Crisis of Faith

There are plenty of movies like Silence, The Last Temptation of Christ and Noah that tackle characters experiencing a Crisis of Faith. They work because they address something most of us will face in our lifetime, whether or not you are religious. We all face cliff-edges in our life, and can either stay where we are, or take a Leap of Faith.

Characters like Noah (Russell Crowe), Jesus (Willem Dafoe) and Father Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) find that an event comes along with makes them question everything they thought they knew- in this case, their relationship with their God.

However, these examples are either fictional, biblical or historical. In the last few years, a brilliant TV series has shown a man of God in the modern world. This man faces constant Crisis of Faith, but when he overcomes his doubts, he is a better person for doing so.

Rev.

This BBC sitcom starring Tom Hollander depicts the Reverend Adam Smallbone (Hollander), married to an ambitious and talented solicitor, Alex (Olivia Colman). Despite reluctance from Alex, they leave their cushy country parish in a well-to-do area to go and run a parish in one of London’s poorest areas.

His best friend is an alcoholic homeless parishioner he shares beer and cigarette breaks with. His family is harassed by a clueless drug addict who is always trying to scam them.

Adam faces constant threats of his church closing down, a faith school that has little to do with its parish, and the bureaucracy of the Church of England. Adam, not only experiences challenges on a daily basis that make him feel as though his church is irrelevant.  The strain it puts on his marriage and the kinds of tragedies he witnesses within inner-city London make him also question whether he truly believes in God.

We always hear him talking to God throughout the show’s quieter moments, but he’s always wondering if God is listening to him.

Empathy

Rev. works so well because our lead character, who preaches the word of God, is just as flawed as the rest of us are, regardless of our faith. Everyone who believes in some sort of God places their love and trust in this faith. It is only natural they would doubt themselves, and feel all sorts of emotions if something terrible happens. If their faith is not rewarded when they feel they need intervention, they can feel abandoned.

Despite preaching the word of God, Adam struggles on a daily basis as he attempts to hold together his marriage, his community, and his church. At one point, he seriously considers abandoning his faith forever. If you want to know whether or not he takes the Leap of Faith required to keep everything he holds dear, you’ll have to watch the show!

Leap of Faith

I often talk about Characters having to take a Leap of Faith detailed more thoroughly in my Character Map eBook and available in my online store. It takes courage to overcome the leap in the face of our fears. Characters will go on a journey throughout a novel, or a film, or a TV series, to discover what they want vs. what they really need. And if they have the courage to live an authentic life. By the end of their journey, they face a choice– to live in fear or to live in faith.

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This month is Power of Conscience month, where most of the website’s content will be dedicated to those who think themselves righteous, the justice seekers, though who believe only they know what is right or wrong, and will go as far as they have to do ensure that their judgment is carried through. After last year, a light was shone on what is right and what is wrong. Power of Conscience dominated last year, so it’s a good way to start 2018 by examining these characters. I’ll be looking at some of these examples from TV, Film and the world of politics throughout the course of January.

Today, we’ll be examining an actor who seems to always play Power of Conscience characters – Kyle Chandler. He always plays the character who does the right thing, and lives a humble existence trying to hold others to the law, or some kind of code. He is honourable and loyal, steadfast and decent. He will do what he believes is the decent thing for his team, his family, and America as a whole, as we will see by analysing three of his most iconic roles, all of which are Power of Conscience characters.

Eric Taylor in Friday Night Lights

“Right here, right now, God has placed you to do what you do best. Go all the way.”

The fatherly coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) in Friday Night Lights demonstrates the best qualities of a Power of Conscience character.

He sets a moral example for the high school boys he coaches.

Taylor promotes teamwork, good sportsmanship, responsibility to others and the ethics of fair play in a small town that likes to win and has little patience for losing. He faces constant pressure to bend the rules in order to win games. He shows his team what winning is “worth” and what truly defines “winning.”

In the pilot episode, Taylor prays about strength of character.

