I do. More importantly I believe in the magic of cinema; its ability to transport its viewers into a place of enchantment. And how is that done? Is it all screenwriting? I mean, dude (or dudette -- not to be rude to my female viewers) the author of this blog IS a screenwriter, so it only follows that he would have a natural bend to laud screenwriting side of the ledger, right? No, that's not the case, Holmes. Let's delve deeper...
What makes a movie, magic? THAT deserves serious consideration. The crux of this post is dedicated to something I call, magic point. What is magic point? Magic point is the part of the movie that makes it special, OR could have made that movie special had those involved with the film maximized a certain area of film. Magic point is what gets performers and those contributing to film their Oscars. Magic point is what is special about a given film, and it can take many different forms.
Acting magic point. No film epitomizes this more than, Paul Thomas Anderson's 2007 film, "There Will Be Blood". Why watch, "There Will be Blood"? How about Daniel Day-Lewis' MASTERFUL portray of Daniel Plainview. Acting magic point on display. For me he was totally mesmerizing in this movie. Take him out of "There Will Be Blood" and what's your source of attraction that makes you want to see this film? Exploring the mystery of the oil business at the the turn of the century. Yah, kinda sorta. Sorta interesting -- if you have a special take on it, but definately not mainstream concsiousness kind of stuff. But but a Daniel Day-Lewis as the star in exploring the world of the oil business at the turn of the century and it totally different show. Take his acting performance away, and you have no movie -- at least no movie worth watching for me. The magic point of the movie "There Will Be Blood," ie. what it makes it work, and makes is memorable, IS Daniel Day Lewis' performance. Period. NOT the screenwriting. NOT the cinematography. NOT the costumes. It's the power of the actor on proud display. It is the marvel that is Daniel Day-Lewis. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Jonny Depp!
Can you tell I have a man-crush on the man? Daniel Day-Lewis is SO GOOD it's almost not fair to the other actors out there. Daniel Day Lewis is probably my favorite actor of all time. I mean this dude just crushes it everytime he's in any kind of movie. Can't wait to see him in Speilberg's "Lincoln" feature that's due to hit the theatres in December of 2012. I'm not a wagering man per se, but I'll bet Daniel Day Lewis gets an Oscar nod for his portrayal of the iconic Abraham Lincoln. And if I can ever get my own adaptation of "A King for God's People?" ever green-lit, ya know who I want playing Saul, Israel's first king don't you... Hey, Speilberg, wanna work with Daniel Day-Lewis AGAIN!!
Moving on...
Director's magic point. This is where a director's decision of what to include, and how the scene's played out is what makes the movie shine. First movie that comes to mind when I think director's magic point is Joel and Ethan Coen's "No Country for Old Men" (2007). These two MASTERS did two things VERY RIGHT in his deserving, lauded, Oscar winning film.
First off Joel and Ethan Coen DID NOT get in and out of scenes as quick as possible, as is a common mantra in the screenwriting community, something which is taught a very basic level. Rather, they were savvy enough to take a moment to capture the beauty of the Texas desert. And I wonder how many film-makers out there are savy enough to do that? The trap being, this is an on-the-run, shoot 'em up film. So isn't that what the whole film should revolve around? Is Josh Brolin's character going to get away with the Mexican drug money or not? That's the central question... A less skilled film-maker might have done just that. And if they had they would have missed shots like this:
THAT kind of savvy director is the kind of guy I wanna work with. Joel and Ethan Coen are VERY SMART. They're instincts are brilliant. Just have the sensibility to include majestic shots of the landscape shows how smart and savvy these guy are. I marveled over the beauty of the Texas desert.
And, o, buy the way, the Coen brothers are no idiots when it comes to delivering the goods either. Remember the shoot-outs between Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) and Lewyn Moss (Josh Brolin). No. Okay I'll remind you:
Okay, so Anton's aim is little off. He's more accustomed to using pneumatic cattle bolts to make his point known. But the point remains, sometimes a movie's magic point (yes, there's that compound word again!) can be directly attributed to the director's sensibilities in how he or she so chooses to put a film together; director's magic point.
Okay, you knew sooner or later it had to come to this. Does the writer deserve ANY credit when a film shines? I have mixed feelings about this. Because one could argue that IT'S ALL WRITER. The writer is the one who got the ball rolling in the first place, right? Hence ANYTHING that goes RIGHT in a movie means the writer did something right. BUT if something goes wrong in a movie, that may or may not be the writer's fault; you can have perfectly good script ruined by other forces outside of the screenwriter's control. BUT EVERYTHING that goes right in a movie should laud some praise on the writer/writers involved. Why? Because it the the story that it is bedrock from which everything else flows. Thus, the writer deserves some amount of praise regardless of where the films ultimate magic point falls. And the writers deserves absolutely none of the criticism when a film fails. WHY? Because the film had to be green-lit by someone other than the writer. Hence, if the script was so bad to begin with it never should have been green-lit in the first place.
A key point to remember when it comes to grading writers is that at some point the writer will invarriably lose his (or her) objectivity. IF a writer has done their job they have poured so much of themselves into the script that they con no longer objectively discern its merits. Sure writers have to be able to explain their story -- and they do, but when you work so hard at something you don't see things clearly for what they really are.
Screenwriting magic point. First film that comes to mind, Guillermo Del Torro's 2006 "Pan's Labyrith". What a creative take. A true marvel -- at least to me! Combing history and gothic fantasy in the world of fascist Spain in the 1940s is very high concept. And to able to pull it off, storywise is no small feat. The crazy part of this movie is that nothing really stands out -- except the high concept execution. No dialog stands out. No creature affects stand out; in fact I thought the over-sized toad was especially bad. No acting performance stands out. Rather it's just the fact that this story managed to stay to together; a demonic faun visits a troubled girl at night, and gets her to do some creepy things, when all around her during the day her world is on the edge of collapse, as her mother has a troubled pregnancy and her benefactor is brutal general in the fascist army.
And if their's one lesson to be learned from watching "Pan's Labyrith" it is this: if some creepy demon comes to you in the middle of the night with some offer that sounds to good to be true, it probably is, and it's best if you just call on the name of Jesus, rebuke the evil entity and soldier on.
Just sayin'. Being strong in the Lord never hurts.
But isn't it odd that a movie's magic point -- if it falls on the screenwriting -- can completely independent of it's dialog. Doesn't have to be. I mean some movies like Diablo Cody's "Juno" shines BECAUSE of its fine dialog. But then movies like Guillermo Del Torro's "Pan's Labyrinth" comes around, and it is so different -- yet good -- that it makes you re-evaluate how you grade-out a movie, and where it's magic point falls.
Anyway, I think I've laid my case out good enough for this time. Magic point is what shines in a given movie. Magic point is what is done right, or what should have been done right in a movie that would make it special and stand-out amongst its fellow movies in a given genre.
Hope I've given you something to think about. And just so you know, E.C. Henry DOES have a magic wand of his own. Three of 'em in fact, at last count. He's even been know to carry magic want on her personage on trips to Southern California, all for the outward purpose of showing that he is a man of magic. A man who's got a real, functioning magic wand. How do I know that I've got a real, functioning magic wand? Well-p, for starters, Skippy, when I slide the switch up on my magic want the light star at its tip blinks. And also in my scripts their is magic to be found; I write enchanting stories. (Wink) Guess you'll just have to be the judge of that...
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