DZ-119: Final Character Choices & Great Endings

Listen if you want to understand how to better dramatise a character's internal journey

In this episode, Stu and Chas focus solely on the final choices made by protagonists and how that reflects their character journey and successfully, or not, dramatises the internal.

We compare and contrast different uses of narrative POV in respect to these final choices. And in particular whether and when the audience is made aware of the options available to the character, the act of making the choice, and the consequences of the choice.

We breakdown examples from DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES, FINDING NEMO, MICHAEL CLAYTON, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN and TALK TO ME.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

LIKE THIS EPISODE?

Discuss with our Patrons on Patreon.

Watch and comment on YouTube.

Send us feedback.

Thanks to our Patrons, especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis and and Khrob.

→ Read the transcript for this episode.

———

"A character has to make the most difficult decision of their life, and it becomes the crisis because each alternative poses a loss as well as a gain. And so, therefore, characters have to weigh what really matters most to them." — Stu Willis @ 00:23:48

———

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 – Opening

00:00:18 – Why Final Choices?

00:03:49 – › Narrative point of view and the order of choice, decision, consequence

00:07:03 – › How withholding character decisions shapes audience perception

00:10:45 – DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

00:15:57 – › The hero's choice: want vs. need, self vs. family

00:19:09 – FINDING NEMO

00:23:30 – › Crisis decision, catharsis beats, and the anatomy of a powerful ending

00:28:45 – MICHAEL CLAYTON

00:33:26 – › The Snowpiercer moment: dramatising binary choice visually

00:40:37 – › Hero's choice made off-camera and revealed through Karen's perspective

00:48:36 – › Character arc, theme, and the cost of moral compromise

00:53:11 – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

00:58:28 – › Withheld plans and dramatic tension in the third act

01:05:52 – › Posthumous agency and the hero's choice after death

01:13:45 – › Logic problems and the power of cinema over narrative precision

01:16:38 – TALK TO ME

01:19:39 – › Story structure and setup of TALK TO ME

01:27:36 – › The withheld decisive act at the climax

01:35:11 – › Ambiguity versus clarity in the film's meaning

01:41:45 – Key Learnings

01:44:37 – › Setup work that empowers climactic decisions

01:50:13 – Thanks awesome patreons!

FILMS

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES (2023) — (w) John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Michael Gilio (d) John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein

FINDING NEMO (2003) — (w) Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds (d) Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007) — (w) Tony Gilroy

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020) — (w) Emerald Fennell

TALK TO ME (2022) — (w) Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman (d) Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

SCRIPTS

Study the script: FINDING NEMO (2003) — Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds

Study the script: MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007) — Tony Gilroy

Study the script: PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (2020) — Emerald Fennell

SHOT ZERO DEEP DIVES

The Gags of the Scene - Dungeons and Dragons

Perp & Victim 2: Opening Kills in Horror (2000s+)

LINKS

YouTube: Michael Arndt - What makes an insanely good ending?

YouTube: Every Frame a Painting - Snowpiercer - Look Left or Right

RELATED EPISODES

DZ-04: Catharsis and the Post-Coital Cigarette

DZ-33: Protagonist vs Hero - Dawn of Character Function

DZ-34: Game of Choices - Decision Making and Character Implications

DZ-58: Game of Thrones - Character Exposition

DZ-84: Choices & Decisions 1 - Booksmart

DZ-87: Keeping Genre Fresh

———

More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser.

We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and