Coach Taylor: “Give all of us gathered here tonight the strength to remember that life is so very fragile. We are all vulnerable, and we will all, at some point in our lives… fall. We will all fall. We must carry this in our hearts… that what we have is special. That it can be taken from us, and when it is taken from us, we will be tested. We will be tested to our very souls. We will now all be tested. It is these times, it is this pain, that allows us to look inside ourselves.”

Taylor is always torn between his duty and obligations to the team and the demands of his growing family. Like all Power of Conscience characters it’s not easy for him to balance the conflicting demands for his time an attention. Taylor struggles with what is the higher duty in any given situation.

John Rayburn in Bloodline

Chandler plays a similar role in Netflix’s show Bloodline, but he is the patriarch of a dysfunctional family as opposed to the father figure for a team of college football players. He is the big brother who cleans everyone’s mess up, similar to the Older Brother in the biblical parable of The Prodigal Son.

John’s reckless brother Danny (Ben Mendelsohn) is a Power of Excitement who upsets the family balance, and Rayburn is tested by a polarising opposite to his character, as is Agent Denham in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Rayburn is driven to protect his family, no matter the cost. He doesn’t do this out of love or obsession, but because they are his family and he believes it is his job to do the right thing. This is the closest Chandler gets to showing us the darkest side of Power of Conscience.

Agent Patrick Denham in The Wolf of Wall Street

Working for the FBI, it’s obvious that Chandler’s portrayal of G-Man Patrick Denham is Power of Conscience. FBI agents can often be confused with Power of Truth, for their detective/cop abilities, or Power of Reason, since FBI agents are trained to be meticulous and methodical, like Robert Mueller and James Comey.

However Denham, like all FBI agents, is driven by the law. He defines himself by it. In one telling scene, after he has arrested Power of Will protagonist Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio), we see him go back to his normal life on a very average salary, in amongst the fabulously wealthy. He is content to live within his means, and not aspire for more.

In a film about greed, wealth and hedonism, Denham is the dogged Power of Conscience character upholding the law and doing what is right, even though he will never be as successful, comfortable or affluent as crooks like Jordan Belfort. It’s fascinating to see Chandler’s typical Power of Conscience character distilled into a 2.5-hour movie, as opposed to ongoing TV series.

I finally caught up with Shutter Island last night.  I wasn’t interested in the movie when it was released.  Something about the trailer turned me off or was irritating.  I can’t remember what that was.  But I’m preparing for my Thriller Workshop in New York City and thought I should see it.  I’m glad I did.

I liked the movie a lot.  It’s a classic Power of Truth story asking: Who can I trust?  Do I see what I think I see? What’s really going on?  What does it all mean? ** SPOILERS AHEAD **

Shutter Island reminded me very much of Memento.  In both films a man’s wife dies in the aftermath of a violent act.  Each man constructs an elaborate narrative about what happened and who is responsible.  Each man searches for his wife’s “killer.”  After the shock of being confronted with the truth, each man retreats back to his fictional narrative.

The film is an interesting follow up to What The Bleep Do We Know.  That film and my interpretation of it argues:

I am who I say I am.  I am the story I tell about myself– to me and to others.

I chose my story and I continue to chose it consciously or unconsciously every day.

Events in the past do not create or destroy my character– my reaction to, attitude toward and interpretation of those events is what creates or destroys my character.

At the end of Shutter Island, the protagonist (Leonardo DiCaprio), chooses madness.  He can’t face his role in the deaths of his wife and children.  He would rather “Die a good man (his fictional self) than live as a monster (and face what really happened)”.  He cannot do the work to process his grief, forgive himself and resolve his loss.

At the end of Memento, the protagonist (Guy Pearce) chooses to kill the only man who has the key to his wife’s killer.  He can’t face his role in her death. The truth is too painful so he “makes up his own truth”.  He cannot forgive himself and resolve his loss.  So he creates a mystery he can never solve.

Reality is the story we choose to tell about ourselves and our world.  Power of Truth characters struggle to define what reality they can accept and what reality they choose to ignore (or to hide).  Although they seek the truth, the person most often lying to them is themselves.

The protagonists in Shutter Island and Memento choose a story that fictionalizes and twists the truth. Each would rather be insane/lobotomized/lost in a haze of distorted memories rather than face responsibility for the death that haunts him.

