by Salva Rubio
Catalyst: On his way home, the Ghost gets mugged by two unknowns who steal a manuscript from him, thinking that it may be Lang’s memoir. The Ghost is having second thoughts about the job, but because he wants the handsome fee, he accepts the assignment.
Debate: In the airport, the Ghost debates internally, seeming to have “third thoughts” when he sees Lang accused by former collaborator Richard Rycart of handing terrorists to the CIA for torture and interrogation. He finally arrives at Lang’s house in the U.S., where he is introduced to his team and is given McAra’s manuscript, realizing the job will be harder than he initially thought. “You must be wondering what you’ve let yourself in for,” says B Story Character Ruth, knowing well our Debate section.
B Story: Lang’s wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) is our B Story Character, and one who seems to be very angry about the fact that her husband is openly having an affair with his assistant Amelia (Kim Cattrall). She and the Ghost will come to romantic terms, too, but she will also occasionally provide him with eye of the storm moments where the two discuss what is happening. Ruth seems to be the only sincere character.
Break into Two: Lang himself arrives at the airport with all the characters there to meet him. Remember this location, since we will come to it again in very different circumstances. Most importantly, this marks the beginning of the real job for the Ghost.
Fun and Games: What is a high-profile politician like in private? How detached is he from the public? How can one make him likable and attractive for a book? The Ghost explores this upside-down world, finding it unlikely that a man like Lang, who isn’t very sharp, has ended up in politics. The Ghost will get his chance to see him in action when Lang is denounced at The Hague war criminal courts, and helps craft a press statement. Is he learning something about politics at last? The Ghost finds among McAra’s belongings some old pictures that show that Lang may be lying about his past. He also discovers a strange number, and upon dialing it, learns that McAra contacted Rycart before he died. With time apart from Lang for a while, the Ghost investigates on his own, and a local old man (Eli Wallach) tells him suspicious details about the former writer’s death. Should the Ghost keep investigating? Is he in trouble, too? Curiosity is a too strong a temptation.
Midpoint: Ruth and the Ghost meet for dinner and a “Midpoint celebration” ensues, in which he performs a public coming out when he confesses knowing some suspicious facts about Lang and the circumstances surrounding McAra’s death. She seems distressed and calls her husband. Later in the night, she shows up at the Ghost’s room and they have sex as often happens in many a Midpoint. The next morning, the Ghost achieves a false victory when he decides to drop the assignment and go home.
Bad Guys Close In: The Ghost finds McAra’s last destination before his death in the car’s GPS... and the internal Bad Guy of curiosity is alive and well. He travels on the same ferry in which McAra died and drives up to an estate in New York. There, he visits a man named Emmett, who claims not to know Lang, although everything points to the probability they are old friends. Before leaving, Emmett threatens the Ghost in a veiled way.
All Is Lost: When he exits Emmett’s home, the Ghost sees two cars following him, which means all his suspicions were right — he is about to discover something big, and it is probably the same thing that got McAra killed. To avoid ending up like McAra, his only choice is to reboard the ferry on which McAra died! He escapes to land, barely eluding his pursuers.
Dark Night of the Soul: Alone in the empty ferry parking lot, the Ghost reflects on what to do next, contemplating his solitude and, especially, the fact that he cannot trust anyone. Or can he?
Break into Three: In the hotel room, the Ghost calls Rycart and decides to meet him. Before this, he researches on the internet and discovers the Lang-Emmett connection: Emmett belongs to the CIA, which indicates that Lang could have been working for them all along, including his years as PM. The Ghost discusses this with Lang, before A and B Stories cross when he talks again with Ruth. Our poor “Writer with a Problem” doesn’t have a choice but to Break into Three.
Finale:
Gathering the Team: Rycart takes the Ghost to the airport, giving him a mission: to return with Lang and gather information that can be used against him. The Ghost is not able to renounce this, as Rycart has taped the whole conversation. The Ghost is sure that Lang will get his way. Has he finally learned something about how politics work?
