Brush Stroke- Character- Michael

This is to show you my protagonist for the script I am writing. My character's name is Michael and he works in an Italian restaurant where everyone except him is Italian, as a result of this he is bullied somewhat, couple this with the fact that he doesn't get paid much and is given all of the dirty work and you see why Michael hates his job and his co-workers. I chose this because my film is about escapism and by giving the protagonist a poor standard of day to day life it highlights his need for an escape (which I will talk about shortly). Moreover it sets up the image of 'poverty' that I want Michael to live in, Michael is struggling for money and has a lot of back rent that he cannot pay, this adds to the job issue to show that Michael has a very hard life at this part of his life and he also has few friends, in fact the only one I have portrayed in this film is Shannon, the polar opposite of Michael, but I will do another one of these posts for her. When writing this character I had a few characters from other films that inspired me somewhat.

One such inspiration was the narrator of Fight Club, this is because of his complete lack of care for his work and his limited social interactions with people, not to mention his lack of friends, also it is of note that I mean the narrator at the beginning rather than the end as anyone who has seen the film will know that he undergoes a large transformation. (photo taken from: zombiesruineverything.com)

Despite Michael's poverty, he is actually a very good artist, landscapes are his preferred type of painting, this serves as Michael's escape from the harsh reality he finds himself in, however as the story progresses this also becomes a physical escape as he enters the world of other people's paintings. In this sense Michael becomes a lot like one of my other inspirations, Will Hunting from Good Will Hunting, this is because this character is a hidden genius, although he is talented at maths and not at art but the premise is similar.

Although I have identified similarities with the two characters, Will Hunting is much more confident and willing to stand up for himself, whereas my character is more likely to let people ride him than stand up for himself. Moreover, Will is younger and more successful with women than Michael. Michael is more of the type that only wants one person but that person is otherwise accounted for. (Photo taken from ctcmr.com)

There is one other character I thought about when I was creating this character and that is Chris Gardner from the Pursuit of Happyness, I looked at this character for inspiration because he too lives in a similar kind of poverty to Michael, although perhaps his is more extreme than that of Michael (Michael at the start of my film anyway).

Of the three, Chris shares the least with Michael in terms of character traits, however I believe that the two react in similar ways to scenarios that befall them due to their shared strife, I therefore thought of this character at times because I know Michael would react similarly. (Photo taken from: www.fanpop.com)