I love TCM. Although there seems to be a foolish prejudice against old, black & white, "unwoke" films, I find them illuminating. As a screenwriter, I admire the economy and efficiency of the scripts of the thirties, forties and fifties. In particular, I am envious of the manner in which they established their characters. They only give us exactly what we need to know, and they do it as succinctly as possible.
Nowadays, filmmakers seem compelled to deliver voluminous backstory for their characters. We recently addressed this trend in an episode of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast while discussing the classic 1974 film The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, directed by Joseph Sargent and written by Peter Stone (who, during the course of his career, won an Oscar, a Tony and an Emmy.) We couldn't help but notice how succinctly the characters were established in the first film as opposed to the 2009 remake The Taking of Pelham 123 directed by Tony Scott and written by the normally reliable Brian Helgeland. None of the added backstory increased the suspense or made the film more compelling. The original film remains a classic. The remake is barely remembered.
Let's look back at how succinctly backstory was employed in classic cinema. Rhett Butler, as portrayed by Clark Gable in Gone With The Wind, is one of the most iconic characters in the history of cinema. How much backstory do we get on him? Let me show you. It is all summed up in two brief conversations.
Scarlett: That man looking at us and smiling. The nasty, dark one.
Cathleen Calvert: My dear, don't you know? That's Rhett Butler.
He's from Charleston. He has the most terrible reputation.
Scarlett: He looks as if... as if he knows what I look like without my shimmy.
Cathleen further relates that Rhett "ruined" a girl by taking her on an unescorted carriage ride. Here's the second conversation:
Charles Hamilton: Apologies aren't enough sir. I hear you were turned out of
West Point, Mr. Rhett Butler. And that you aren't received in a decent family
in Charleston. Not even your own.
Rhett Butler: I apologize again for all my shortcomings. Mr. Wilkes, Perhaps
you won't mind if I walk about and look over your place. I seem to be
spoiling everybody's brandy and cigars and... dreams of victory.
When Rhett leaves, it is further revealed that he is a renowned duelist.
That's all we get to know about Rhett Butler's life prior to the start of the film. We assume his family is wealthy, but did they own slaves? Dunno. Did a vixen break his heart at sixteen which left him afraid of commitment? Dunno. Did his mother long to reconcile with her wayward son? Dunno. Don't care.
Let's look at another one cinema's most iconic characters, Rick Blaine, as portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. Once again, two brief conversations tell us all we need to know about his life prior to him meeting Ilsa in Paris.
Major Strasser: We have a complete dossier on you: Richard Blaine, American,
age 37. Cannot return to his country. The reason is a little vague. We also know
what you did in Paris, Mr. Blaine, and also we know why you left Paris.
[hands the dossier to Rick]
Major Strasser: Don't worry, we are not going to broadcast it.
Rick: [reading] Are my eyes really brown?
And here's the second conversation:
Victor Laszlo: You ran guns to Ethiopia.
You fought against the fascists in Spain.
Rick: What of it?
Victor Laszlo: Isn't it strange that you always
happen to be fighting on the side of the underdog?
Rick: Yes. I found that a very expensive hobby, too.
But then I never was much of a businessman.
Bam. That's it. That's all we need to know about him. Rick's actions tell us everything else. And it works for female characters, too. Here's Ilsa, as portrayed by Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca. Her backstory is summed up in one paragraph.
Ilsa: Can I tell you a story, Rick?
Rick: Has it got a wow finish?
Ilsa: I don't know the finish yet.
Rick: Well, go on. Tell it - maybe one will come to you as you go along.
Ilsa: It's about a girl who had just come to Paris from her home in Oslo.
At the house of some friends, she met a man about whom she'd heard
her whole life. A very great and courageous man. He opened up for her
a whole beautiful world full of knowledge and thoughts and ideals.
Everything she knew or ever became was because of him. And she
looked up to him and worshiped him... with a feeling she supposed was love.
Rick: [bitterly] Yes, it's very pretty. I heard a story once - as a matter of fact,
I've heard a lot of stories in my time. They went along with the sound of a
tinny piano playing in the parlor downstairs. "Mister, I met a man once
when I was a kid," it always began.
