Contour At The Movies

Overall Impression — Gone are the quips, the easy going air of superiority.  It’s an action movie, first and foremost and a well-structured one with an interesting stakes character.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? — James Bond

What’s he trying to accomplish? — Defeat the plans of the evil Dominic Greene (professional), keep Camille safe as she seeks revenge (personal), and avenge the death of his girlfriend Vesper Lynd (private).

Who’s trying to stop him? — Dominic Greene.

What happens if he fails? — Camille dies, and the South American peasants are left without water.

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan — Bond is all alone after the death of Vesper Lynd in CASINO ROYALE.  Even though he’s called off by M, he continues to seek vengeance and is the outcast of MI-6.

Wanderer — Bond travels to various exotic locations (apparently, the most in any Bond film) following the trail and leads which will bring him to those who betrayed and killed Vesper.

Warrior — Bond meets Camille, saves her and realizes that they have a shared destiny.  He now knows who is behind Vesper’s death (Greene) and is actively pursuing him and the cartel who are threatening

Martyr — Bond is willing to give up his own life to help Camille get the revenge that he himself was unable to get.

AND, IN THE END…

I’m not sure who pulled the trigger (so to speak) on the idea of making Bond the “blunt object” that M accused him of being in the previous Bond movie (CASINO ROYALE) but blunt he is.  I saw a review that likened Daniel Craig to a crash test dummy.  He certainly doesn’t get much chance to emote, and his Bond doesn’t arouse much empathy for a man who just lost the one girl who could love him for who he is.  That being said, the film follows the rules of structure and thanks to hyperkinetic action is never uninteresting to watch.  Tellingly though, neither the story nor Bond’s journey lingers in memory.  Ultimately this is a film that leaves us shaken, but not stirred.

Syd Field first described the three areas of conflict your main character is dealing with, and I’ve gone back to this concept over and over again, particularly in crafting a good CENTRAL QUESTION for my stories.  (The Central Question is the question that once it’s answered definitively “yes” or “no” the movie is over.)

These three areas of conflict are:

• PROFESSIONAL — That which is evident to everyone around your main character.
• PERSONAL — That which is evident to only those closest to your main character.
• PRIVATE — That which only your main character really knows.

So, in STAR WARS the Central Question is “Will Luke save the Princess, destroy the Deathstar, and become a Jedi like his father.”  Destroying the Deathstar is his professional goal.  Saving the Princess is his personal goal.  Becoming a Jedi like his father is his private goal.

A more recent example is QUANTUM OF SOLACE.  The Central Question is “Will Bond defeat the plans of the Dominic Greene (professional), keep Camille safe as she seeks revenge (personal), and avenge the death of his girlfriend Vesper Lynd (private).”

The closer you can resolve all three of these areas of conflict to each other, the tighter and more satisfying the conclusion of your stories will be.

Overall Impression — At first I was embarrassed at how much I liked this movie, and then I realized that I had nothing to be ashamed about!

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

Who’s your main character? — Maxwell Smart.

What’s he trying to accomplish? — Prove that he’s a capable field agent, impress Agent 99, and save the city of Los Angeles.

Who’s trying to stop him? — Siegfried of KAOS.

What happens if he fails? — The city of Los Angeles will be destroyed by a bomb

THE FOUR ARCHETYPES

Orphan — Max is a highly regarded analyst but has failed the field agent test a number of times.  When he finally passes the test he still isn’t promoted because he’s too valuable at the office.  People think he’s a joke, he lives alone, and gets no respect from most of the other agents.

Wanderer — Max gets his big break, is partnered with Agent 99, and starts to pursue leads — all the while trying to figure out how to get 99 to open up to him and like him.

Warrior — In a brilliant switch over from wanderer to warrior, Max takes the “fight” to 99 and during a battle for supremacy on a ballroom dance floor.  She begins to respect him and they start bonding while getting closer to KAOS.

Martyr — Max is willing to sacrifice himself and his career (he’s been branded a double agent) in order to save the city.

AND, IN THE END…

I think the thing I like most about this movie was that the filmmakers didn’t take the easy (i.e. stoopid) way out.  It would have been too simple to make Max a total fool.  Instead, he’s a perceptive agent with great instincts (really heroic qualities) but lousy luck!  This makes him a perfect comic leading man.  We’re able to laugh with Max and sometimes at him, but without ever feeling guilty or cruel.

Philosopher Henri Bergson famously said that comedy requires “a momentary anesthesia of the heart”, which is true to an extent in GET SMART.  It’s easy to feel superior to a comic, inept character and it requires us to park our humanity for a short while to enjoy watching the pie hit the face.  Thanks to some deft character work all around, the anesthesia required to watch Max is more of a mild sedative.