He never asks himself, "What do I do now?" For he knows, and he does. From the moment his wife is killed, he knows exactly what he has to do and exactly what he will do. William Wallace, however, has no such internal tension. The tension that really personalizes a movie character for viewers is an internal one-the character's dilemma of wondering, in the face of trying circumstances, "What do I do now?" That was the case for George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life and Roger Thornhill in North By Northwest. But these are not the type of tension that makes movie characters most memorable and most empathetic for viewers. Internal tension is the wondering, "What do I do now?" William Wallace has grief, sorrow, anger and frustration. But in spite of all this, he has little internal tension. That is, things are done to him by others. But I do not think he is the central figure. There is no doubt: William Wallace is a central character in the movie. It is he whose family is killed, whose wife is murdered, who is betrayed by fellow countrymen and who eventually loses his life. In Braveheart, William Wallace certainly encounters tension. So, too, the character at the center of that conflict is thus the story's central character. If sreenwriting guru Syd Field is correct (and I think he is), conflict is what drives a story along. In Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life, the George Bailey character (Jimmy Stewart) encounters the most tension throughout the film.
Roger Thornhill is the central character and we are meant to feel as if we are in his shoes.Īnother way of distinguishing a movie's central figure is to determine which character is encountering the greatest amount of tension. Hitchcock intended that reaction on our part. While watching North By Northwest, we feel the anxiety and frustration that Roger Thornhill (played by Cary Grant) endures. Alfred Hitchcock mastered this technique.
The central figure is the one in whose shoes we are walking throughout the film, as if we were that character ourselves.
Often the main character is the one with whom the audience is meant to empathize. Most people would assume that Gibson's character, William Wallace, about whom the movie was named, was the movie's central character. Mel Gibson's Braveheart won five academy awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Why the Main Character of "Braveheart" Is Not William Wallace Why the Main Character of Braveheart
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