Watching certain genres over a number of years, patterns emerge.
A lot of this is down to success and influence. A lot of studio output is driven by what worked in the genre in recent years. This is why so many studios have tried to fashion their blockbusters into a “shared universe” after the success of The Avengers, or why so many franchise reboots went dark and gritty after The Dark Knight. However, other genres also shift in response to trendsetters, albeit in more subtle and nuanced manners. Some of these shifts can be attributed to critical response or awards success.
For example, following the success of Peter Morgan’s intimate and tightly-focused biographical scripts for The Queen or Frost/Nixon, a lot of biographies adopted a similar approach to their subjects, focusing on one particular incident in a life (or in two lives) that could provide a microcosm through which to explore big issues. This led to other biographies that tended to be built around specific events in the lives of their subjects rather than adopting a more holistic approach, like Rush, My Weekend with Marilyn, Hitchcock, Elvis and Nixon, Battle of the Sexes.
In the past two years, an interesting trend has emerged in terms of biographical pictures. Historically, biographies have tended to focus on historically noteworthy individuals who accomplished great things; Gandhi, The Aviator, My Left Foot, Milk. Even more ambivalent biographies were usually defined by the sense that those characters had changed the world; Nixon, J. Edgar, The Social Network. However, the last few years have seen an interesting shift away from characters who actually accomplished tangible change, and those who tried and failed.
To be fair, there have always been biographies that acknowledged the valour of a failed attempt. Cool Runnings was a film about a the Jamaican bobsled team in which the characters did not even finish their Olympic event. Even in terms of fictional sports films, Rocky famously ended with the title character defeated after struggling for the entire film. However, in these cases, the film often acknowledged the valour in the attempt. The Jamaican bobsled team were competing for the first time and changing preconceptions about their country. Rocky was trying to pull himself out of poverty.
In contrast, more modern biographies seem willing to engage with the idea of failure to the point of mockery, exploring characters who have arguably been reduced to pop culture punchlines. Florence Foster Jenkins is the story of a socialite who cannot sing who dreams of performing in front of a rapt audience. Eddie the Eagle is the story of an awful skier who dreams of making it to the top of his profession. The Disaster Artist is the story of an eccentric with delusions of grandeur who through sheer force of will makes what might be the worst movie of all time.
This represents an interesting shift away from many of the conventions of the biographical feature film, providing a sharp contrast with the high-profile prestige pieces that garnered awards and glory in the twentieth century. After all, these movies are not spoofs or comedies. They are not subversions of the biopic in the same way that Walk Hard might be considered to be, nor are they broad comedies adapted from real events like Thirty Minutes or Less. While these films include comedic elements, they are very clearly intended as serious works intended for serious contemplation.
So, what does this shift actually mean?
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: biographies, biopics, eddie the eagle, florence foster jenkins, i tonya, irony, the american dream, the disaster artist | Leave a comment »
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