Falling in Love with Your Own Words

P L Travers

As a writer you have to fall in love with your work everyday. The characters you create must have a special place in your heart. Saving Mr. Banks was a great film that expressed a writers (P. L. Travers) bond with her story. She feared putting Mary Poppins on the big screen because someone else would have altered the character, someone else would be in control of who Mary Poppins, Mr. Banks, and other characters were originally on paper. As a writer I agree with Ms. Travers. It is hard to let go of such wonderful people who you have created. Same reason that Silvester Stallone had to play Rocky. He wrote the script himself and took a major pay cut in order to play the star role. When a writer falls in love with their work, they fight to keep it as they initially intended.

Not only is it important to fall in love with your characters but your plot line and underlining message. I am an advocate for coming-to-age films like Juno. I praise Diablo Cody, writer of Juno and Showtime’s United States of Tara because she writes for the story not for the money. Juno had such a strong connection with audiences and a true connection to Cody’s personal high school experience. You can not get bored with your own ideas. As a writer you have to believe in yourself more than anyone else. The writers that write for the sake of telling a story are the writers that impact generations.

As I am currently writing my own coming-to-age film. I fall in love with ever character, plot line twist, and at times high-five myself for my creative efforts. I get excited about my visual ideas, and convicting dialog. My own brain surprises me. I have to revise my script about 100 times before I bring it to the actors. I am excited to be in the stages of development to see how others interpret my story. But with that being said I will also fight for my message. What I put into my stories are characters that do things I could never do, and in situations others experience day-to-day. I love coming-to-age films because the story behind someones personal growth is foundational to shaping who they are. People relate to that. It is like watching an underdog win every time! Something we always want to see.

For me I am a lot like P. L. Travers. Even if Disney offered to make my film, I’d pull a Stallone. My story has an intended message, and my characters are like my children. I am proud of what is to come of my writing. That is why I have always, and will continue to write, direct, and edit my own films. I do not care to be a big time director, I just want to tell other’s stories. Being completely committed to your own creativity only give flair to your film.

Lights, Camera, Rain!

What is so wholesome and yet uncontrollable; so scary yet it can still your nerves? Rain. A natural element that can flood our hearts. Rain has been used as a symbolism in various cinematic plots. Rain like the sugar in your coffee, it gives it that sweetened satisfaction that compliments its purpose.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s final scene

When you think of movie moments with rain some truly impressionable scenes come to mind. It is safe to say that Breakfast at Tiffany’s might not have been so stamped in our minds if in the finally scene Holly and Paul were searching for Cat on a sunny day. The film built up so much transformation between the characters that when Holly was finally stripped down to her most vulnerable and forced to believe that someone could love her as who she truly was, it had to rain. It made all the sense in the world to finalize that love story under a moment of cleansing and revealing truth.

Can’t hide from the rain…

In many films love is truly confessed in the rain. The Notebook is a current classic example of rain symbolizing true vulnerability. There wasn’t umbrellas in that scene for a reason. No hiding from the person you really love. Years of built up questions and unclear closure resulted in a moment of desire and deliveries the appearance of reality.

Rain not only represents the moment one confess their love for another, but also popular in moments of change. In literature, Jane Austen used rain to signify a plot twist. A classic example is in Pride and Prejudice when Elizabeth confronts Mr. Darcy about the letter she received in regards to Mr. Darcy changing Mr. Bingley’s mind about Elizabeth’s sister Jane. What made that moment so impactful for an audience was because Elizabeth for once had a change of heart for Mr. Darcy, believing that she might have found her intellectual match. In that moment she had to selflessly shove down her feelings to be the outspoken sister she always was.

Changes or plot twist gain momentum in audience’s emotional connection to characters and happy endings. Such as in the Twilight Saga New Moon when there was suspected a love interest with Bella and Jake. Bella’s few flickering moments of happiness had once again been taken from her and she decided to confront Jake. We know he has a special place in the story, but he isn’t replacing Edward. At the pivotal moment Bella confronts Jake, it rains, after realizing that ‘he isn’t good for her anymore’ a werewolf is introduced into a vampire love triangle.

Be yourself!

Rain has the ability to flood out the masks one uses to hide behind. Other times rain can be used to give a sense of freedom to a character. That natural element of uncontrollable freedom. It is used slightly in Crazy, Stupid, Love when Hannah is sick of being perfect and decides that she need ‘that guy at the bar’. Leaving her comfortable congratulatory party she daringly marches into the bar to unveil herself to Jacob. Which in return the dirty deeds are on hold while Jacob turns the tables and changes his routine. Thank you rain, for allowing Jacob and Hannah to be themselves.

Freedom comes with a cup of coffee and some rain.

Besides the liberation from ones personality, what about freedom from society, cultural boundaries or prison. Talking about movie scenes in the rain we cannot forget about Shawshank Redemption. The moment we understand Andy had a plan to escape and is now free of the world that wronged him for years. In that moment rain was a friend. It cleansed Andy of all that went wrong, it comforted him in a moment of true escape. Rain was the sugar in Andy’s coffee.

Of course there are many impactful cinematic moments where rain influenced our hearts and flattered our taste in plot climaxes. We could go on to dissect the films not mentioned, instead let’s celebrate the moments that use rain to contribute that unforgettable flair in film. While rain plays a part in unmasking characters, falling in love, and introduce plot twists, it also puts the aww in our hearts and embroiders characters into our souls, and that is why rain is such a powerful flair in so many monumental movie moments.