by Salva Rubio
Dig, Deep Down: Disappointed, White “digs, deep down” while trying to decide if he will kill his friend.
The Execution of the New Plan: Regardless of the fact that he is going to die, Mr. White shoots Mr. Orange and is killed by the police.
Final Image: The men we met at the beginning are all dead except Mr. Pink, who is presumably arrested or shot. They never trusted each other, and the ones who did... paid for it.
THE STRAIGHT STORY (1999)
When speaking about David Lynch, a world of disturbing darkness comes to mind — surreal images of dangerous places, characters on the verge of madness, and mystical, noir violence. That is why nothing could be more surprising that this mellow, melancholic, life-affirming film, a US/UK/French co-production.
The Straight Story is based on the true journey of Alvin Straight, who rode across Iowa and Wisconsin on a lawn mower to see his brother, and it is our chosen example of what Blake defined as a “Solo Fleece,” in which “a single participant goes on the trip.”
While the “team” is our hero himself, the rest of the elements of a classic GF remain the same: a “road” (317 miles), a “prize” (finding his brother) and many a road apple that threaten to stop Alvin’s trip cold.
This kind of GF is also one of the toughest to write because the rule that “each stop on the way must count” is paramount. That is why with no set pieces, no guns, no chases, no gold or money… just a man who wants to do the right thing, audiences and critics hailed the film as the masterpiece it still is.
GF Type: Solo Fleece
GF Cousins: Into the Wild, Broken Flowers, Ulysses ’ Gaze, Taste of Cherry, Locke
THE STRAIGHT STORY
Written by John Roach & Mary Sweeney
Directed by David Lynch
Opening Image: A sky full of stars, with its traditional meanings of eternity, solemnity and divinity. By the end of the film, knowing our main character better, this very same shot will have a very different meaning: a fulfilled vision of brotherly love.
Set-Up: We meet Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth in his last role) lying on his kitchen floor, unable to get up and worrying all those around him, like neighbors, friends and his daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek). Alvin, 73 with many health problems, is a very stubborn man who is unable to drive a car and has severe mobility problems. He refuses just about everything — being operated on, using a walker, getting tests, stopping smoking, eating healthier or anything of the sort. Given his age, we know that he will not live much longer if he goes on like this. Does this not sound like a literal Stasis=Death moment for all of us?
Theme Stated: The doctor tells Alvin: “If you don’t make some changes quickly, there will be some serious consequences.” Our stubborn main character seems to accept this, but the changes and consequences he is thinking about do not exactly deal with his health. Alvin knows he has to fix something else before he gets worse... he has to get his family back.
Catalyst: Soon after, while father and daughter watch a lightning storm, the telephone rings and Alvin knows it is bad news: his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a stroke.
Debate: This triggers an internal Debate in Alvin, while Rose tells us that in 1988 Alvin and Lyle’s relationship soured. “I don’t know what he will do,” she says. A bit after, Alvin announces that he plans to go on the road to see his brother, still not knowing how he will do it. Finally, Alvin seems to have made a decision, and starts fixing an old lawn mower to go to Wisconsin, a 317 -mile trip. Is this not crazy?
Break into Two: Alvin finishes his preparations and states he will travel alone. Alvin and Rose look at the starry sky again, and when the new day dawns, Alvin sets out for his trip.
B Story: Largely off-screen, the B Story, or brotherly love story, focuses on the relationship between Alvin and Lyle. Why did they grow apart? What happened between them? Can they make amends and be together again? We will learn more as Alvin gives strangers information about his brother and himself.
Fun and Games: As you know, a usual sign that we are in our Fun and Games section is that there is a scene with our characters on the road, driving full-speed ahead, blasting music that... oh, wait. We get the same here, but in the spirit of this quiet, mellow film. So let us explore with Alvin what it’s like to travel at 5 mph and meet people on the road. The first of our road apples that stop the trip cold is when the old mower breaks down, forcing Alvin to go back to his village, get a new one and start all over again. On the road, he finds a grumpy young woman who has fled from home because she is pregnant, and she gets a valuable lesson in family ties from Alvin. As in any GF, each stop on the road must count and discuss our theme. Alvin has to confront other serious obstacles for a 73 -year-old man, such as a storm, and will marvel when finding himself in the middle of a cyclist race — the fastest thing you will see in the movie.
