DVD Art 3/18

Watchmen

The Watchmen characters are well drawn, and actually have history and emotional tangibility, something that most superhero movies can’t muster because they can’t breech the wall of suspension of disbelief --- though some superhero movies like Spiderman and the Dark Knight definitely do. Creating a character isn’t simply about picking and choosing the circumstances of their life (what they look like, where they live, etc.) the key is to create a plausible history but also to put the character into situations which cause them to make choices (action) which will define them. The Dark Knight does. Spiderman makes an a yeoman effort if only to stumble through the same territory, hashing out the same drama over three films (little or no growth). X –men, however, falls short because the characters tend to be drawn in black and white. The Watchmen, on the other hand, fall into all kinds of moral grey areas which makes them compelling and likable and even, at times, hateable. But even when they become hateable you still understand them. Background + situation + choice + WANTS VS NEEDS is the only way to work a character “into the grey”. Characters have to want something (as we all do) but they also have to need something (as we all do). These must be integrated together, not just stand apart. And, just as in life, just as with us, what a character needs isn’t always what he wants (or should have). It is the ultimate dilemma we all face, of the universal traits of the human condition that film illuminates in a way that only film can. One of the best things Watchman does is create a nuanced sense of loneliness in its characters that is hard to achieve without becoming melodramatic.

Just Because (the tv version)

Just Because...