Executing the Plan: The Ghost gets on Lang’s plane and sees that he has been discovered, so he spills the whole truth: he knows about Lang and the CIA. Lang seems surprised but not a bit scared; if he had the powers of his office, he would do everything the same way again.
High Tower Surprise: Upon arriving at the airport, the big surprise comes: Lang is assassinated! A veteran whose son died in Afghanistan shoots him. The Ghost is interrogated but is soon allowed to go back to Europe.
Dig, Deep Down: The Ghost attends the release party of the book, where Ruth is making a speech. But his suspicions are triggered by something Amelia says about the original manuscript, and the Ghost “digs, deep down” to find clues in the beginning of each chapter!
The Execution of the New Plan: The Ghost will let Ruth know that he has learned the truth: she was the one recruited by the CIA by Emmett when he was her teacher, and then she married Lang to control him. Ruth is devastated, and the Ghost toasts to her in victory.
Final Image: There is a momentary “triumph of the individual” as the Ghost leaves the party, original manuscript in hand, possibly to denounce her. But there is something about him that has not changed: he does not know anything about politics. If he did, he would have seen the car coming towards him. After a loud screech, the Final Image echoes the Opening Image, showing Ruth’s secret as it is scattered in the air, never to be revealed… because as we know from the beginning, some murders are never investigated.
DRIVE (2011)
“Law Enforcement Problem” films, as Blake defined them, place its dudes between the crosshairs of the bad guys and the police. And you can bet that even if your only job is to drive, you will ultimately find yourself chased by both, because knowing too much is indeed a problem.
Ryan Gosling stars as the Driver, a stunt-double-actor and mechanic by day, and getaway driver and street wanderer by night. Gosling is accompanied by such great supporting actors as Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman and Carey Mulligan.
As in all DWAPs, Ryan is “minding his own business” when he finds himself in a “test of survival,” having to work for the mob to protect his boss’s life while trying to save his married next-door-neighbor crush (who will give him some eye of the storm moments). As you can imagine, things will only get harder as Bad Guys Close In on him.
Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn was behind the cameras of this super-cool, super-slick, super-sophisticated piece of cinema (and one of my personal favorites). It displays a retro feel, vintage aesthetics and clever influences from the ’80 s to show an unforgettable, haunting, dream-like Los Angeles — the kind that you can only discover behind the wheel.
DWAP Type: Law Enforcement Problem
DWAP Cousins: Serpico, Fahrenheit 451, Lone Star, The Place Beyond the Pines, Sicario
DRIVE
Based on the book by James Sallis
Screenplay by Hossein Amini
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Opening Image: Los Angeles, night. A nameless laconic man, whom we will call the Driver (Ryan Gosling), talks on the phone to a prospective client about his modus operandi as a getaway driver. There is more than meets the eye in this short scene — he is a lonesome guy in a generic room carrying a bag, probably containing all his belongings. Although never stated, his loneliness and the wish for a different, warmer, family kind of life will act as a theme in the film, and the basis for comparison to our Final Image.
Theme Stated: There is another theme at play, delivered in the Driver’s speech and confirmed by his mentor Shannon: �
��No one will be looking at you.” The Driver does not get involved. He just drives (which implies moving around and never having a home) and disappears.
Set-Up: The Driver meets his mentor friend Shannon (Bryan Cranston), a retired driver and car mechanic who has seen better times. The Driver then executes a long, elegant and discreet getaway for some robbers. He is cold, taciturn, professional and detached — not looking back once the work is done. When he returns home after the sting (crossing paths with a lady we will soon know more about), he seems to have nothing to do there. Delving in the noir-poetic overtones of the film, he returns to the streets to continue driving alone. It’s his Stasis=Death moment — is he destined to be just a driver who moves around forever?
Catalyst: Upon going back home again, in a very brief and fleeting moment, the Driver gets in the elevator with neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan) and they exchange glances and light smiles. As we’ll see, their relationship will take a most dramatic turn in this very same place.
B Story: Irene is the obvious B Story Character, the person who, through love, may change the Driver’s life to relieve it from his loneliness and isolation. But can the Driver allow himself to become involved with her and her son? That question leads to the Debate.
