Criminal Backstory

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  • Criminal Backstory

    Guys and Dolls-

    It's the age old problem of "To Backstory or Not To Backstory".

    I have a crime drama involving an escaped convict. I'm torn between spelling out the original crime to the audience (i.e. what got him in prison in the first place) and leaving it up to them to decide. The latter is obviously a bigger risk, creatively, but it's also more rewarding if it works out.

    Maybe he opens up at the very end, but it's very subtly, talking in short hand and more about the emotions behind the crime (as opposed to "I needed fifty grand for my daughter's college tuition so I robbed a bank").

    Of course, I'll know. I'll write it out for myself.

    But I am just wondering if this is going to potentially alienate a reader? Or intrigue them more?

    "Drive" is a great example of how to get away with very, very little.

  • #2
    Re: Criminal Backstory

    Okay, this is just me - but if a criminal escapes from prison, I'm thinking they are a criminal and that would make it hard to identify with them. I would also think they are guilty and they did the worse thing I could think of... rather than thinking they did something minor. I would think it only helps to tell us what they did ("I just carried the gun and handed it to him when he asked for it - I didn't know he was going to kill her.") ("This mime, he trapped me in an invisible box, I had to kiill him to get out... kill him with my bear hands... no, that wasn't a typo - I have the hands of a bear!").

    DRIVE is kind of a freak, because it's existentialist in nature (and completely ripping off the superior DRIVER) - so characters are often surface and unemotional. ("Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday. I don't know. I had a telegram from the home: 'Mother passed away. Funeral tomorrow. Yours sincerely.' That doesn't mean anything. It may have happened yesterday.") That works for that type of story - but is that the type of story you are telling?

    - Bill (I only held him down, I didn't know George was going to use the drill on him.)
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    • #3
      Re: Criminal Backstory

      I agree with Bill M. If the audience can't empathize with the protag from the get-go -- that is one purpose of the set-up -- then it's going to be almost impossible to have a successful script and movie. Part of the reason I know this is that it was a crime drama that got me signed by my agent. And I had to do a re-write to make the screwed up cop protag more likable and relatable. The other way I know this is that I write for every issue of Script Magazine, and over and over producers and studio execs cite that particular shortcoming in a script they reject.
      That, in general, is a very common problem with otherwise very good scripts. And remember, it's not your opinion that matters. Only the opinion of buyers matters, and to get to real buyers you have to get past readers. And "protag I can't relate to...." is a common complain from readers. And of course remember the all-important character arc.

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      • #4
        Re: Criminal Backstory

        I don't think you have to tell them.

        You can still make the audience empathize through other techniques. Think Shawshank, we empathize with Andy most of the way without knowing whether he did it or not.

        Also, the whole antihero / film noir genres have us empathizing with nutters.

        "The latter is obviously a bigger risk, creatively, but it's also more rewarding if it works out."

        It's not a bigger risk. It sounds like you don't want to do it and there is no technical reason why you should. Don't do it. For one thing, you'll like yourself better.

        The subtle opening up at the end sounds ok.

        If there was a reason not to go with your gut on this, I'd tell you. But there isn't. Go with your gut.
        Story Structure 1
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        • #5
          Re: Criminal Backstory

          God bless you, Timmy.

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          • #6
            Re: Criminal Backstory

            The character is given a moral dilemma to come to terms with. So the issue of what he is as a person (an escaped convict) is very much at the heart of the story.

            You can escape from prison but you can't escape from yourself.

            But to me... it's a fascinating thing to play with pre-conceived notions. You open with an escaped convict, and of course people are going to throw their pre-conceived notions onto him. But his actions in the story are what count- what he is NOW as opposed to what he was.

            One of the very things that attracted me to this idea was having the audience root for a criminal whose backstory was ambiguous. Because you are forced to come up with your personal narrative for the person, and of course it is horrifying to think that, in the end... he might have done something truly awful.

            To come up with a gimmicky thing that says "Well, he was in the robbery but, you know, he didn't kill anyone"...

            I don't know. It seems like a bit of a cop out. If a man is convicted of life in prison, he'll most likely have done something terrible.

            But can he change? That's up for grabs. In my opinion, yes. Because that's how I wrote it ;-)

            It's definitely the biggest decision I am taking. And like Timmy said, what he does in the script is essential in terms of raising sympathy. An extreme example would be Sean Penn's character in "Dead Man Walking". What matters most is not his original crime. It's who he is when he meets the nun, and what we learn about his character (regret, torment etc.)