Shutter Island is a fascinating psychological thriller that unwraps the protagonist’s psyche in a slow tortuous fashion.  The surprise twist is extremely satisfying.   Although the protagonist is judged insane, he makes a choice that proves his sanity in that he is fully conscious of what he’s doing.

Last night I went to the DGA program honoring Kathryn Bigelow for her achievements as a director.  I went with my friend Sister Rose Pacatte, who writes a popular blog on cinema and spirituality.

She was a VIP guest, having been on the first jury to make an award to The Hurt Locker, Bigelow’s break-through multi-Oscar-winning film.  The Ecumenical Jury at the Venice Film Festival was the first to launch the critical acclaim that would carry the film to an historic win for Bigelow as Best Director at the DGA and the Oscars.

The reception was lovely and the program was heart-felt and was a wonderful tribute to an amazing woman.  But I couldn’t help remembering a Women in Hollywood article I had read the week before.  It recounts the rather dismal reality in the aftermath to Bigelow’s stunning achievement.

Let’s look at the last couple of winners:

Danny Boyle – 2008 winner – is back in the running with 127 Hours ($18 Million budget) and is also the artistic director for the London Olympics opening ceremony.

Joel and Ethan Coen – 2007 winner – are back in the running this year with True Grit ($35 Million budget).

Martin Scorcese – 2006 winner – released Shutter Island this year ($100 Million Budget).

There are two women still in the major discussions for possible Oscar nods — Debra Granik and Lisa Cholodenko.  Though it would be another huge deal if another woman gets a nomination for best director this year, the truth is that women directors still have little commercial power.  As LA Times said: “nearly all of the beloved indy female directors are unemployable at major studios…”

Okay– So am I incredibly small minded for not just enjoying the evening?  But the truth is all this wonderful director could line up after her win was an HBO movie.

As far as my search revealed her next film (at a low $10 million dollar budget) may or may not be financed a year after taking home the Oscar.  Reports are conflicting.

“But the more important thing is to write everything down. I would say, Write down what’s going on around you, what’s going on in your family, on the street, and with your friends. Just keep writing and writing. You don’t even have to think it’s a script. Write down as much as you can, and then out of that you might eventually be able to pull a picture which, over the years, I have been able to do.” Martin Scorcese

Here’s how to put that philosophy into practice every day. Below is a FREE LESSON from the One Hour Screenwriter eBook.

Sit back and remember your most risky behavior. It could be an act of rebellion, a gamble (successful or unsuccessful), a brief adventure, a moment of daring, a crazy scheme, a wild leap of faith, a transgression, a crime or any other reckless activity.

What exactly did you do? Did you get away with it? What consequences did you pay? Was it worth the risk? Or did you have regrets?

Describe as completely as you can a situation when you left caution to the wind. Who or what prompted you to undertake this dicey activity?

Was anyone else involved? What was their contribution to the situation? How did you feel before, during and after taking the chance you took?

Can you remember what the day was like and what you wore? What are your other sense memories (sight, sound and feeling) of that risky moment in your life? How did the situation or activity engage all your emotions?

Did you make a personal leap of faith to do this? Did the activity make you feel stronger or more confident?

Did it make you feel foolish? Was there a let down afterwards? Was there relief? Was there exhilaration? Write about everything you felt.

Was this activity something you agonized about and summoned the courage to undertake over time, or was it an impulsive action taken in the heat of the moment? What made the experience memorable?

Take 10 to 15 minutes to complete this exercise. Do not censor yourself; write whatever comes to mind. Don’t be worried about being articulate, artistic or interesting, just write. Let your memories flow freely.

Now write this exercise from your character’s point of view. What are the riskiest things your character does in the story? How does that make your character feel?

Ask your character the same questions above. Your character should have several risky moments in the story. What are they?

List and describe these moments as completely as you can. Add this material to your Film Project Notebook.

The One Hour Screenwriter eBook explains how you can use your own life experience to write a script. The eBook breaks the writing process down into easy, clear bite-sized increments. You are guided step-by-step through writing your story. Order your copy today!