Midpoint: At minute 55, Alvin is cheered on when he arrives at the cyclist’s campsite — a false victory (showing that he can make it, after all) and a public coming out in what becomes a “party at Midpoint.” Also, even in this slow-paced film, there are ticking clocks, as Alvin reminds everyone around that one is not always young, so they have to make the most of their lives.
Bad Guys Close In: Five weeks into his trip, Alvin has to confront such Bad Guys as the enormous trucks that threaten to force him off the road, and the breaking of the belt of his mower’s motor, which sends the mower out of control. Running out of money when he has to get repairs adds difficulty to his task and also functions as another ticking clock. Luckily, he gets help from a family that also offers to drive him to his brother’s, but Alvin refuses — he has to make it on his own.
All Is Lost: Alvin and a man his own age reminisce about their traumatic experiences in World War II and how Alvin might have accidentally killed a friend, giving us a whiff of death. He reveals more about his past, and how alcohol was key to the souring of his relationship with his brother. Alvin is showing “his old way of thinking dying,” that is, he does not think he is right anymore, so he has to make amends — that is the real purpose of the journey.
Dark Night of the Soul: At night, Alvin looks at the stars again, this shot gaining more and more meaning as the film progresses. It is literally the “darkness before the dawn.”
Break into Three: Alvin’s mower is fixed and he can continue on the way. Soon after he crosses the Mississippi (a symbolic Break into Three if there ever was one), he encounters a priest who knows his brother. A and B stories cross as they talk about Lyle and Alvin “confesses” about what split them apart and how he wants to make peace. “Amen to that,” says the padre, blessing Alvin as he walks through the doors of our Finale beat.
Finale:
Gathering the Team: Alvin stops at a service station to gather some strength, showing his synthetic change: he can have a beer and know he will not be angry anymore.
Executing the Plan: Alvin just keeps driving, as he has done for hundreds of miles, but now he is unable to control his tears. Will he be too late?
High Tower Surprise: His motor sputters and dies, and it seems impossible to get help on the deserted road. Fortunately, the mower comes back to life. Phew!
Dig, Deep Down: Alvin reaches his brother’s home and finds Lyle alive. Both of them sit, unable to talk and “digging, deep down” for their feelings, as Alvin’s gesture has obviously moved his brother.
The Execution of the New Plan: As they rest, we can imagine that they have a lot to talk about and to pardon each other for. And of course...
Final Image: ...our closing image, that of the starry skies, has taken a full, synthetic meaning. We know that, as in the times in which they loved each other, the two brothers will talk long into the night, safe under the eternal dark sky.
3OUT OF THE BOTTLE
The dream of wishing for something out of the ordinary and getting it is as old as humanity, and the lesson implied is equally as ancient: be careful what you wish for!
From the story of Pandora’s box
, to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Bible, to the legend of Aladdin from which our genre takes its name, men and women have desired some kind of magical shortcut to lighten their troubles and pains: a token, spirit, object or power that can make their life easier in any regard. Tempting, isn’t it? But we know it’s also... cheating.
The history of story is filled with examples of characters who are granted a peculiar power that will give them an advantage over their peers, only for them to discover that the supposed blessing is a damnation in disguise. As the legend says, you can ask the devil for eternal life, only to realize a thousand years later that you forgot to ask him for eternal youth!
As Blake taught us, these kinds of stories have a deep moral: we shouldn’t desire what we can’t have naturally, because if the wish was granted, we would lose something very human — the ability to overcome troubles and grow. That is why our OOTB protagonists end up rejecting the gift for their own good, showing their transformation in the process.
