doom, Planet of the Apes, and pretty much every horror story ever filmed are all examples of cool movies that are event driven. On the flip side, there are some really great character driven movies like American Beauty, American History X, Taxi Driver, Million Dollar Baby, Fight Club and the movie we'll discuss this week.
But let's back up. What's the difference between a character driven versus event driven plot? How are we to wrap our brain around this little literary catch phrase? I've spent some time thinking about it and I think I found a nice way to encapsulate the difference:
Proactive protagonist make for character driven plots. Reactive characters make for event driven plots.
If that's still sounds a bit cryptic, I'll break it down like this. It's all about who shot first. If Han Solo shot first, then Han is in charge of the situation. He had a plan and he executed it. The story advances on the merits of his decisions. If Greedo shot first then Han is just along for the ride. He does his best to keep up and reacts in admirable fashion, but he's still at the whim of Greedo's poor aim. He's no longer in the driver's seat. He is driven by the events that happen around him, not his own volition.
For those of you who aren't Star Wars nerds, well you should have been warned by initial entry under "event driven plots" and by my previous six columns. Also, this is why all the Star Wars nerds on the internet were so upset over that one particular change George Lucas made in the CGI afflicted Special Editions of Episodes IV through VI. Also, I'll stop talking about Star Wars now, at least for this entry. After all, I promised you another movie that I've yet to mention.
So, without further ado, which movie do I think epitomize the character driven plot above all others?
There will be Blood.
This is the name of the movie. Not a threat to you, dear reader, specifically.
In 2007 the world was gifted by Daniel Day Lewis' interpretation of Upton Sinclair's protagonist/anti-hero Daniel Plainview. (A note to my dedicated readers, yes I am breaking my "no movies from books" rules, but ripples were meant to be broken. As a rule going forward, any movie inspired from a book, I will focus solely on the movie as if the book never happened, aside giving the author the mention they deserve. Anyway...)
The first 6:30 minutes of the movie is just Daniel Day Lewis in a hole, chipping away at rock, hauling silver and breaking his leg. The first 14:30 of the movie passes without a single character ever uttering one line of dialogue. There's two things I love about these scenes. First, it flies in the face of every formula for writing and idea of "hooks" that so many feel are absolutely necessary to start a movie with. Second, we see first hand in a completely visual way, that this man is driven to his very core. It's easy to act the tough guy when everybody is looking. We witness something completely different in Daniel Plainview's solitary obsession to dig wealth out of the dirt. We see the integrity of his intent. It is the movie in a microcosm. This man will sacrifice everything and everyone, including his own family and well-being, to suck wealth straight from the earth. Nearly everything that happens, happens because Daniel Plainview makes it happen. The plot is Daniel Plainview's plot. Sure there are some stumbling blocks along his path, but it's his path and he addresses those stumbling blocks quite directly.
Let's jump to the point in two movies where the protagonist overcomes the antagonist. Two scenes I absolutely love, for completely different reasons. Let's talk about a movie I haven't brought up in a while... Star Wars! and compare it to There Will Be Blood.
In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker one ups his dad by flying away from him as fast as he could and manages to slip a proton torpedo into an exhaust vent at just the right moment, and only then when he gets help from his buddy Han Solo. It's all very passive-aggressive when you think about it.
In There Will Be Blood Plainview's antagonist in a weaselly pip-squeak revivalist preacher, Eli Sunday played by Paul Dano. The two are opposed over control over a small western town. Plainview needs them to accept his authority as oil baron and boss of a town full of employees. Eli needs the town's people to remain his flock as their spiritual shepherd. Initially Eli buys his subordination at the price of his cooperation. For Plainview to win the loyalty of the town and gain Eli's support, he must confess and be baptized at the Church of Eli. We get this great exchange of dialogue:
Eli Sunday: We have a sinner with us here who wishes for salvation. Daniel, are you a sinner?
Plainview: Yes.
Eli Sunday: Oh, the Lord can't hear you, Daniel. Say it to him. Go ahead and speak to him. It's all right.
Plainview: Yes.
Eli Sunday: Down on your knees and to him. Look up to the sky and say it.
Plainview: What do you want me to say?
Eli Sunday: Oh, Daniel, you've come here and you've brought good and wealth, but you have also brought your bad habits as a backslider. You've lusted after women, and you have abandoned your child - your child that you raised. You have abandoned all because he was sick and you have sinned. So say it now - "I am a sinner."
Plainview: I am a sinner.
Eli Sunday: Say it louder - " I am a sinner! "
Plainview: I'm a sinner.
Eli Sunday: Louder, Daniel. I am a sinner!
Plainview: I am a sinner.
Eli Sunday: I am sorry, Lord!
Plainview: I am sorry , Lord.
Eli Sunday: I want the blood!
Plainview: I want the blood.
Eli Sunday: You have abandoned your child!
