Most films have a definite protagonist, whose story we follow from start to finish. However, how do you define films which seems to shift its focus from one character to another as the plot progresses? I'm not talking about an ensemble protag, either.
Take Psycho, for example. Whose story are we following? Janet Leigh's character dies half-way through. Are we following her sister and her husband as they unravel the mystery, then? But the problem is, they didn't become the focus until Act II. Are we following Norman Bates, then, as a villain protagonist? But what becomes the antagonistic force in this case, then?
Or take The Fly. It is a pretty conventional story in terms of the Three-Act Structure, but whose conflict is this? On the one hand, it is Brundle's story we're following, but on the other hand I seem to feel that from an emotional point of view the story isn't really belonging to him. Or am I wrong?
Take Saving Private Ryan, for example. Are we following Ryan? Then how would the Omaha Beach sequence and the crew of rescuers (in other words, 2/3 of the story) be accounted for? But it doesn't really seems right to think of Capt. Miller's company as the ensemble protag either, because how does that leave the opening and closing scenes with Private Ryan struggling with whether he has lived up to their memory? It just seems inelegant to consider them as a mere prologue and epilogue.
Being John Malkovich. Who the heck is the protag here?
Very interested to see your take on this.
Take Psycho, for example. Whose story are we following? Janet Leigh's character dies half-way through. Are we following her sister and her husband as they unravel the mystery, then? But the problem is, they didn't become the focus until Act II. Are we following Norman Bates, then, as a villain protagonist? But what becomes the antagonistic force in this case, then?
Or take The Fly. It is a pretty conventional story in terms of the Three-Act Structure, but whose conflict is this? On the one hand, it is Brundle's story we're following, but on the other hand I seem to feel that from an emotional point of view the story isn't really belonging to him. Or am I wrong?
Take Saving Private Ryan, for example. Are we following Ryan? Then how would the Omaha Beach sequence and the crew of rescuers (in other words, 2/3 of the story) be accounted for? But it doesn't really seems right to think of Capt. Miller's company as the ensemble protag either, because how does that leave the opening and closing scenes with Private Ryan struggling with whether he has lived up to their memory? It just seems inelegant to consider them as a mere prologue and epilogue.
Being John Malkovich. Who the heck is the protag here?
Very interested to see your take on this.