            Bottom line: my gut tells me to leave the backstory out. To go with a simple, metaphorical moment at the end which hints at what he did- without giving factual description.

            And then if people read it and ask "what the hell did he do?!" I can put it in.

            As opposed to having people say "oh man, he did THAT?! no thanks".

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            • #7
              Re: Criminal Backstory

              Travis

              I want to see your movie. I hate cookie cutter b*ll sh*it. It sounds like YOU like your protagonist - I think that's enough.

              Out of Sight - George Clooney broke out of prison. But he's George Clooney! Same with Oceans I. Write a GREAT ROLE that people want to watch and actors want to play.
              ScriptGal
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              • #8
                Re: Criminal Backstory

                ScriptGal-

                It'll be you and me, baby, eatin' ribs and watching a hardcore convict rape and murder his way through cookie cutter bullshit!!

                ;-)

                All kidding aside... yes. I love my guy. He's made of granite but his heart is in the right place. Plus the antagonist makes him look like Shirley Temple!

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                • #9
                  Re: Criminal Backstory

                  Yeah, I think Timmy is spot on. Some great films have skillfully induced audience empathy for a criminal.

                  To use the example of Shawshank, we, by virtue of our lives of subservience, empathize with someone battling the overwhelming might of authority, and there is a certain catharsis in seeing them victorious.

                  "but if a criminal escapes from prison, I'm thinking they are a criminal and that would make it hard to identify with them."

                  This surprises me...and maybe I'm missing something, but there have been many films in which the "hero" has been a confirmed criminal, and some of these have been commercially successful.

                  They obviously play upon the latent streak of admiration many of us have for those who refuse to play by the rules. There is, no doubt, a wide spread fascination for the underworld and an attraction to the mystique of the gangster, criminal, whatever....

                  In addition the gangster, drug dealer or bank robber are the ultimate expression of free market enterprise. Capitalist super heroes if you will...

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                  • #10
                    Re: Criminal Backstory

                    I'm not a big fan of likeable characters, in general. They're fine, I guess, but not a requirement. I really just want to not be bored for 2 hours. And exposition bores me.

                    One of my favorite non-expository back stories ever was in the remake of 3:10 to Yuma. It's a perfect example of how to do it right.

                    The 3rd act reveal of how the main character was injured during the war (played against the assumption that he was a hero) provides the mystery that drives the subplot (why does his son hate him?) and defines his character arc. It's fairly brilliant.

                    Just do like that.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Criminal Backstory

                      Originally posted by TravisPickle View Post
                      The character is given a moral dilemma to come to terms with. So the issue of what he is as a person (an escaped convict) is very much at the heart of the story.

                      You can escape from prison but you can't escape from yourself.

                      But to me... it's a fascinating thing to play with pre-conceived notions. You open with an escaped convict, and of course people are going to throw their pre-conceived notions onto him. But his actions in the story are what count- what he is NOW as opposed to what he was.

                      One of the very things that attracted me to this idea was having the audience root for a criminal whose backstory was ambiguous. Because you are forced to come up with your personal narrative for the person, and of course it is horrifying to think that, in the end... he might have done something truly awful.

                      To come up with a gimmicky thing that says "Well, he was in the robbery but, you know, he didn't kill anyone"...

                      I don't know. It seems like a bit of a cop out. If a man is convicted of life in prison, he'll most likely have done something terrible.

                      But can he change? That's up for grabs. In my opinion, yes. Because that's how I wrote it ;-)

                      It's definitely the biggest decision I am taking. And like Timmy said, what he does in the script is essential in terms of raising sympathy. An extreme example would be Sean Penn's character in "Dead Man Walking". What matters most is not his original crime. It's who he is when he meets the nun, and what we learn about his character (regret, torment etc.)

                      Bottom line: my gut tells me to leave the backstory out. To go with a simple, metaphorical moment at the end which hints at what he did- without giving factual description.

                      And then if people read it and ask "what the hell did he do?!" I can put it in.

                      As opposed to having people say "oh man, he did THAT?! no thanks".


                      I agree -- do it your way. In real life we meet someone new we don't really know who they are no matter what they tell us. We judge them on their actions, their decisions, in the now.
                      Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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                      • #12
                        Re: Criminal Backstory

                        "The Fugitive" (original series) didn't really detail Richard Kimble's backstory in great detail other than the AVO in the opening titles saying "found guilty of a crime of which he was innocent..." until midway into the first season (Ep. "The Girl From Little Egypt").

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