Beauty and the Box Office
This week’s Digest reminds us that the opportunity to observe some fascinating examples of maximalism and classicism can be found right at your hometown movie theater.
SUMMER IS THE SEASON for blockbuster sequels, and this year, the expected Part Twos and Part Threes are increasingly joined by Part Fours—as well as one noteworthy Part Seven-and-a-Half. Among these recent and upcoming additions are a second Cars, a third Transformers, a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean, and, yes, the eighth and final volume of Harry Potter.
Of course, the movies I’ve mentioned above do not all share an identical purpose. An EPISODIC SERIES carries little or no plot material from film to film (think Cars), while a NARRATIVE SAGA uses several installments to present one overarching storyline (think Harry Potter). Either approach can help to nurture a refined classical style, but when filmmakers attempt to extend and enhance a previous storyline by introducing wilder plot twists, higher stakes, or bigger laughs, the style can quickly turn towards maximalism.
In regard to Pirates of the Caribbean, Walt Disney Pictures recently chose to supplement the story told in the existing trilogy by releasing a fourth film (and soon, perhaps, a fifth and sixth) featuring an unrelated plot. Filmmakers ostensibly based this latest swashbuckling adventure on a 1987 Tim Powers novel, but how well does it move beyond the unified narrative of the first three films to establish a truly episodic series?
“Before seeing On Stranger Tides, I had already reached my capacity for Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and with this fourth installment, my cup runneth over,” begins a halfhearted Roger Ebert in his recent review. Finding his attention drawn more to the film’s overblown style than to what might be a seaworthy plot, Ebert seems skeptical that the new film provides anything but a maximalized postscript to those which came before it. For instance, he reports that “the ship’s crew includes zombies, which is a step up from previous crew members in the series, skeletons.”
* * *
DEBRA GRANIK is one director who appears to have steered clear of such maximalist tendencies. The award-winning filmmaker gained national attention last February when her 2010 film, Winter’s Bone, earned an Academy Award nomination in the Best Picture category. Although Winter’s Bone ultimately lost the Oscar to The King’s Speech, its nomination perhaps reminded audiences that no matter how small the budget (in this case, a mere $2 million) a director always has the potential to capture a story with magnificent style.
Does Granik possess a powerful inner talent? It would seem so. But she’ll be the first to point out that the success of Winter’s Bone came, in part, from her adoption of a classical artistry.
In the latest edition of Brandeis Magazine, an interview with Granik reveals how a familiar external constraint helped to ensure the film’s success: she based the screenplay on novelist Daniel Woodrell’s 2006 book of the same name.
“When someone has already spent years thinking about a structure and literary devices that make a story compelling and coherent, you’re inheriting a blueprint.”
And her genuine appreciation for this constraint of subject is clear: “You supply the texture, the color, the photographic detailing, the images—you don’t have to worry about whether the story works as a story,” Granik explains in the interview. “You are left with the more deliriously pleasurable part, which is filling in the painting.”
Read the books, watch the films . . . you be the judge!
It is interesting to observe that Maximalism and Classicism are incorporated in all kinds of art forms. Filmmaking is indeed just another example of this. You can easily see, with films that have a lot of sequels to them, that Maximalism can take hold, and the quality of the film is affected. Writing a film that has come from an original work of art, such as a novel, does allow the filmmaker to perfect her film within a constraint of subject. Your twist of thought on yet another example of this fascinating subject of Classicism and Maximalism is, in my opinion, Classicism at its best!!
Yes, interesting how much this concept affects all the arts. I’ll have to add “Winter’s Bone” to my list of must-see movies.
What do you think about using the 4th POTC as a way to make a story using a character we already know? While the concept may seem like a way to hash on something popular and make it bigger, is that really so bad? The fighting and plot in POTC was a little crazy, but it doesn’t mean that it had to be done out of maximalism. In fact, it is smart to use a known character to launch a new film. It’s like how Zac Efron ended up in the new Hairspray. Using him would bring in a whole new audience to an older film. When the film industry is driven by money, it seems like a strategic (and successful) plan. It’s not just maximalism, but skill. Are we talking bigger and “better” or just keeping interest?
In a way, it’s like following your blog. Why find a new one to read when I know that I like what I see here? The story may be different, but I like the main character. :) Perhaps I missed the point of your article. Would you suggest that as long as the plot is different, and not bigger, it is okay to make a sequel?
Great overview. Was just talking about the economics behind movie sequels the other day; choosing to produce a sequel is a safe, revenue-guaranteed option. Choosing to produce a new film is neither as safe nor guarantees revenue. The economy as definitely adversely affected the movie business; I think that’s why we’re seeing so many sequels this summer. They’re a safe, if not particularly compelling, choice.
Thanks for your comments, everyone!
Reporter MARK FEENEY has highlighted the difference between the James Bond films (which fit the definition of an episodic series) and the Harry Potter films (a narrative saga, as I explain above) in his recent article for the Boston Globe:
The perpetual nature of episodic adventures propels Bond, while Harry Potter finds strength in the approaching inevitability of its final conclusion. Yes, 007′s antics have grown more violent, and the size of Hogwarts Castle now rivals that of Switzerland, but I feel that these maximalized aspects are easily outweighed by the craftsmanship and respect for tradition which have lent both projects such enduring classical appeal.