Alright let’s get straight to it. Today I’m going to be touching two other aspects of the matrix franchise that make it an absolutely remarkable production. Last week I talked about world building and its sub-elements used in the matrix films, you can read all about it here
Today let’s take a look at two other techniques the Wachowskis constructively used in crafting this cinematic masterpiece and side-note; if you don’t think this is a masterpiece well then you're just wrong because it is.
Also another side-note; I am no screen writer or expert, all I am is a simple movie enthusiast (a simp for great films if you will) who's seen and learnt about the world through the big screen and I believe in the power of great stories. That they are more than just shallow entertainment, that they are life. Permit me cause i will use some lingo that sound like screen-writing terms but really aren't. They are just words or phrases I use to encapsulate the concepts I talk about. Now that that’s out the way, let’s talk about Lead character dynamics
Lead Character Development & Dynamics (Passive to active lead character)
This one has multiple sides to it so I’m going to try to make it as comprehensible as I can. When we meet our lead character, he is introduced to us as Thomas Anderson; a passive character driven by the plot. His actions have no major consequence on the plot and he is simple a roaming observer trying to understand what is really going on. When we first see him, he is somewhat lost looking for answers and is in need of guidance and direction. He is led by others like a blind man figuratively speaking and he is guided on what to do and how to do it by other characters in the story. We see him being guided out of the building, being taken into custody and being bugged. We see him being rescued by other on multiple occasions, we even see him being guided to meet the oracle for answers. Now keep in mind that this doesn’t stay the same through-out the whole film, more of that in this paragraph but stick with me longer. At this point he is partially detached from the plot. The plot however uses this character passiveness to its advantage by making his knowledge and experiences of this new world the tools that informs his decision to take control of the story. From the mid-point of the film, we see his character change. Remember I mentioned that he did make a decision few times, well we see him make his most important choice at the mid-point of the first film, the point where his character trajectory in true character dynamic style.
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We see this single choice change him from Mr Anderson the programmer to Neo the chosen one. He chooses to make changes to his direction as a character from being a passive one to an active one. All of a sudden the story changes focus to him and his actions. From being saved he becomes the one who saves, from being led and guided, he becomes the one who guides trinity in the quest to save Morpheus, from being the punching bag of the smiths he becomes the one kicking the smiths butts.
The reason why this transition works so smoothly is because the first half of this film is dedicated to having us experience the story through the eyes of our protagonist. His passiveness is excused because the story allows for him to be inactive in order to give way for world building. This helps us get information about all that’s going us around us and we learn what our purpose is in this film. In this way, his character is still remains relevant to the story despite his passiveness. Like I said earlier there are a lot of story-telling techniques combined together in the right proportions that make this story work. Before the mid-point of this film, Neo has been guided and lead by Morpheus, through the matrix, through the war, up to the oracle, the person who imbeds him with a choice that gives him a purpose. From the moment, he chooses to act on that choice, everything about Neo as a character changes and it’s understandable seeing it happen because we’ve come to understand that his passiveness hasn’t been in vain, instead it has been a learning and grooming process for both him and for us. This is how you effectively write passiveness for a protagonist, by using it as an avenue through which the audience learns about the world and the story in experience.
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Effective use of Supporting Characters
There are a lot of story-telling techniques used in the first half of the part of this film. One other important is this one; the effective use of supporting characters. One thing I remember from re-watching the matrix again was realizing that Neo was a passive protagonist. However the movie never felt this way; all the while I watched the story play out before my eyes, it never felt like the characters were detached from the story, it always felt like someone was carrying the story forward. This really made me wonder, could it be this film breaking story telling laws and getting away with it? You see, a good film has a certain feel to it; it evokes the right emotions and stirs up the right thoughts inside you. In a sense, it makes you feel satisfied after watching it, even after you rethink it over and over; it still gives a feeling of inner satisfaction. Like a well cooked meal, you can taste the perfect blend of ingredients merged together into one by the medium of fire and water; delicious.
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Combined with its effective use of lead character dynamics and its use of internal interactions to convey the story, this film also uses its supporting characters in a most constructive manner. This is, the supporting characters of this film are the ones who first carry the burden of being the active lead characters of this film. Even more so was the way they used this position to properly guide and enlighten Neo as well as we the viewers on the workings of this new world. Their constructive use didn’t just end there; they were also the primary force that drove Neo to making the decision to become active. We see this in the instance of Neo’s visit to the oracle and the prophesy he gets. She tells him that the time will come when he will have to make a choice between saving himself or saving Morpheus and as for whether or not he is the one, he is not. What she fails to realize is that Neo has come all this way and has no intentions of going back to the life he once knew, all this time everything he has experienced has lead him to this moment, the moment where he is given the choice. When the time comes to make that choice to either save his life or the life of Morpheus, he realizes what he has to do and he begins to awaken to what reality of what he really is….. He is the one anomaly, with the power to make a choice that will change everything; he is the true lead character of this film, the active protagonist and the person who pushes the story forward. In saving choosing to save morpheus’ life he not only saves his teacher and friend, but also his chooses to save the story and everything in it, He is the One. And none of this would have been possible if not for the help and the roles of the supporting characters we see in the film.
Alright I can’t push further than this. Let’s end this here. We will proceed with the part three next week hopefully.