Movie Analysis: “The Martian” — Characters
Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze 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: The Martian, screenplay by Drew Goddard, book by Andy Weir.
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 The Martian, I invite you to join me in breaking down and analyzing the movie.
Perhaps the single most interesting aspect of the characters in The Martian is something Debbie Moon brought up in comments the other day:
The interesting point from a screenwriting POV: there’s no villain. We talk so much about how a strong nemesis makes a movie, but the nemesis, such as it is, is Mars itself.
People back on Earth sometimes make decisions we disagree with, but they’re making the best decisions they can, almost always with Watney’s best interests (as they see them) at heart.
Even the crew are united in their desire to return for him — a few hesitations, but no one seriously considers saying no.
So it’s a very rare movie where all the human characters are pulling in the same direction and want the same thing. And yes, okay, it’s a disaster movie — but even disaster movies often have human bad guys, who act selfishly and endanger others. No one does that here. Which is interesting…
Good point. Here is my response:
Debbie, I can’t underscore your point enough. We often think of a Nemesis as a specific character(s). And that’s often the case. But The Martian reminds us of this fact: The Nemesis functions to provide opposition to the Protagonist. So that opposition need not necessarily be a WHO, but a WHAT.
As you note, the Nemesis is Mars, the climactic and topographical conditions Watney confronts in order to survive. As I noted previously, he is a Human in an Anti-Human environment, a Stranger in a Strange Land.
Yes, there are a few moments of internecine tension on the home front and between the crew of Ares III, and they provide a bit of indirect opposition to Watney, but clearly the Nemesis / oppositional dynamic is provided almost wholly by Mars.
What this means to us as screenwriters: Remember Nemesis = Opposition. Person. Place. Thing. Psychological dynamic. Whatever. If it functions in opposition to the Protagonist, there’s a Nemesis in action.
If there were a Martian monster, that could have been a Nemesis. But an entirely different movie. The thing about The Martian is the story doesn’t NEED a sentient antagonist figure. It’s Mars and the conditions of a human being stranded on Mars with severely limited resources which provides enough of a Nemesis dynamic. This allows us to focus on Watney’s psychological struggle, the relentless toll of nature and time on his human spirit and hope. And he JUST has enough of that to sustain him to the Final Struggle… and hitch a ride home.
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