Plainview: I've abandoned my child.
Eli Sunday: I will never backslide!
Plainview: I will never backslide.
Eli Sunday: I was lost, but now I am found!
Plainview: I was lost but now I'm found.
Eli Sunday: I have abandoned my child!
[Plainview glares at him]
Eli Sunday: Say it... say it!
Eli humbles Plainview to his very core. How is our protagonist/anti-hero to respond? It's not until later in the movie when Plainview has the upper hand. Eli is bankrupt and indebted. But, he has land that he believes to be yet undrilled, a field of wealth waiting to be had. He only needs Plainview to help him get it out of the ground. Plainview is his only hope.
Plainview: I’d be happy to work with you.
Eli Sunday: You would? Yes, yes, of course, that’s wonderful---
Plainview: But there is one condition for this work.
Eli Sunday: All right.
Plainview: I’d like you to tell me that you are a false prophet. I’d like you to tell me that you are, and have been, a false prophet, and that God is a superstition.
Eli Sunday: But that’s a lie. It’s a lie, I cannot say it...
[PAUSE]
Eli Sunday: When can we begin to drill?
Plainview: Very soon.
Eli Sunday: How long will it take to bring in the well?
Plainview: It shouldn’t take long.
Eli Sunday: I would like a 100,000 dollar signing bonus, plus the five that is owed to me with interest.
Plainview: That’s only fair.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet and God is a superstition, if that’s what you believe, then I will say it.
Plainview: Say it like you mean it.
Eli Sunday: Daniel…
Plainview: Say it like it's your sermon.... Don’t smile!
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition--
Plainview: Why don’t you stand up? Put your glass down.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition--
Plainview: Eli, Eli, stop! Just imagine this is your church here, and you've got a full house today, so…
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Say it again.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: They can’t hear you in the back!
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Say it again.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Say it again.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Those areas have been drilled.
Eli Sunday: What…?
Plainview: Those areas, they've been drilled.
Rather than firing a proton torpedo as he flies by, Daniel Plainview crushes his opponent head-on. Not only does he defeat his antagonist face-to-face, but he destroys more than a physical or monetary treasure. He defeats the thing that Eli values most: his faith and well-being of his soul. That is how a driven character tackles challenges. That is the kind of character that drives a plot.
So character driven plots? Event driven plots? I'll speak no ill-word of event driven plots. Some of my favorite movies are spurred on by one fantastic event after another while the protagonist is simply drug along for the ride. Star Wars, Snatch, Total Recall, Blade Runner, Indiana jones and the Temple of Doom, Planet of the Apes, and pretty much every horror story ever filmed are all examples of cool movies that are event driven. On the flip side, there are some really great character driven movies like American Beauty, American History X, Taxi Driver, Million Dollar Baby, Fight Club and the movie we'll discuss this week.
But let's back up. What's the difference between a character driven versus event driven plot? How are we to wrap our brain around this little literary catch phrase? I've spent some time thinking about it and I think I found a nice way to encapsulate the difference:
Proactive protagonist make for character driven plots. Reactive characters make for event driven plots.
If that's still sounds a bit cryptic, I'll break it down like this. It's all about who shot first. If Han Solo shot first, then Han is in charge of the situation. He had a plan and he executed it. The story advances on the merits of his decisions. If Greedo shot first then Han is just along for the ride. He does his best to keep up and reacts in admirable fashion, but he's still at the whim of Greedo's poor aim. He's no longer in the driver's seat. He is driven by the events that happen around him, not his own volition.
For those of you who aren't Star Wars nerds, well you should have been warned by initial entry under "event driven plots" and by my previous six columns. Also, this is why all the Star Wars nerds on the internet were so upset over that one particular change George Lucas made in the CGI afflicted Special Editions of Episodes IV through VI. Also, I'll stop talking about Star Wars now, at least for this entry. After all, I promised you another movie that I've yet to mention.
So, without further ado, which movie do I think epitomize the character driven plot above all others?
There will be Blood.
This is the name of the movie. Not a threat to you, dear reader, specifically.
In 2007 the world was gifted by Daniel Day Lewis' interpretation of Upton Sinclair's protagonist/anti-hero Daniel Plainview. (A note to my dedicated readers, yes I am breaking my "no movies from books" rules, but ripples were meant to be broken. As a rule going forward, any movie inspired from a book, I will focus solely on the movie as if the book never happened, aside giving the author the mention they deserve. Anyway...)
