by Linda Seger
A novel may be filled with fascinating characters but have far too many for a two-hour film. We’ve probably all had the experience of reading novels with so many characters that we had to keep flipping back and forth in order to remember who’s who. Many Russian novels can be even more confusing, until we realize that Alexander and Alex and Sascha and Ivanovich are all names for the same person.
Since the characters are already created, much of the beginning work of the adaptation demands choosing, cutting, and combining characters. Once these choices have been made, the writer will need to draw on the same skills necessary to create original characters. Some characters will need to be recreated and redefined. In other stories, additional characters may need to be added to make the drama clear.
Some of the questions that need to be asked in order to make these decisions are: “Whom do you use? Whom do you cut? Whom do you refocus? What characters need to be drastically changed for film?”
FIND THE MAIN CHARACTER
In most books the protagonist is obvious—the story is about a particular character. In novels written in the third person, we watch the main character through the eyes of the writer-narrator. Sometimes the story is told by the protagonist and is written in the first person. In other cases, it is told in the first person, but the person telling the story is not the protagonist. Instead, she or he is a narrator-observor telling us a story about someone else.
In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, for instance, the narrator-observor who tells us about Gatsby is Nick Carraway. In Cross Creek, author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is the narrator-observor, telling us about incidents that she observed while living at Cross Creek. And in White Hunter, Black Heart, Peter Viertel (both the author of the book and a character in the story) is the narrator-observor, telling us about John Wilson’s egocentric desire to bag an elephant before starting to shoot a film set in Africa. John Wilson is a fictionalized character based on John Huston, who directed The African Queen.
Narrator-observors work well in books, partly because of the fascination and attention to detail of our narrator-guide. We gain not only understanding of the main character, but also insight into the thinking of the narrator-observor.
But none of these three films was commercially successful, and The Great Gatsby could easily be called a flop.
When Cross Creek was released in 1983, I took a special interest in the film because I had been the story analyst at EMI Films who recommended the script, written by Dalene Young. When reading it, I knew by the end of page one that I had a very special script in my hands.
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, but it didn’t do well at the box office. The producers felt it was badly distributed, while the critics gave it mediocre reviews primarily because of the passive main character, who was not integrally involved in the action. It was a perceptive point. Although distribution problems and a soft marketing campaign may indeed have been the causes of the movie’s lack of success, there did seem to be an adaptation problem, since the character Marjorie was observing a story happening to someone else. True, she had her own transformations, and there was a strong subplot, but much of the action focused on the young boy with the yearling.
Other books also have narrator characters—Chief Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ed in Deliverance, and the young boy in Shane, to name three. However, these are narrator-actor characters: they comment on the main character, but they also are important players in the action.
In Deliverance, Lewis begins as the main character. He’s the catalyst for the trip. He’s the motivating character for many of Ed’s decisions and actions. He’s admired by Ed, commented upon, respected, looked up to. But Ed comes to the forefront during the last half of the story and becomes the active character. It’s Ed who is tested, who causes the climax to happen, who himself changes, and who takes over when Lewis is wounded.
In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Bromden tells the story in the novel and frames most of the scenes in the play, but he observes the action in the movie. As the film progresses, Bromden becomes more important. He begins to relate to McMurphy and he becomes a transformed character as a result of this relationship.
If the protagonist is a narrator-actor, you’ll have a much easier time adapting the material. If not, and you still want to do the adaptation, there are some methods you can use to make the narrator-observor more active.
A few years ago I worked on the adaptation of the best-selling novel Christy, by Catherine Marshall. The script is currently in preproduction as I finish writing this book, and the producer, Ken Wales, has told me that it looks as if all is going forward. The solutions to some of the problems we encountered in Christy, such as trying to make a character more active, may be helpful.
Although in the book the story is not told in the first person, Christy is something of an observor of a long-standing feud between two families in the Appalachians. The feud is good dramatic action, but it is only a small subplot taking place around Christy. Her story is religious (a search for God) and relational (her relationship with a doctor and a minister). Since the producer wanted to do a commercial film, we made the religious search a smaller subplot but carried through that theme by using images about forgiveness and reconciliation. Since the feud was the most active story line, we switched the plot and subplot, strenghtening the feud plot line and making it the A story. We looked at all the characters who were involved in the feud—whether they were active in keeping the feud going, or in trying to stop it. Whenever possible, we gave a supporting character’s function to Christy, so she became more involved in the feud plot line. In the script, Christy more actively tries to resolve the problems between these feuding families. In one instance, she delivers an important note that a minor character delivers in the book. In the script, we made her see more, react more, and interact more in order to change her from a narrator-observor to the most active character.
