Movie Analysis: “Mad Max: Fury Road” — Characters
This week we launch a new bi-weekly series in which we will be analyzing movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of watching movies:
To be a good screenwriter, you need to have a broad exposure to the world of film. Every movie you see is a potential reference point for your writing, everything from story concepts you generate to characters you develop to scenes you construct. Moreover people who work in the movie business constantly reference existing movies when discussing stories you write; it’s a shorthand way of getting across what they mean or envision.
But most importantly, you need to watch movies in order to ‘get’ how movie stories work. If you immerse yourself in the world of film, it’s like a Gestalt experience where you begin to grasp intuitively scene composition, story structure, character functions, dialogue and subtext, transitions and pacing, and so on.
Let me add this: It’s important to see movies as they get released so that you stay on top of the business. Decisions get made in Hollywood in large part depending upon how movies perform, so watching movies as they come out puts you in the same head space as reps, producers, execs, and buyers.
This week’s movie: Mad Max: Fury Road, written by George Miller and Brendan McCarthy and Nico Lathouris, directed by George Miller, starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.
Our schedule for discussion this week:
Monday: General Comments
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Takeaways
For those of you who have not seen the movie, do not click MORE as we will be trafficking in major spoilers. If you have seen Mad Max: Fury Road, I invite you to join me in breaking down the movie to its component parts and analyzing why this movie kicks ass in almost every single way.
Let’s start our discussion of the characters in MM:FR with some items already brought up in previous posts:
* These are well drawn characters. They’re not deeply nuanced, but rather scaled to have just enough complexity to fit this type of action-adventure movie. Each comes across as a distinct individual with their own wants and needs, even secondary characters.
* The characters traffic in universal human emotions: Fear, Hope, Despair, Anger, etc. The narrative canvas is spectacular, however we are provided specific characters with identifiable and relatable concerns which draws us into their lives.
* The pronounced role of women. Indeed there is a matriarchy vs. patriarchy dynamic pretty much at the thematic center of the story.
* There is an interesting Protagonist pivot. The movie begins squarely with Max as the Protagonist. Then there is something of a shift toward Furiosa. It’s her plan — to bring the Wives to the Green Place — which creates the chase scenario which dominates the plot. For much of the movie, she is the most dominant figure, proactive and singular in focus with Max positioned first as a hindrance, then as a nuisance, and only eventually as an ally. It’s an unusual approach to the Protagonist perspective and speaks both to the fluid nature of characters and one more distinctive aspect to the storytelling at work in this movie.
How about some archetype analysis? Here’s my take:
Protagonist: Max
Nemesis: Immortan Joe and his multitude of minions
Attractor: The Wives
Mentor: Furiosa, Vuvalini
Trickster: Nux
Want my logic? See me in comments.
Finally, this observation: Three of the primary characters go through a discernable psychological metamorphosis: Max, Furiosa, Nux. Again, something we can discuss in comments.
Join the discussion. And for heaven’s sake, see this movie!
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