The first 6:30 minutes of the movie is just Daniel Day Lewis in a hole, chipping away at rock, hauling silver and breaking his leg. The first 14:30 of the movie passes without a single character ever uttering one line of dialogue. There's two things I love about these scenes. First, it flies in the face of every formula for writing and idea of "hooks" that so many feel are absolutely necessary to start a movie with. Second, we see first hand in a completely visual way, that this man is driven to his very core. It's easy to act the tough guy when everybody is looking. We witness something completely different in Daniel Plainview's solitary obsession to dig wealth out of the dirt. We see the integrity of his intent. It is the movie in a microcosm. This man will sacrifice everything and everyone, including his own family and well-being, to suck wealth straight from the earth. Nearly everything that happens, happens because Daniel Plainview makes it happen. The plot is Daniel Plainview's plot. Sure there are some stumbling blocks along his path, but it's his path and he addresses those stumbling blocks quite directly.
Let's jump to the point in two movies where the protagonist overcomes the antagonist. Two scenes I absolutely love, for completely different reasons. Let's talk about a movie I haven't brought up in a while... Star Wars! and compare it to There Will Be Blood.
In A New Hope, Luke Skywalker one ups his dad by flying away from him as fast as he could and manages to slip a proton torpedo into an exhaust vent at just the right moment, and only then when he gets help from his buddy Han Solo. It's all very passive-aggressive when you think about it.
In There Will Be Blood Plainview's antagonist in a weaselly pip-squeak revivalist preacher, Eli Sunday played by Paul Dano. The two are opposed over control over a small western town. Plainview needs them to accept his authority as oil baron and boss of a town full of employees. Eli needs the town's people to remain his flock as their spiritual shepherd. Initially Eli buys his subordination at the price of his cooperation. For Plainview to win the loyalty of the town and gain Eli's support, he must confess and be baptized at the Church of Eli. We get this great exchange of dialogue:
Eli Sunday: We have a sinner with us here who wishes for salvation. Daniel, are you a sinner?
Plainview: Yes.
Eli Sunday: Oh, the Lord can't hear you, Daniel. Say it to him. Go ahead and speak to him. It's all right.
Plainview: Yes.
Eli Sunday: Down on your knees and to him. Look up to the sky and say it.
Plainview: What do you want me to say?
Eli Sunday: Oh, Daniel, you've come here and you've brought good and wealth, but you have also brought your bad habits as a backslider. You've lusted after women, and you have abandoned your child - your child that you raised. You have abandoned all because he was sick and you have sinned. So say it now - "I am a sinner."
Plainview: I am a sinner.
Eli Sunday: Say it louder - " I am a sinner! "
Plainview: I'm a sinner.
Eli Sunday: Louder, Daniel. I am a sinner!
Plainview: I am a sinner.
Eli Sunday: I am sorry, Lord!
Plainview: I am sorry , Lord.
Eli Sunday: I want the blood!
Plainview: I want the blood.
Eli Sunday: You have abandoned your child!
Plainview: I've abandoned my child.
Eli Sunday: I will never backslide!
Plainview: I will never backslide.
Eli Sunday: I was lost, but now I am found!
Plainview: I was lost but now I'm found.
Eli Sunday: I have abandoned my child!
[Plainview glares at him]
Eli Sunday: Say it... say it!
Eli humbles Plainview to his very core. How is our protagonist/anti-hero to respond? It's not until later in the movie when Plainview has the upper hand. Eli is bankrupt and indebted. But, he has land that he believes to be yet undrilled, a field of wealth waiting to be had. He only needs Plainview to help him get it out of the ground. Plainview is his only hope.
Plainview: I’d be happy to work with you.
Eli Sunday: You would? Yes, yes, of course, that’s wonderful---
Plainview: But there is one condition for this work.
Eli Sunday: All right.
Plainview: I’d like you to tell me that you are a false prophet. I’d like you to tell me that you are, and have been, a false prophet, and that God is a superstition.
Eli Sunday: But that’s a lie. It’s a lie, I cannot say it...
[PAUSE]
Eli Sunday: When can we begin to drill?
Plainview: Very soon.
Eli Sunday: How long will it take to bring in the well?
Plainview: It shouldn’t take long.
Eli Sunday: I would like a 100,000 dollar signing bonus, plus the five that is owed to me with interest.
Plainview: That’s only fair.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet and God is a superstition, if that’s what you believe, then I will say it.
Plainview: Say it like you mean it.
Eli Sunday: Daniel…
Plainview: Say it like it's your sermon.... Don’t smile!
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition--
Plainview: Why don’t you stand up? Put your glass down.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition--
Plainview: Eli, Eli, stop! Just imagine this is your church here, and you've got a full house today, so…
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Say it again.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: They can’t hear you in the back!
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Say it again.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Say it again.
Eli Sunday: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Those areas have been drilled.
Eli Sunday: What…?
Plainview: Those areas, they've been drilled.
Rather than firing a proton torpedo as he flies by, Daniel Plainview crushes his opponent head-on. Not only does he defeat his antagonist face-to-face, but he destroys more than a physical or monetary treasure. He defeats the thing that Eli values most: his faith and well-being of his soul. That is how a driven character tackles challenges. That is the kind of character that drives a plot.