Debate: We again see the Driver in his legitimate job: he is a stunt driver, doubling for stars while wearing a mask. Soon after, he runs into Irene and her child Benicio in the supermarket. Even though he tries to avoid them, so as to not get involved, he relents and takes them home. He and Benicio like each other right away, and Irene also informs the Driver that Benicio’s father is in prison. This sounds like a green light for the Driver, but should he get involved when love is at play? At some point, will he actually want to settle down, ridding himself of the loneliness that plagues him? While we ponder those questions, Shannon meets with mobsters Bernie (Albert Brooks) and Nino (Ron Perlman) to ask for a loan to buy a stock car chassis and have the Driver run at the races.
Break into Two: Bernie meets the Driver at the race track, and even though he shows himself to be a ruthless loan shark, Shannon closes the deal. And as you know, when you deal with the Mafia, there is no turning back, which is what must happen in any Break into Two beat. But there is another “break” for the Driver — thanks to Shannon, he will be able to get to know a little more about Irene and Benicio. And when you fall in love, there is no turning back from that, either!
Fun and Games: The Driver takes Irene and Benicio for a ride and starts spending time with them, having literal Fun and Games. He is also exploring a world that has been banned for him until now — the upside-down world of security, love and attachment to a family, finding beauty even in an eye of the storm drain. At the same time, the mobsters seem happy with the racing plans, but Bernie makes sure to tell the Driver about Shannon’s backstory, which shows they all could get in trouble if things go wrong. Soon after, their world is shaken by the re-appearance of Irene’s husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), just out of jail. He seems to be such a decent guy who cares for his family that the stoic Driver accepts the new situation. He even rejects a job, possibly signaling that he wants to change, too. But soon after, he finds out that someone has given Benicio an unused bullet as a warning and has badly beaten Standard, who owes money to a mobster named Cook.
Midpoint: The Driver has a meal with the family, showing him a “glimpse of what he can be, with no obligation to be it,” resulting in a Midpoint party that’s a false victory. In a parallel scene, he decides to help Standard commit a robbery so that Standard can pay his debt and live happily with his family, thus performing a public coming out. Also, stakes are raised for both A and B Stories (which obviously cross here) because the family’s survival depends on the robbery.
Bad Guys Close In: The theft is carried out with a little help from Cook’s accomplice Blanche (Christina Hendricks), but things go awry when Standard is shot dead. The Driver is chased by some unknowns in an ominous big car, but he manages to elude them, hiding in a motel with Blanche. The TV news makes the Driver think that it was all a set-up, something confirmed by the appearance of two “bad guy” hit men who kill Blanche but are quickly disposed of by the Driver. Enraged, he finds Cook and is about to literally hammer a bullet in his head when he learns that Nino is the man behind Standard’s death. When the Driver tries to explain everything to Irene, she slaps him, the Bad Guys of unrequited love making their appearance — made worse by the famous elevator scene, in which he kisses her and next stomps on a hitman’s head. The Driver knows it will be almost impossible to win Irene back; he can now only protect her from a distance, especially difficult because Shannon informs Bernie about her. The “team” has totally “disintegrated” and the “Bad Guys recoup and rethink their strategy” as Bernie tells Nico off and decides to deal with the Driver himself, “tightening the grip.”
All Is Lost: Bernie visits Shannon and slashes his arm, killing the last person that seemed to care for the Driver.
Dark Night of the Soul: The silent Driver contemplates Shannon’s dead body, mulling about what to do next.
Break into Three: Still near Shannon’s corpse, the Driver takes his traveling bag, signaling that he is ready to move on. But first, he must cross A and B Stories and dispatch of the mobsters, or Irene will never be safe again.
Finale:
Gathering the Team: The Driver “gathers his tools,” consisting of a prosthetic mask taken from the film set, and visits Nico’s pizzeria to get ready for the showdown.
