DECISIONS, DECISIONS
by William C. Martell
Whether your script is a drama, a comedy, or a thriller there's always a decision that must be made in order to solve the external (plot) problem. If your protagonist doesn't have to make a decision that alters the course of the story, your protagonist isn't INVOLVED in the story. He's just along for the ride. Oddly enough, this is often a problem with character oriented screenplays - the character doesn't have a major decision to make in the course of the story... and that makes them unimportant! You could substitute ANY character into the story with the same exact outcome. The decision your protagonist makes is the most important part of your screenplay - it reveals the theme. The meaning of your script.
TRAINING DECISIONS David Ayer's TRAINING DAY presents rookie cop Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) with one decision after another. At the center of the story is the line between being a good cop and a bad cop... and that line keeps blurring. Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) is the charismatic leader of a special undercover narcotics division who believes that the world can be divided into wolves and sheep - and wants Hoyt to decide which group he belongs to. "To protect the sheep you got to catch a wolf... and it takes a wolf to catch a wolf." Alonzo is the meanest wolf in L.A. - even the gangbangers don't cross him. But Hoyt is a by-the-book cop... will he join in Hoyt's vigilante-justice-with-a-badge in order to make the team? Will he decide to become as bad as the crooks in order to catch the crooks?
From the moment they meet in a grungy coffee shop, Alonzo keeps drawing a line in the sand and forcing Hoyt to step over it. "Do you want breakfast?" becomes a decision that may make or break Hoyt's promotion. As the story progresses, the decisions become more dangerous - will you smoke crack laced with PCP? If you say yes, you'll be breaking the law. If you say no, the dealers will know you're a cop. Alonzo wants Hoyt to smoke the drugs right now as a test. But does he fail the test by agreeing or disagreeing to smoke the drugs? The next decision is whether Hoyt will take a drink on the job offered by an old friend of Alonzo's (Scott Glenn). Each decision takes Hoyt further and further over the line... is he a good cop or a bad cop? The major decision comes when they bust a drug dealer with $4 million in hidden cash, and Alonzo tosses Hoyt a brick of money - a quarter of a million dollars. Will Hoyt decide to keep the money (and be a part of the team) or refuse to steal the money and have Alonzo and the rest of the crew be suspicious of him? Each decision shows Hoyt's character drifting overr the line, and by creating these decision situations for Hoyt we learn abouut Alonzo.
Hoyt's character is SHOWN through his decisions and through his struggle to make these decisions. Which lines will he cross? Which lines will he refuse to cross? Is there a difference between applying an illegal choke hold to rescue a schoolgirl being raped by crackheads and stealing money from drug dealers?
Through these decisions we begin to see where Hoyt is willing to cross the line, where he's forced to cross the line, and where he refuses to cross the line... and that tells us who he is. Hoyt will cross the line to help people. Alonzo will cross the line for money or power. These characters are explored through their actions based on difficult decisions. Cross the line or not?
STATE YOUR DECISION David Mamet's STATE AND MAIN is about a film production that descends upon a small town in Vermont to use it as a location. The external (plot) conflict is the friction between the movie people and the town. The filmmakers see nothing wrong with exploiting and destroying the town for their" artistic vision" - we learn in the first few minutes that a landmark stained glass window in the fire station will have to be torn out in order for them to get a particular shot. An ambitious young politician is the antagonist - he's trying to find a way to either get the movie people out of town or get them to pay the town 30% of the film's gross.
Though the film features an ensemble cast, it's no secret who the protagonist is. There is a character who straddles the fence (creating a dilemma) - one of the movie people who DOESN'T think exploiting the small town is a good idea (all of the others think it's their right): screenwriter Philip Seymour Hoffman. His script is about the "purity" of small town life... and now the movie people are polluting the small town. He develops emotional stakes - he begins dating the head of the local community theater group (Rebecca Pigeon). When the town needs extras - the theater group has to cancel their play because none of the actors show up. Event after event force the screenwriter to take sides - but he wants it both ways. He wants his script to be made AND he wants the town to remain "pure". This reaches a breaking point when he ends up being the ONLY WITNESS to a law broken by one of the filmmakers which results in an arrest and trial. The big decision is his. Will he side with the movie people (and lie) or side with the town (and tell the truth)? One way he loses his career, the other way he loses the woman he loves (and destroys the town).
But before the big decision at the end of Act Two, Philip Seymour Hoffman's character was faced with smaller versions of that same decision... and waffles. The entire film is about his decision - even before the crime has been committed. Throughout Act Two the screenwriter is in the center of the "town versus movie" decision. This is illustrated perfectly in a scene where he returns to his hotel room to find the beautiful movie star (Sara Jessica Parker) naked in his bed with "script suggestions" - every screenwriter's fantasy (female screenwriters may substitute Mel Gibson). Just as they are about to begin their "story conference" there's a knock at the door - the Townie woman he's dating! The scene has Hoffman torn between the movie (Sara Jessica Parker) and the wholesome small town (Rebecca Pigeon) in a silly bedroom farce sequence. Hoffman must decide between the two women. Guess who he picks?
BIG DECISIONS = BIG EMOTIONS The higher the emotional stakes in the decision, the better the story... and the deeper you can explore the protagonist. If your protagonist has to kill an evil character in the story, it's dull. No drama is involved in that. No real decision. All of us would kill the evil character if we had no other choice. Though we know that killing is wrong, if the person the protagonist has to kill is clearly evil, it's "justified".
But the less evil the antagonist, the more interesting the decision to kill him becomes. Instead of being a typical black hat/white hat Hollywood movie scenario, we're dealing with real moral issues. This becomes a major decision, a life altering event that's loaded with drama. The audience has to think. They have to deal with big questions, rather than just sit back and be entertained.
Ethan Hawke's character in TRAINING DAY is making the most important decision in his life! So is Philip Seymour Hoffman's character in STATE AND MAIN. Your protagonist must be making the most important decision of THEIR life, or your script is about a subplot.
SHOW THE DECISION Remember - if you don't SHOW the decision the audience won't KNOW the decision. In the opening scene of Davids Diamond and Weissman's THE FAMILY MAN, recent college grad Nicolas Cage has to chose between his career and the love of his life, Tea Leone. This is a major decision that impacts the entire film... how did they illustrate it in order to give it maximum impact? The scene takes place at the airport - Cage can either stay with this girlfriend or walk through the gate and follow his career. She can't follow him through the gate - she doesn't have a ticket. This is a great way to show his decision... she is left alone in the airport, and once his plane takes off he is gone. Out of her life. Actions speak louder than words - we can SEE what Cage has decided to do with the rest of his life.
In TRAINING DAY Ethan Hawke storms out of Washington's car at one point. Denzel asks if he really wants to quit. If he's going to spend the rest of his life as a uniform cop, pointing to a Highway Patrol Officer helping a woman change a flat tire on the road nearby. Does Hawke have the guts to be in on Washington's team? Hawke can walk away - or he can get back in the car. It's a decision we can SEE.
What is your protagonist's big decision? How can you use actions to illustrate the character's decision? If your character has nothing to decide, they're just along for the ride... and that ride probably won't take them to the Oscars.
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