But wait! Are we talking about magic, fantasy and legends? Doesn’t this sound dangerously like mainstream territory with films like The Nutty Professor, Freaky Friday or What Women Want as “beat out” in Save the Cat!® Goes to the Movies? Well, as we will see, the indie, experimental and cult realm have some of the most successful films in this genre, so whether in commercial or stylized form, we all tell the same stories: the ones that have been around forever.
So, what types of OOTB subgenres will we find? First we have the Body Switch Bottle, in which two individuals (human or otherwise) interchange their bodies, resulting in men becoming women, animals becoming human or other creatures, youngsters becoming oldsters, or some other reversal. Our chosen film for this category is Being John Malkovich, written by master of the surreal Charlie Kaufman.
Blake named the second subgenre the Thing Bottle, where an object, artificial item or outer mechanism makes the magic, and our blessing-turned-curse comes from it. This is the case of horror pieces Re-Animator and The Evil Dead or the much lighter Spike Jonze film Her, in which an Operating System brings happiness to Joaquin Phoenix’s life... a joy that we know won’t last.
Our third OOTB subgenre is the Angel Bottle. Here, a magical being fulfills the wishes, although we know that many of those dreams can be turned into nightmares unless we reject the magic and take action ourselves (or be damned forever), as in Donnie Darko and Looking for Eric. Keep in mind that in these types of stories, the “angels” can be the main characters, even literal angels as in Wings of Desire and its sequel Faraway, So Close!, or French favorite Amélie.
The Curse Bottle subgenre implies that the magic that is bestowed upon our protagonist was not really asked for by him or her, but was granted anyway. Yet, by being forced to deal with the “curse,” the character will exit the story as a transformed person. In wonderful films such as Upstream Color and The Black Swan, main characters face plights similar to Edward Norton confronting a “curse” named Brad Pitt in Fight Club.
Finally, there’s the Surreal Bottle subgenre. In it, the hero becomes “part of a parallel universe” where “magic-like” time warps, pseudo-science, drug-induced trips or some crazy effect turn our character’s world upside-down. This is the territory of Primer; Midnight in Paris; Synecdoche, New York or the über-successful reality vs. madness piece called Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
If any of the above is about to happen to your character, what are the components you will need to build your story? As always, there are three fundamental ones.
Let us start with a wish, since magic has to be called for. You need a protagonist who knows what he wants and not what he needs (recognize anyone like that?) and whom Blake summarized in two kinds of characters: those underdogs who star in “empowerment stories” and those big shots who need life to teach them a lesson (read: spanking) in the form of a “comeuppance tale.”
After the protagonist states what they want (let us repeat: not what they need), the spell comes into play, that is the magic occurs — always limited by some boundaries or Rules. That magic puts your story in motion. It could be a new Operating System (Her), the main character’s telekinesis (Birdman) or a door that happens to lead into a famous actor’s mind (Being John Malkovich). The spark of the magic can be as whimsical and surreal as you want, but The Rules must be clearly stated and followed, or your film will come apart. And beware of what Blake dubbed Double Mumbo Jumbo ! Do not have two kinds of magic happening in your story at the same time (the usual “aliens vs. vampires” territory). That will confuse your audiences and, surely, the gatekeepers that will read (and throw away) your script.
Finally, as in all stories about transformation, your hero needs to complete his or her character change, and in this kind of story it is easy to figure out: either they learn their lesson or they don’t. One way to accomplish this is by having the hero learn to do it without the magic, meaning that they can reject the supernatural aide that was supposedly helping them to do it (as they should have from the beginning) and actually accomplish their goals by themselves. This is what Amélie Poulain does when she confronts her lover without using her “magic” (subterfuge) and what Theodore Twombly does in Her when he lets go of his OS, Samantha. The other possible outcome implies not being able to change and thus failing to make the decision to stop using the magic, which has a negative effect on the protagonist. This is what happens to puppeteer Craig when, instead of leaving John Malkovich’s head, he decides to stay inside, losing his own personality forever. Of course, you could leave the audience wondering, as the ending of Birdman does.
