Keepin' It Real

With the rise of the modern blockbuster, Hollywood more often than ever releases films with heavy plot exposition, suspect sets, and theatrical acting. While these aspects make for great popcorn entertainment, directors may be sacrificing contemplation for action, and a life lived for a mechanized plot. Because of this sacrifice, cinematic realism, once a staple in classical Hollywood, is now often taken for granted.

Cinematic realism encompasses the believability of characters and events in a film, ideally depicting life as it is, without stylizations or false distortions. Filmmakers of all sorts have utilized this technique to better deliver messages to their audiences and entertain their viewers. A well-executed realist picture will result in clear originality in order to compensate for a lack of unrealistic scenarios or over dramatized scenes. Motion pictures that strive for a realistic interpretation of events take power away from the studio, in turn empowering the director whose ingenuity generates the story, rather than relying on elements that are hyperbolized for the sake of narrative excitement.

Once a viewer’s attention is grounded in reality, themes can be more easily digested, and ideas about life, more easily internalized. Realist films can shape perceptions about the world, as they have the ability to present with documentary-like precision situations that are otherwise marginalized by mainstream society. Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight, for example, aims to depict a social problem, rather than its escape. Moonlight relentlessly works to expose what it feels like to be a closeted adolescent in an intolerant social environment. The protagonist is an awkward, unlikeable, and self-conflicted individual, with seemingly no redeeming qualities. As this persona is made more understandable through his circumstance, the film instills a sense of compassion by accurately depicting the troubles LGBTQI+ youth face.

In considering entertainment, a film’s rawness promotes the ability to evoke genuine emotions far more intense than those evoked by conventional movies. As the appearance of an intense fight scene or an erotic love scene becomes increasingly organic, the audience becomes more emotionally invested. For instance, the gritty crime drama Good Time, written and directed by the Safdie Brothers, is a spontaneous tale of a man desperately trying to break his brother out of prison. With proper inner-city colloquialisms, subtle yet powerful drama, and outfits that were purchased from strangers, the composition creates characters and emotions so convincing that the protagonist, played by Robert Pattinson, could have been mistaken for an addict off of the street. A realist film such as this leaves viewers cringing, yet captivated.

My intention is not to bash Hollywood, but rather to introduce people to a new way of appreciating the benefit of cinematic realism. I go see a big budget feature to temporarily suspend my disbelief and be entertained, but rarely do I walk away from these movies contemplating them. Entertainment values vary, but I see realist films as entertaining and fulfilling in their own right, and a worthwhile experience for everyone.

By Lucas McComb