Considering the genres of my screenplay and the tone of the story, it’s not surprising that the 2021 animated dark fantasy film “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” has scenes that capture the “feel” of my screenplay. Despite the main plot and atmosphere being bright and vibrant, director Sunghoo Park did not go in that direction during the darker flashback scenes. This scene in particular captures the feel of many of the scenes I’m working on and thinking about for my characters— the people around them are distant and ‘inconsequential’ to the main characters. This screenshot manages to capture the isolation both characters feel, even when surrounded by people, highlighting their importance to one another, which is something I want to come across throughout many of my scenes as well.
In terms of tone, the film embodies themes of tragedy and how societal failures negatively impact characters, often creating ‘monsters,’ just like my screenplay while also having a hopefulness of trying to heal from the wrongs of our past that I hope to capture. Also, the worldbuilding is not unlike my own, as both my screenplay and this film have characters who are genetically predisposed to fighting forces of evil, and have an element of secrecy about these evils.
Rian Johnson’s mystery film “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” does an excellent job giving the audience a feel for its characters and atmosphere, something I seek to capture despite the fact that the film is very different in tone and premise than my screenplay. However, the complexities of the characters allowing them to make bad or downright evil choices for the sake of what they believe to be right or best is very reminiscent of my own characters, particularly in their downfalls, but also in the unknown antagonist. The costuming of the film is also reminiscent of what I want for my screenplay in the theorectical film-making process: having characters’ personalities be reflected in their appearances.
The 1986 coming-of-age film “Stand By Me” has a deep emotional feel to the movie that I want to capture in my own screenplay. It also has voiceovers that feel similar to the way I want my main character, Dolores, to narrate, as she, much like “Stand By Me’s” Gordie LaChance (portrayed by Richard Dreyfuss) looks back on the people in her life and her experiences with them. The film also has time-period-accurate songs, something I would like to have within my own screenplay, as I feel it makes the setting come more alive. In particular, this scene illustrates both the voiceover style of my screenplay while also using the surrounding scenery to illustrate the youth of the characters, underlining the tragedy of events.
“I Care A Lot” is a suspense film directed by J Blakeson (who also directed the film “A Simple Favor” and sci-fi alien movie “The 5th Wave”) that focuses on a corrupt caregiver who essentially robs helpless elderly folks by abusing her power as their caretaker and the fact that their mental faculities are in question, only for her to be at odds with the Russian mafia after putting a member’s mother into a care facility against her will. This film features many characters who are either corrupt, or at the very least morally gray, much like my screenplay’s cast of characters. This scene in particular captures a feel of our protagonist and also a vibrant use of color I’d like to utilize in my own film to symbolize and reflect different emotions and relationships.