In some ways, I think the screenwriters of that day had it easier. They had movie stars who branded themselves with a distinct persona. Audiences already had an idea of what kind of character Clark Gable or Humphrey Bogart would play when they bought their ticket. When I think about some of the late John Wayne westerns, I don't remember the writers giving him any backstory at all. He was just John Wayne. You already knew who he was when he walked into the frame. Today's actors tend to want to display their range. You don't know who Christian Bale or Brad Pitt will be when they show up on the screen.
But it isn't just about the new approach to acting. I think the flood of backstory is a result of too many people reading too many screenwriting textbooks. Some books recommend that you build your characters from the ground up: where they were born, their family history, where they want to school, the name of their pets.... You get it. The problem is that if you compile all of that information about a character, you become tempted to use it even if it is unnecessary. And backstory is often unnecessary.
Hannibal Lecter, as portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, is one of cinema's most fascinating and enigmatic characters. He exudes so much erudition and intelligence that it is hard to imagine how he became a cannibalistic serial killer. Unfortunately, all of the mystery in the character is eliminated when they delve into his backstory in the sequel Hannibal Rising. Ugh. I feel the same way about the Michael Myers character in the Rob Zombie Halloween reboot. They told me all I needed to know about Michael in the original film.
Another reason why I think we have too much backstory in films today is that producers don't have enough respect for the intelligence of the audience. They feel they have to spell everything out. The worst example I have seen of this trend was in my own film The Encounter. In that Twilight Zone-ish religious fantasy, a group of stranded travelers find themselves in a diner run by Jesus. And, of course, whenever Jesus shows up, so does the Devil -- in this case in the person of a State Trooper. Over the millennia, the devil has been given many cool, imaginative names. I can't remember what name co-writer Tim Ratajczak and myself gave him originally in the script, but it definitely wasn't Officer Deville. The director came up with that. And, just to make sure the audience "got it," he had one of the other characters spell it out: D-E-V-I-L.... (Gasp!) Oy vey. Talk about insulting your audience's intelligence! Give them some credit!
Finding the right amount of backstory can be incredibly difficult. I have been working on a stage musical based on the novel Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Delamore. It is a romantic tale set in a world of sorcerers and fairies. I have been working on rewrites for months with the playwright/songwriter Michael Kline. Considering the fantasy nature of the story, we have to do considerable world building at the start. Our work has concentrated predominately on determining how to convey the necessary expository information without bogging down the audience with needless details. It's not easy. The temptation always exists to over explain. Fortunately, I believe we found the balance but we won't know for sure until we stage the piece again later this summer.
In the end, I have three pieces of advice. First, do not include any backstory that is not necessary for the fulfillment of the plot. Secondly, trust your audience. Let them figure some things out for themselves. Finally, trust your actors too. You, as the writer, do not have to do it all yourself. The right actor can offer such amazing depth through their performance that it makes all those little facts you thought up about your character unnecessary or irrelevant.
And watch some TCM. They do backstory really well in those classic movies.
In the end, I have three pieces of advice. First, do not include any backstory that is not necessary for the fulfillment of the plot. Secondly, trust your audience. Let them figure some things out for themselves. Finally, trust your actors too. You, as the writer, do not have to do it all yourself. The right actor can offer such amazing depth through their performance that it makes all those little facts you thought up about your character unnecessary or irrelevant.
And watch some TCM. They do backstory really well in those classic movies.
Other Writing Tips:
Preview my horrifying new novel Chapel Street on Amazon:
Listen to me read some chapters here:
Chapel Street - Prologue - My Mother
Chapel Street - Chapter 1 - RestingPlace.com
Chapel Street - Chapter 2 - Elisabetta
Chapel Street - Chapter 3 - The Upload
Chapel Street - Chapter 4 - The Kobayashi Maru
Let's stay in touch:
Chapel Street - Prologue - My Mother
Chapel Street - Chapter 1 - RestingPlace.com
Chapel Street - Chapter 2 - Elisabetta
Chapel Street - Chapter 3 - The Upload
Chapel Street - Chapter 4 - The Kobayashi Maru
Let's stay in touch:
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