Character Development

Characters are one of my favourite parts of the cinematic world. It's so important to have characters that you can love and despise, and to have so many characteristics that every person tells a different story. From a young age, I always had a soft spot for Harry and Marv of the Home Alone films. Even though they were villains, I far prefered them to Kevin and the rest of his family. I feel that if a character is strong enough, and has a strong enough personality, then the audience will be hooked on them, and interested in what they are doing, even if they are an evil criminal.

While many directors write their own films, especially at this level, some will work from a pre-written script. It is essential that the director envisions a character that will be:
Entertaining
Largely believable
Relevant
Intriguing

Failing to create characters who meet this criteria could lead to the audience being uninterested in their role and existance. If this is the case, then the film will not be compelling during any scenes in which the character is involved, which in turn could lead to them missing key plot points, which in turn could mean they simply think the film is rubbish.

Myself, being an avid hater of kitchen sink dramas, am not particularly fond of 'realistic' people. I wouldn't want to devise a main character who you could bump into in the street any day. I am far more enthralled by someone who has strong qualities, be it good or bad ones.

One of my favourite characters in both the film and the original novel is Patrick Bateman, of American Psycho. My fascination with him is the contrast between his outer yuppy appearance, and his inner, psychotic violence.

The two extremes complement each other wondefully and make an incredibly rich and thorough being. From the novel to the screen, I think Mary Harron did a great representation of Bateman with the actor Christian Bale. Throughout the film, there are huge contrasts between the two sides of Bateman, and with the excellent use of juxtaposition, the audience are left with a deep, clear insight into the life and mind of Patrick.

On top of this, the portrayal by Bale is outstanding. So much of a character within a film relies upon the performance, and a director really needs to get one out of the actor, in order to achieve their perfect portrayal of these imaginary people. If the performance is poor, I personally believe the fourth wall is broken, and the illusion of the film is ruined. As a result of this the suspension of disbelief ends, and the film is torn apart and a failure.