Character Driving Plot: “The Big Sick”

Analyzing the hit indie film starring Kumail Nanjani and Zoe Kazan.

A guest post from Tom Benedek, screenwriter (Cocoon) and co-founder of Screenwriting Master Class:

The Big Sick, based on the actual life story of Kumail Nanjani and Emily Gordon, centers around Emily’s life-and-death medical crisis but is almost entirely character-driven. The medical situation functions most certainly as the inciting incident, and offers dramatic tension throughout; but this is not a medical mystery. This is a love story, with Kumail caught between his love for Emily and his loyalty to his parents, who expect him to cooperate as they attempt to arrange a marriage for him to a Pakistani and Muslim woman. Emily, meanwhile, is caught between her love for Kumail and her conviction that she has been led on and betrayed by him.

Kumail, now the “ex,” waits awkwardly at the hospital with Emily’s parents.

The focus is on Kumail as he gets in touch with the depth of his feelings toward Emily and eventually wins over her parents, who’ve been predisposed to dislike him but witness up close Kumail’s devotion to their daughter. The medical crisis is ever-present. But a clear choice was made not to lean on hospital drama mechanics in order to maintain dramatic tension.

The script chooses to stay close to the internal struggle of Kumail.

He loves Emily and needs to live that truth, to be with her in spite of his family’s expectations of him. He overcomes the hostility of her parents and wins their love and respect. Emily overcomes her fear and hurt and regains her trust in Kumail’s love. The human drama is framed, but not overshadowed, by the medical drama.

Strategizing how character drives plot, finding that perfect balance of external and internal stories, is the screenwriter’s task.

Which of the character interactions did you resonate with most in The Big Sick? How important is conflict between characters in the movie?

Here are some clips and the trailer for The Big Sick, a wonderful movie:

Tom’s one week online class Writing the Character Driven Script starts Monday at Screenwritingmasterclass.com.