When adapting with narrator-observors, first make sure the main character is clear, and that he or she can carry the action without the help of the narrator. If the main character is sympathetic, it will make adapting the material easier. The character of McMurphy in Cuckoo’s Nest works well because he’s sympathetic, and he can carry the story without Chief Bromden. And, since Chief Bromden becomes active, and is the recipient of McMurphy’s transformation, the story becomes even more workable.
If the main character is not sympathetic (as in the case of White Hunter, Black Heart), look carefully at the narrator. In this film, the character Peter does have a job to do—he is the screenwriter for director John Wilson’s African film, but his main function is as an observor and sometimes unwilling sidekick of Wilson. Peter is manipulated by Wilson’s strong ego, making Peter seem like a pawn, and therefore weak and passive. The story might have worked better as a play, since theatre can handle ambiguities and characters who aren’t always sympathetic. As a film it did not do well with either critics or audiences.
DEFINE THE CHARACTERS’ FUNCTIONS
Not every character in a novel will find a home in the film. Some characters need to be cut, others refocused. How do you make these decisions? It’s not just a case of choosing your favorites. You need a kind of plumb line that can test what characters will serve the film, what characters will need to be cut.
Begin by evaluating their function in the story. Every character should serve the story. Since a film tends to be more story-oriented than a novel, play, or even a true-life story, it’s not unusual to find characters in these other forms that do little for the story, although they might add color, texture, or theme.
There are many ways characters serve a story. From my study of character functions I have defined four areas where characters work particularly well in film. One character can fulfill more than one of these functions, but if any character doesn’t fulfill at least one of them, you need to consider cutting the character. If several characters are serving the same function, you may want to combine
some.
The Storytelling Function
The characters who tell the story include the protagonist and antagonist, who set up the conflict, and catalyst characters, who carry out an action or give information to move the story forward.
These are the main characters, the “doing” characters. They make the story happen. They keep the story moving. Examples of storytelling characters are McMurphy and Nurse Ratched, Scarlett and Rhett, Lawrence of Arabia, Lewis in Deliverance, Jeff in Rear Window.
Catalyst characters are those who make decisions, add information, or create conflicts with the protagonists. Examples are the backwoodsmen who shoot at the men in Deliverance, George, who keeps kissing (or wanting to kiss) Lucy in A Room with a View, or Billie Babbitt in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, whose sexual activities with Candy Starr cause the climax to occur.
These active characters—protagonist, antagonist, catalyst—are the most important people in the film. If the source material doesn’t contain active characters, it will be extremely difficult, perhaps even impossible, to create a workable film.
Helping to Reveal Main Characters
The helping function is carried by the love interest and confidante characters. They’re needed to make the main characters more relational, and to reveal aspects of the main characters that we wouldn’t learn if we only watched them “do” the story.
Most films have a love interest. Many have confidante characters. Every film doesn’t need these character types, but they can be very helpful in defining and dimensionalizing the major character.
Love interest characters can be main or supporting. Love interest functions are served by Rhett and Scarlett, Lucy Honeychurch and George, and even Candy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, who reveals McMurphy’s sense of fun, and who gives Billy his first sexual experience. Confidantes are found in many books and plays. Mrs. Moore in A Passage to India is an important confidante for Adela. At times, Scarlett confides in Mammy. George confides in the angel in “The Greatest Gift” (It’s a Wonderful Life).
Talking About, Revealing, or Embodying the Theme
Since many novels or plays are theme-oriented, they often contain characters who help the reader or audience better understand the main ideas. Such characters are not always story characters. In a film, however, it becomes important that these characters be connected to the action of the story. In A Passage to India, Mr. Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Godpole serve an important thematic function. They tell us about the problems of colonization, about fairness and justice, about equality and patronization, about the values of Indian culture. But they aren’t disconnected to the story. Fielding becomes integrally involved in helping Aziz, who has been accused of raping Adela, even to the extent of receiving disfavor from his countrymen. Mrs. Moore is an important witness to the event. Godpole reflects on the action, as well as on the values within their culture.
To make a thematic character in a novel or play work for the adaptation, you may be able to give him or her a story function. Perhaps the character can also be a catalyst, or a confidante.
Adding Color and Texture
Minor characters are often used to add color and texture. These characters are the memorable, entertaining, interesting people who round out the film—a funny waitress, an uptight hotel clerk, the nervous nurse in Cuckoo’s Nest, or the beauty shop assistant in Steel Magnolias.
Most of these characters also serve other functions. Some have a particular job to do, perhaps as a maid or chauffeur who helps us recognize how rich and powerful a particular character is. Or there might be a bodyguard, secretary, or receptionist who helps the protagonist do his or her job, while also adding entertainment value to the story.
