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The Choices Your Characters Make: The Consequences in ‘Force Majeure’

By Susan Kouguell · October 24, 2014

Regardless of the genre you are working in, your main characters must make key choices that will propel the narrative forward and shape your plot.  

Force Majeure (written and directed by Ruben Ostlund), the official entry for the foreign language Oscar from Sweden, centers on a picture-perfect family; a handsome young couple and their two young children on a ski vacation in the French Alps. When the father makes a choice to abandon his family as an avalanche approaches, the consequences of this choice propels the narrative forward. This choice is further examined by the themes of male gender stereotypes; specifically shame and expectations of men.

In the chapter entitled ‘Your Unforgettable Characters Come Alive’ in my book Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! I write:

Characters must be complex, fully defined, multifaceted, and distinct. Readers must understand who your characters are, their motivations, behaviors, needs and goals, and feel empathy for them.       

At first, the father denies that he abandoned the family, but as the story unfolds, his cowardly behavior leads to his, as well as his family’s emotionally unravelling. The father’s flaws make him an empathetic character but not necessarily a sympathetic character. 

Also, in this chapter I write about characters’ FLAWS:

Demonstrating your characters’ flaws will further feed your plot and add dimension to the obstacles that are going to prevent them from solving their crises. Flaws allow your characters to be empathetic and relatable.

Consider your characters’ shortcomings and weaknesses when writing your screenplays. Creating complex and convincing characters is critical in gaining attention for your screenplay. Successful multi-dimensional characters have distinctive physical attributes, emotional traits, appearances, personalities, intelligence, vulnerabilities, emotions, and attitudes.

Force Majeure underscores the idea that one can’t control nature or human nature. As screenwriters, your goal is to offer insight and depth into the nature of your characters by delving into the choices they make.

Trailer Credit 

Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker Susan Kouguell teaches screenwriting at Purchase College, and is chairperson of Su-City Pictures East, LLC, a motion picture consulting company founded in 1990 where she works with over 1,000 writers, filmmakers, and industry executives worldwide. (www.su-city-pictures.com). Her short films are in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection and archives, and were in the Whitney Museum’s Biennial. Kouguell was a story analyst and story editor for many studios, wrote voice-over narrations for (Harvey Weinstein) Miramax and over a dozen feature assignments for independent companies. Susan wrote THE SAVVY SCREENWRITER: How to Sell Your Screenplay (and Yourself) Without Selling Out! and SAVVY CHARACTERS SELL SCREENPLAYS! A comprehensive guide to crafting winning characters with film analyses and screenwriting exercises, available at $1.00 off on https://www.createspace.com/3558862 and using DISCOUNT CODE: G22GAZPD.  On Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SB8Z7M (discount code does not apply). Follow Susan at Su-City Pictures, LLC Facebook fan page and SKouguell on Twitter, and read more articles on her blog: http://su-city-pictures.com/wpblog/