There are plenty of great movies that choose to focus on characters rather than stories, proving that audiences are most interested in people. All great movies need great characterization, even action movies or horror movies which seem to have other priorities. What’s less common is for a movie to heap extra focus on the characters at the expense of an exciting narrative.
Interesting characters can allow a movie to experiment more with its story structures, since audiences won’t care as much about the specific beats of a narrative. These movies can play out in snapshots, or they can meander without any clear goal in mind. These are the types of movies that make audiences think and invite them to reach their own conclusions.
Inside Llewyn Davisdoesn’t get the same love as some of theCoen brothers' best movies, and this might be because it’s such a unique offering. While they’re known for madcap crime comedies and gripping Westerns,Inside Llewyn Davisis a quiet, ponderous story about a folk musicianstruggling to break into the industry.
Many critics have spoken aboutInside Llewyn Davisas a roman à clef about Bob Dylan’s early career.
Many critics have spoken aboutInside Llewyn Davisas a roman à clef about Bob Dylan’s early career. To muddy the waters a little, Dylan is a character who briefly appears towards the end. Perhaps, then,Inside Llewyn Davisis a deeply personal story about the random chance associated with making it in the music industry. Showing how someone similar to Dylan might fail to leave an impression with different odds and a slightly different personality. Since Dylan is a figure who’s so often shrouded in mystery and misinformation,Inside Llewyn Davisgives the Coens a layer of artificiality which they can project their own ideas onto.
Birdman’s story seems to riff on Michael Keaton’s career, so it’s surprising to some that Alejandro González Iñárritu had been developing the script long before he started thinking about casting the main character. Riggan is an actor struggling to rescue his reputation, years after his blockbuster success in the “Birdman” movies. This reflects how Keaton’s reputation was so closely linked to hisBatmanmovies.
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The story ofBirdmanis never as consequential as the character study at the heart of the drama. Iñárritu’s eye-catching decision to construct the movie as if it’s one long, continuous shot helps bring the audience closer to Riggan, as he crosses paths with his family and his colleagues, trying to rehabilitate his artistic credentials. Ultimately, it seems as though he’s trying to gain respect for himself via other people.
12 Angry Mentakes place almost entirely within a single room, as a group of jurors deliberate on a murder case. This simple set-up is the only external detail that matters. Otherwise, the drama revolves around the tension between the different characters, as their conflicting opinions on the case are colored by their experiences and prejudices from the outside world.
12 Angry Menhas a fantastic cast, with Henry Fonda as the optimistic and intelligent Juror Number 8, who starts out as the single dissenting voice within the room.The performances are one big reason why12 Angry Mennever feels boring, despite its limited location. Sidney Lumet’s direction is also vital, as he frames his characters to accentuate the shifting power dynamics at play.
Before Sunrise follows the same simple premise of many other romance movies, but the script and the performances elevate an ordinary story into something special. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy play two strangers who decide to spend a night together, and the movie follows them around Vienna as they get to know one another and take in the city.
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Richard Linklater’sBeforetrilogy looks at romance in detail, picking up with the same two characters at different times in their lives.Before Sunriseis the first movie in the trilogy, and the simplest in some ways. It’s all about introducing the two characters and delving into their similarities and differences.All the action comes from their dialogue, so it’s important that Hawke and Delpy have such wonderful chemistry.
Wes Anderson’s moviesare often recognizable for their unique shot composition and strange atmosphere.The Royal Tenenbaumsis one of Anderson’s earlier works that doesn’t tip quite as far into artifice, althoughhis penchant for peculiar dialogue and characters is ever-present.The Royal Tenenbaumsis a portrait of a family unlike any other.
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The Royal Tenenbaumsdips into the lives of the entire Tenenbaum family, showing how a strange upbringing manifested in different ways. There are some events which transpire to bring the family together, but the bulk of the narrative is driven by the friction between the characters. Rather than merely deconstructing one character,The Royal Tenenbaumspays close attention to many of them.
When Harry Met Sallyis often recognized as one of the best romcoms ever, but it’s quite different to other genre staples. Most romcoms have some kind of obstacle for the lovers to overcome, or the circumstances of their meeting and their relationship are unusual. The only obstacles standing in Harry and Sally’s path come from within. This means thatthe dialogue bears the weight of the entire conflict.
When Harry Met Sallyis a brilliant exploration of two characters with conflicting ideas about love.
When Harry Met Sallyis a brilliant exploration of two characters with conflicting ideas about love. While other romcoms might have to concoct outlandish circumstances to generate tension,When Harry Met Sallymanages to be even more interesting than most with more rudimentary building blocks. The characters alone drive the narrative, as the various ebbs and flows of Harry and Sally’s relationship reflect their own inner turmoil.
Saoirse Ronan delivers one of her finest performances inLady Bird,Greta Gerwig’s tender coming-of-age comedy-drama following a disillusioned high school senior desperate to leave her hometown for college. Laurie Metcalf’s performance also deserves credit, as she and Ronan strike up a believable chemistry as a mother and daughter who share a fraught relationship.
Lady Birdhas a few overarching storylines, but it’s broken up into smaller episodes which serve to explore the main character, and her key relationships with her family and friends.Each minor interaction rings true, contributing to a deeply immersive feeling that makes Lady Bird easy to relate to, even if the specifics of her existence might be lost on some people.
Charlotte Wells' supremely confident directorial debutAftersunis a coming-of-age movie that looks at the fallibility of memory. The story is seen through two separate lenses, one more objective as it shows documented footage, and one more subjective as it relies on the recollections of a character many years later. The tension between these two perspectives speaks to the way that documentation can shape experience.
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The drastically different perspectives are just one of the many ways that Wells uses the medium of film to explore the facets of the human experience which can be hard to articulate. In fact, the script is one of the least remarkable elements ofAftersun.It’s a movie that gets a lot from its aesthetic composition, its interesting music choices and two great performances that sell a father-daughter relationship with ease.
Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson develop a surprising chemistry inLost in Translation,reflecting the unexpected nature of the relationship between the two characters. Bob and Charlotte are opposites in many ways, and much has been said aboutLost in Translation’s age gap, but they each yearn for a reprieve from the drudgery of their lives.
The bulk of the narrative follows Bob and Charlotte as they wind a meandering path through Tokyo, two Americans in a sea of unfamiliar faces. This idea embodies their feelings of being completely alone even when surrounded by people. On the surface,Lost in Translationis merely a mismatched romance, butthe depth of the central relationship creates far more nuance.
The Florida Projecttakes place in the areas around Disneyland, and it’s important to mention the setting first. As the title suggests, the location is central toThe Florida Project.It’s a place riddled with inconsistencies, as families struggle to make ends meet in the shadows of the excess and glamour of Disneyland.
The Florida Projectpresents a beautifully crafted snapshot of life in this strange setting.
The Florida Projectpresents a beautifully crafted snapshot of life in this strange setting, focused on one family filled with rambunctious, curious children.The episodic narrative reflects the fragmented nature of childhood memories. This also means that the movie is frequently surprising, as the children follow their impulses from one misadventure to the next.
