Topic 2: Narrative Structure

 Jamie Horton

Professor Saphire

COM 126.01

9 October 2020

Sometimes the most frustrating thing about a situation is being trapped, and not knowing what to do. Over time though, things work out, and more answers become clear. These themes are present in the Films Adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze, and Memento directed by Christopher Nolan. Each film has a similar narrative, which they are able to deliver in unique and different ways. The problems that each protagonist faces are similar, yet each director tells the audience the story in different, yet similar ways. Each films structure of its narrative lays out the way each story is to be delivered, and whether it's the way each film effectively uses narration to establish its world and characters, or to show the complexities of the plot and the way that it is revealed, these details provide the audience with a deeper understanding of each film and why each of them compare and contrast so well.

Each film uses the aspect of ‘time’ in different ways. In Memento, the protagonist Leonard has short term memory loss, and is unable to form new memories. This is shown through the audience by playing the movie in reverse order. In short vignettes lasting from anywhere to two to ten minutes, the movie begins with the climax, yet with dozens of questions unanswered. This ‘reverse’ order of the movie creates an overarching puzzle that the movie slowly solves, leaving the audience with slightly more information each time. In Adaptation, the film is cut between scenes of protagonist Charlie, and author Susan Orlean. The film shows scenes of her from three years ago, intermixed with Charlie in the present day, struggling to write his screenplay. Adaptations’ shift happens about halfway through, where the second half of the film focuses on Charlie’s brother Donald, becoming a movie that he would want to see, as opposed to how Charlie would want it made, allowing the two to reconcile their differences. Similarly to Momento, the film has a point where each movies ‘two halves’ intermix and continue as one story. But neither film does this in the same way. Memento’s shift happens in the last few minutes of the film, and provides us with the large climax for the ending, as a true intertwining of both sides of Leonard's search. Adaptations’s shift is a lot more subtle, yet not expected, and it shows off the film's metafictional style of storytelling, changing what the viewer may have thought was a solid narrative structure. The way each movie is able to play with time creates a more engaging experience, and one that shifts each narrative in engaging and creative ways.

Each film’s use of narration is imperative to how the audience sees the characters and story. With Memento, information is told through Leonard's voice, with him explaining what he ‘remembers’ and what he is unable to just moments later. Leonard is an unreliable narrator, as he is only able to remember things from before his accident due to his amnesia, and due to his conditioning, he blocks out unpleasant things that he wishes not to remember, such as already finding the killer, and that his wife actually survived, but is now unable to remember it. When the switch towards the end happens, it is sad to see how he has been lying to himself for his own happiness, and how he will not remember. The use of the narrator to build plot is one of its most striking features, slowly letting the audience into what is going on inside his scattered head. The narration is mostly used to let the audience establish trust in Leonard, and this allows for a large shock at the end where it tells that the viewer has been lied to the entire time, and has been hearing lies from someone who does not really know what they are talking about, or who they even are. Adaptation uses a slightly different style of narration, using it more as a tool for building the characters in Charlie’s world. The voice of Charlie in the movie is striking, as he tells himself his faults, and how he is sad and pathetic. The information that the audience receives from the narrator in this film is much less crucial to each immediate scene going on, and is more focused on building up to the story’s climax. Each movie features two men who are unable to escape their own mind, and this is perfectly reflected in each narrator. It becomes immediate in Adaptation, and later on in Memento, that the thoughts of these men are not reflecting reality itself, which purposefully creates a skew of the story, and the viewers point of view. 

 Each film's unique way of seeing the narrative change is what makes the two films so comparable, with each change bringing audiences back for more. This method of seeing each protagonist's mindset and the world around them builds the narrative of each film and eventually misleads the audience through it. Memento violently catches viewers early with its unique structure, and creates an unknown state of reality, whereas Adaptation creates intrigue early on with its unique character structure and dialogue creating a sense of world hooks in the viewer. Both films have unconventional narrative, each one structured to help drive the plot forward.