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Jeff Goldsmith’s (Creative Screenwriting Magazine) recent interview with Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy is definitely worth a listen. Beaufoy is an honest, humble and interesting personality. He doesn’t give any concrete advice on writing per se, but offers lots of insight into his process. You get the sense that he’s constantly thinking on a thematic level when he’s writing and it’s interesting to hear how various themes materialize for him. There’s lots to be gleaned from the interview, which was quite nice for a change. Can’t wait to see the film.

Here’s the full CSM podcast with Simon Beaufoy. (53 min)

I’ve had the subject ‘when to use voice-over or narration’ sitting in my drafts folder for several months now. I haven’t blogged about it because I have no clear answer as to when you’re supposed to use it and when you’re not. I didn’t delete the draft either because it’s something I figured I would want to talk about at some point (when the opportunity presented itself).

Which brings me to Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Critics raved about the film, calling it Woody Allen’s “best film in decades”. “He’s back!” they proclaimed (although, I’m not sure where they thought he went). He’s been turning out a film a year for the past two decades, some of them great, some of them forgettable but yes, the great ones have come since Annie Hall and Hannah and Her Sisters.

For some reason, Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Bullets Over Broadway (1992) and Mighty Aphrodite (1995) seem to be forgotten. In more recent years there’s been Sweet and Lowdown (1999) and Match Point (2005), both brilliant, entertaining films which didn’t seem to hit their radar either. And yet, with VCB, the critics hail that Woody Allen is back. And I’m not sure why.

I love Woody Allen. He’s one of my favorite filmmakers. But for VCB he cheated. And by cheated I mean he got lazy. So much of the film is expository. Simple things that could have been shown were told to us, most of the time by the narrator (who I had mixed feelings about) and some of the time by the characters themselves - which is even worse.

Exposition is a terrible crutch. Brilliant writers avoid it. Great writers mask it when they do it. It’s hard to overcome, but that doesn’t mean you should just give in to it - that’s what a lazy writer does. That’s what Woody Allen did. Yes the dialog is interesting, the conversations genuine, the characters likable - I thought Penelope Cruz was brilliant. But the movie doesn’t hold up. It seemed at times that narration was used as a plot device rather than as an aesthetic decision.

Sometimes voice over/narration comes in to save a film (if the cut isn’t working) and therefore it’s necessary to write some exposition to help things along. I’m all for this (as long as it’s well written). Some people think voice over or narration is a crutch. I disagree. I think it can be poetic, entertaining, insightful etc. as long as it’s used in the right manner and that it suits the story in which you are telling.

A filmmaker needs every tool at their disposal. It’s just a matter of how they’re used.

Here’s a small list of great films that use narration/voice over brilliantly: Brief Encounter, Sunset Boulevard, An Angel at My Table, Chungking Express, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and Jules et Jim.

If you know of any others please feel free to comment.

Update: I had dinner with a friend recently who mentioned that they thought VCB reminded them of Jules et Jim in terms of the narration. I can see the similarities. Both narrators are male and not characters in the actual film. They each have a dry sense of humour and talk about the characters in a very detached, non-judgmental way. Truffaut has always been a source of inspiration for Woody Allen - maybe that’s what he was going for. It doesn’t change my opinion of the film however.

WellMedicated posted a series of vintage Popular Science and Science and Mechanics illustration covers. It’s an amazing collection of covers. This is one of my favorites from the group.

Then I realised (and this could just be me) that it reminded me of a more recent movie poster.

I’m no expert when it comes to illustration but I find the figures in the Life Aquatic poster to be drawn in a very similar manner to those in the Popular Science cover. That, and the playfulness of the ship in Life Aquatic is similar to that in Popular Science as well.

Inspiration has to come from somewhere. This may not have been the source of inspiration for the movie poster but it wouldn’t surprise me these vintage covers played a role somehow.

There’s also a series of film posters from Poland that’s worth checking out.