Finally, many of these movies feature a Confidant, that is, someone the main character trusts with his or her secret. Sometimes the Confidant will help (as in Amélie), while other times the Confidant will take advantage of our hero (like Maxine does with Craig in Being John Malkovich).
FIND MAGIC IN THE BOTTLE... THE RIGHT WAY!
So, if you want to tell a story that teaches your character a lesson (perhaps inspired by something you yourself magically learned), make sure to include the following elements:
A “wish” that your hero will make or that is granted without asking, which will set the magic moving and does not need much explanation.
A “spell”: the powers, new world, time warp or whatever our hero is going to enjoy (at first) and suffer because of (ultimately). Just make sure the spell follows “The Rules” and avoid any “Double Mumbo Jumbo”!
A “lesson” that the hero will learn during the adventure, one that will push him to “do it without the magic” or to surrender to its spell — usually damning him in the process. So be careful what you wish for!
Let’s now open the bottle and make your filmmaking wish come true!
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH (1999)
“Body Switch Bottle” stories have always been wildly popular, as titles like Big, 13 Going on 30 and Freaky Friday show, at least in mainstream cinema. But can a seemingly light topic like “switching bodies” become equally effective in experimental and auteur films?
Well, just ask two of today’s more interesting filmmakers, acclaimed director Spike Jonze and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman! Both are famous for making films that not only defy the rules of screenwriting, but also tell stories in which the characters’ minds become a playground for storytelling in which the universe of narrative itself is sometimes portrayed as meta-cinema exercises.
Being John Malkovich is one of those examples, starting with the crazy idea that somewhere in New York there is a portal connecting the regular world with the mind of actor John Malkovich (played by himself) and finishing with an intelligent reflection of what it means to have an identity as well as the perils of losing it in the process of chasing our dreams.
The resulting film was nominated in three categories at the Academy Awards ® and received worldwide acclaim, regularly featured in “best films of all time” lists. So now, let’s follow a desperate and disillus
ioned puppeteer to the 7½ floor as he opens a tiny door into one of the greatest films that ever took place... inside someone’s head.
OOTB Type: Body Switch Bottle
OOTB Cousins: Howl’s Moving Castle, The Tenant, Source Code, Enemy, A Scanner Darkly
BEING JOHN MALKOVICH
Written by Charlie Kaufman
Directed by Spike Jonze
Opening Image: A stage’s curtain opens and a poetic dance unfolds under the spell of dramatic music. It’s not a person who dances, but a puppet! Our main character (played by John Cusack) practices his “Craig’s dance of despair and disillusionment,” operating a puppet who rejects his own image in a mirror. By the end of the movie, will the real Craig have accepted himself?
Theme Stated: Identity is one of the main themes of our story. While Craig watches TV, a famous puppeteer moves a gigantic Belle of Amherst puppet, reading Emily Dickinson’s famous poem I Am Nobody. “How dreary to be somebody!” she says. What is more difficult: to be oneself... or to be another person? Does being another make life easier?
Set-Up: First, we get to know Craig and his “family” better. He is unhappily married to pet store manager Lotte (Cameron Diaz), and they live together with many animals whose names (identity!) he does not care to remember. Lotte suggests that he find a job, but Craig is too depressed. Very soon, it is made clear that the modern world does not need many puppeteers, especially if they are obsessed with the impossible love stories this puppeteer likes to present. Craig wants to be a famous artist, but doesn’t seem to be doing too much to achieve his dreams, which makes him exist in a permanent Stasis=Death moment. If he does not change, he will probably “die” deep down.
Catalyst: At minute 12 sharp, Craig is told, “You got the job.” After finding an ad in which a “man with fast hands” was sought, he visits the 7½ floor of the Mertin-Flemmer building, a place with unusually low ceilings. After meeting a strange secretary and quirky, sex-obsessed manager Dr. Lester (Orson Bean), he is hired as a filer.