- Write characters, not parables.
This is going to be our theme for the week. In our last discussion thread kleinbl00 pointed out some writer's overuse of metaphors to get away with characters or the story line being driven a certain way. (Feel free to correct me if I'm interpreting wrong.) So what we are going to focus on this week are movies with strong character driven stories, characters that are relatable or life-like.
Hopefully I've made that clear enough, I suppose we can hash out any details below.
b_b, humanodon, ButterflyEffect, OftenBen, roysexton, iammyownrushmore, blackbootz,_refugee_, veen, mk, eightbitsamurai, Ave, camarillobrillo, havires, kleinbl00, ecib, insomniasexx, elizabeth, nowaypablo, pigeon, rjw, StJohn, Mindwolf, Meriadoc, beezneez, longstocking, theadvancedapes, ghostoffuffle, T-Dog, jonaswildman, coffeesp00ns, bfv, cgod, mike, thenewgreen, zebra2, Kaius
A character-driven film that I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would is "Lars and the Real Girl".
As usual, I'm not quite sure what fits the prompt, but does Little Miss Sunshine count as a character-driven movie?
Yeah, pretty much all Tarantino movies are characters and not stories. The problem is that the characters do things just so that they have an opportunity to make witty dialog that would only work in that one specific circumstance. Tarantino knows how to make things pretty, knows how to write a great scene, knows how to get 100% out of his actors, but knows jack shit about how to put a functional story together (probably doesn't care, I suppose, because why would he when his shtick has been making him so much money for so long?). Django is so bad it's not even worth talking about (again, from a story perspective; there a lots of other things I love about QT). Same goes for Ingluorious (possibly even worse--at least I can still enjoy Django; IB was so flawed that it gets in the way of the good things that are in it). My personal favorite is Kill Bill, but in that case, he didn't really need to write a story, because revenge stories kinda write themselves.
Setting falls under making things pretty. If you're familiar with the work of Sergio Leone, you'll recognize that QT has cribbed his style at pretty much every opportunity, and nowhere is that more true than in Django, given that it's a Western. Picking the place is one thing, but not everyone can make a beautiful place look beautiful on film.
That and his frat-boy David Lynch aesthetic. you'll recognize that QT has cribbed his style at pretty much every opportunity,
Electrick Children? It's a cute, subtle movie with dark undertones.
I recently watched Marie Antoinette which is definitely a character film but lets not watch that. Seconding Little Miss Sunshine or The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Also I'm taking an intro to film course this semester which should be nice.
WAIT ANOTHER ENTRY. A timely reddit post earlier reminded me of one of my favorite films of the last decade, which just happens to be the pinnacle of this theme and one of the most divisive films I know: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Richard Linklater's Before Sunset, Sunrise and Midnight. Basically no plot and a lot of improvised dialogue. Man meets woman on train, they connect over one day in Europe and have to take separate trains (before sunset). It's about the most realistic love story I can think aside from a few unlikely plot devices needed to create the sequels.
Not sure if revenge stories count, but I recently watched Blue Ruin on Netflix, and thought it was great. It was largely plot driven, but I found myself loving the main character because he was a man of very ordinary means. Reminded me a bit of my uncle, if I'm being honest--which might influence how relatable I found him.
I've never seen it and as such I nominate this one as well. Most of the ones being discussed here I've seen already.