Children of men

Monday, March 8th, 2010

I watched children of men today. I know it’s based on a book by PD James, but I was struck by how formulaic it is. As soon as Michael Caine’s character appeared I knew he was destined never to see the final credits. He reminded me of Patrick Swayze’s sidekick/mentor in Roadhouse.

It’s a shame because the film’s vision was good…unremittingly bleak and grey with the future literally shrouded in fog. All very dystopian.

But none of the twists seemed very surprising, somehow. I think it’s an issue with film scripts in general and the rigid framework of first turning point etc they follow. I guess only the very best script writers avoid obviously signposting their screenplays.

Novels also follow formulas, of course, but I think they disguise them better. Or perhaps the formulas are easier to disguise in novels.

Tags: film, plot, screenplays, scripts, stories
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