In A Room with a View, there is a carriage driver who takes the main and supporting characters to the countryside to see a view. He’s an Italian who spends much of the drive in an amorous embrace with a sexy young lady who he says is his sister. Besides being a memorable minor character who adds charm to the scene, he also serves several other functions. He serves a thematic function by revealing how uptight certain other characters are. He helps give context to the scene, by creating a sensual atmosphere that later plays out with George’s kiss. He is also a catalyst character since he brings Lucy to George when she is actually looking for Mr. Beebe.
Try to preserve the special characters, if possible. If you find particularly colorful characters in a novel who don’t seem to have a function, or may only have a thematic function, see if you can give them some additional function that will help the story. If audience members have read the book, they will eagerly look forward to seeing these characters in the film. But be careful with them. By itself, color won’t make a workable film character.
CUT CHARACTERS
A novel can often handle many characters, even some who make very short appearances. But film audiences can only focus on a few characters in two hours. If there are too many people, they get confused. Arthur Knight’s review of The Cotton Club in The Hollywood Reporter spoke to this problem. It said, “Its cast is huge, and the individual stories keep bumping into each other—or worse, since so many of the players are unfamiliar, as time goes by, you even begin to wonder if, or when, you had met them before.”
How many characters are too many? From my observations, I have noticed that most scripts seem to have three, five, or seven major characters. A film can handle many minor characters, but if we need to get to know a character, it will usually be difficult for us to keep track of more than seven people.
Let’s look at a few well-known films to see who the focal characters are.
Deliverance has four focal characters, although Ed, Bobby, and Lewis are the most important. Drew dies partway through and is a bit of a shadowy figure for much of the story.
The main characters in A Room with a View are Lucy, George, and Cecil. The supporting characters who take focus are Mr. Beebe, Mr. Emerson, and Helen Bartlett.
Shane focuses on five characters—father, mother, Shane, son, and villain. Gone With the Wind focuses on four—Rhett, Scarlett, Melanie, and Ashley.
Notice that while in all these films other supporting and minor characters fill out the story, there are few focal characters.
If you do need a number of characters to tell your story, try to find contrasting physical characteristics as a help to your audience. In Godfather III, I had trouble distinguishing the assassin from the character who became Pope John Paul I. They had similar physical characteristics, but there had not been adequate time to clearly set them up as characters. In the review by Duane Byrge in The Hollywood Reporter, the film was criticized for this confusion: “Unfortunately, the film’s cross-cut, highly choreographed finale may prove somewhat incomprehensible to mainstream viewers as scores of unrecognizable gun-men assassinate scores of equally gray guys.”
The movie did, however, distinguish other characters well. There was the assassin who brayed like a donkey, Kreizinger with his moustache, and the tall and thin archbishop, who stood out among the stockier Pope and assassins.
Although some aspects of distinguishing among characters hinge on casting, the writer can also write character descriptions that take potential problems into account.
COMBINE CHARACTERS
Cutting characters usually means combining characters. In many novels, there are a number of characters with similar functions. There might be several businessmen, villains, relatives, clients, or soldiers who all have some thematic importance. For film, combining characters can streamline and focus the story line. In the story “The Body” (Stand by Me) there were originally seven older boys who confront Vern, Gordy, Eddie, and Chris. The film focused on only four. I have always thought that it wouldn’t have hurt the film A Room with a View to cut the Reverend Cuthbert Eager, who has no important story function and no real payoff in the story.
Combining characters does not necessarily mean adding up the qualities of two characters and giving them to one. It might mean cutting one chara
cter, but taking a line of dialogue or action of that character and giving it to another.
In the novel Gone With the Wind there’s a scene when Ashley returns after the war. As Melanie sees him from a distance and recognizes him she joyfully runs to him. Scarlett, who has always felt that Ashley was hers, begins to run too. But she is stopped by Will, who says, “Don’t spoil it … . After all, he’s her husband, ain’t he?”
Clearly it’s an important line and gesture. But Will, who has an intuitive understanding about Scarlett’s feelings for Ashley, doesn’t exist in the film. So his line of dialogue, along with his understanding, is given to Mammy in the film.
In the adaptation of Shoeless Joe for the Field of Dreams screenplay, the character of Bluestein was combined with the character of Mark to create one buyer instead of two. Ray’s brother Richard was not a buyer and didn’t possess any of those qualities, but some of his reactions to the baseball field were given to Mark.
Focusing characters often means putting yourself in the audience’s place, and asking how many characters we are physically able to see and keep track of through the eye of the lens. The film is framing the characters. Although both the film and the novel can show us a cast of thousands, the film works more like the theatre by focusing on a small number of people in a short amount of time.
CHOOSE SYMPATHETIC CHARACTERS
In American films, sympathetic characters are considered essential for a commercially successful film. We need to like someone well enough to be in their company for several hours. Sometimes a fascinating character can substitute for a sympathetic character. Some fascinating characters who may not be likable include Michael Corleone in Godfather I, II, and III, Henry and Tommy in GoodFellas, Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, and Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune.