You can handle the truth
The film credit line, based on a true story–or alternately–inspired by true events–is appearing more often on today's movie screens. A quick glance at the contenders vying for 2010's top film awards reveals several that fall in that category sometimes labeled as docudrama. Foremost among them are The Social Network, The King's Speech, The Fighter, and 127 Hours. Further examples from the small screen can be found including HBO's Prohibition era drama, Boardwalk Empire, while four out of the five miniseries nominated for Golden Globes are productions based on factual occurrences.
Of course, not all that qualifies as hard news does a compelling movie make. The respective crafts of screenwriting and direction, not to mention casting, acting, editing, etc., are essential to bring that story to life. Some real-life events, while piquing our interest, seem to defy the odds of being adapted into a film. Such is the case with director Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, a biopic of Aron Ralston, the Utah hiker who was trapped by a fallen boulder for six days–spoiler alert–and who had to amputate his own limb to survive.
Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, in an interview with Creative Screenwriting magazine, reveals that he was not convinced Ralston's story could be compellingly told, given that the virtually sole character is trapped in one place for an extended period of time, and that the story's ending was already well publicized. Against conventional wisdom, Beaufoy and Boyle succeed in creating a riveting tale while, once again, Boyle's auteur credentials are showcased by his vividly coloured cinematography and split-screen montages.
Adapting a fact-based story for the screen may involve subjugating certain realities for storytelling purposes. For instance, sometimes two or three people might be collapsed into one character or real-life timelines compressed for the economy of screen time. Such changes, in my view, are acceptable so long as proper disclaimers are given and the soul of the story is not compromised. The average movie-goer, without necessarily knowing why, prefers a three-act story structure with a limited number of characters and a cathartic film climax.
While it is tempting to think of real-life events as just another story source for film in the same way that novels, stage plays or comics are, such a view fails to recognize the extra-dimensional power of truth. Despite a post-modern sensibility that truth lies solely in the eye of the beholder, I'd contend that human beings are hard-wired to respond to true stories in a more substantial way. These stories evoke a more profound response as they cross the boundaries from that which is simply theoretical into the realm of actual experience, because that which is true in the experience of others must, necessarily, at least be possible for ourselves.
Here are a few recommendations for some fact-based films that I've slotted into some arbitrarily drawn categories: With respect to their suitability for family versus adult viewing, I would encourage due diligence in checking out each film's rating and parental advisory status. The truth is often inspiring but not always pretty.
In the “Be-Inspired-Because-If-They-Could-Overcome-This-You-Could-Too" category: October Sky (1999) shows the upward trajectory of a young man buried deep in a dead-end mining town who wants to be a rocket scientist; also consider The Hurricane (1999) and A Beautiful Mind (2001), film biographies of boxer Rubin Carter and mathematician John Nash respectively.
In the “One-Person-Really-Can-Make-A-Difference-In-This-World" category: In Hotel Rwanda (2004) Don Cheadle portrays one hotel manager's unreserved mission to save lives amid the incomprehensible horror of the Rwandan genocide; The Insider (1999) depicts Russell Crowe as a tobacco industry whistleblower who shows us what it costs to tell the truth. Also check out biopic classics such as Ghandi (1982), Schindler's List (1993) and Erin Brockovich (2000).
In the “Faith-Makes-A-Difference-To-How-I-Live-My-Life" category: Chariots of Fire (1981) portrays one man's integrity of conscience (Eric Liddell) and another's relentless ambition (Harold Abrahams) in the stadium of Olympic competition; Shadowlands (1993) is an honest portrayal of a Christian icon (C.S. Lewis) whose mastery of theological viewpoints is challenged by the unexpected personal pain of love and loss.
With a screening of any of the above, be assured, you can handle the truth.
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