Executing the Plan: His “plan” is to chase Nino in the dark and to force his car off the road. Nino survives the crash, but the Driver drowns him in the ocean. Next, he calls Bernie to meet up and give him back the money, hoping that it will make Irene safe. The Driver realizes he cannot trust Bernie, and just as he is about to give him the money...
High Tower Surprise: …Bernie takes out a knife and stabs him. The Driver retaliates by slashing Bernie’s neck, and the mobster dies.
Dig, Deep Down: Bleeding profusely, the Driver rests in his car, one foot out of it, as if he symbolically still could get out and go back to Irene. In a blink, the Driver starts his car again and drives off... maybe to meet Irene? Meanwhile, she knocks at his door, but no one answers.
The Execution of the New Plan: The Driver is shown again at the wheel in the middle of the night, having renounced love and the hope for a family, retaining his true nature.
Final Image: We started off with a lonesome guy and even though he has tasted love and caring for a while, just like the wandering hero of many westerns and noir pieces, the Driver remains alone — seeking new adventures and, possibly, love.
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (2005)
Sometimes, a place so familiar and seemingly close as home may conceal a deep, violent, potentially lethal problem. Thus family, couples, relationships and friends are at stake in what Blake called the “Domestic Problem” category in our DWAP films.
In these kinds of stories, home is not the secure, protected-from-harm place one expects, and in this great film by duo-personalities lover David Cronenberg, the pater familias, the man of the house, hides a long-kept secret: he used to be a ruthless assassin.
No one can believe that Tom Stall, who owns the town diner, may have that kind of past. He seems — and in a way, is — a perfectly “innocent, ordinary man” set against the “extraordinary circumstances” dealt by mobsters who have arrived to take him back to his original home.
The “test of survival” in this film is not only a life-or-death battle by our Jekyll-defeated-Hyde main character, but something more — the family that Tom has built over the years, the wife who loves him and the children who call him Dad... now may have to call him… Joey Cusack, mob assassin.
DWAP Type: Domestic Problem
DWAP Cousins: Frozen River, Winter’s Bone, House of Sand and Fog, A Most Violent Year, The Kids Are All Right
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
Based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke
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br /> Screenplay by John Olson
Directed by David Cronenberg
Opening Image: A family is destroyed by sudden, senseless violence when two assassins on the run kill them. Can you believe that ruthless, unmerciful men like these could ever build such a loving family for themselves?
Theme Stated: We’re in the small-town home of Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife, Edie (Maria Bello). “There is no such thing as monsters,” Tom’s elder son Jack says to his little sister. Is he right? In this film, Jack will learn that monsters do exist — and that his own father is or has been one of them.
Set-Up: A scream tears through the night. Little Sarah, younger daughter of the Stall family, has been awakened by a nightmare. The rest of the family comforts her, showing how close they are, a tone further emphasized in the breakfast scene that follows. Soon, Tom goes to work at the diner he owns, listening to a thematic joke about marrying a potential killer. “Nobody’s perfect, Tom,” says his coworker.
B Story: Our B Story Character is Edie. Even though she and Tom have been together for quite a long time, they still love each other tenderly and passionately.
Catalyst: For the Catalyst, we take Jack’s point of view: he defeats local bully Bobby during a baseball game, which prompts the latter to confront him in the locker room. However, Jack pretends to be a coward to avoid fighting. How long can he keep away from violence this way?
Debate: Ignorant about their son’s problems, Tom and Edie take a night off to relive their teenage erotic fantasies, while she says: “You’re the best man I’ve ever known.” Would Edie still love Tom so much if she really knew his past? At the same time, Jack debates with his crush Judy about their own future as adults, while Bobby runs into the killers we met at the beginning — and we know this means trouble.
Break into Two: The two killers from the Opening Image enter Tom’s cafe, staying even after he tells them he is about to close. Angered, the mobsters threaten the waitress, when — in a shockingly quick and effective sequence — Tom first hits one of them in the head with a coffee pot, uses that guy’s gun to return the other killer’s gunfire fatally, is stabbed in the foot by the first killer and shoots him dead. Were these acts too easy for Tom?