28 Days Later
A friend of mine recently posted his impressions of the film 28 Days Later on his blog. He was unimpressed, to say the least. As I read his review, I began thinking it might be interesting to look at the film in terms of mind, body, and spirit characters.
If a movie or book is bad (assuming the writing and grammar are OK), there are two primary culprits. First, the story is not structured properly. Whether it's the classic three-act structure, the hero's journey (a more specific three-act structure), etc., a story has to have a foundation that resonates with its audience.
The second culprit is a missing or ill-defined mind, body, or spirit character. In his analysis, my friend wrote, "What bothered me most about the film is that there’s seemingly very little logic in how events progress." This is indicative of a missing mind character.
What follows is his take on the three character types in the film.
I can see the character of Jim as being the one who pursues what feels right in the immediate. He’s definitely the most emotional of any of the characters, and he is more in touch with empathy and mercy than any of the others. He also has the lowest kill count in the film until he’s forced into a position to kill enemies in order to protect his friends.
Selena is more of a “hard heart,” willing to kill anyone if they’re infected with no exception. She’s strong in that sense, but not terribly logical. She suggests the group should stop at a supermarket and load up on food in the middle of their getaway from the infected. She has the highest kill count, and her solution to anyone's pain is to numb it using drugs.
What bothered me most about the film is that there’s seemingly very little logic in how events progress. Jim wakes up in the hospital, and even when it’s blatantly obvious there are hostiles in the area, he keeps shouting, “Hello? Hello!” After escaping from a group of infected, he wants to go see his folks, but when he finds them dead–and he knows the infected come out at night–he still chooses to have lights on in the house, along with a video playing sound.
A lot of what the group accomplishes is unrealistic - driving a car with almost no ground clearance over piles of debris that are ten plus feet? Fixing a flat in less than two minutes?
The film did maintain a high level of consistency, but nothing else makes sense. None of it is interesting, and I’m still trying to figure out how and why this has become part of memorable zombie lore.
If a movie or book is bad (assuming the writing and grammar are OK), there are two primary culprits. First, the story is not structured properly. Whether it's the classic three-act structure, the hero's journey (a more specific three-act structure), etc., a story has to have a foundation that resonates with its audience.
The second culprit is a missing or ill-defined mind, body, or spirit character. In his analysis, my friend wrote, "What bothered me most about the film is that there’s seemingly very little logic in how events progress." This is indicative of a missing mind character.
What follows is his take on the three character types in the film.
The Spirit Character: Jim (Cillian Murphy)
I can see the character of Jim as being the one who pursues what feels right in the immediate. He’s definitely the most emotional of any of the characters, and he is more in touch with empathy and mercy than any of the others. He also has the lowest kill count in the film until he’s forced into a position to kill enemies in order to protect his friends.
The Body Character: Selena (Naomie Harris)
Selena is more of a “hard heart,” willing to kill anyone if they’re infected with no exception. She’s strong in that sense, but not terribly logical. She suggests the group should stop at a supermarket and load up on food in the middle of their getaway from the infected. She has the highest kill count, and her solution to anyone's pain is to numb it using drugs.
The Missing Mind
What bothered me most about the film is that there’s seemingly very little logic in how events progress. Jim wakes up in the hospital, and even when it’s blatantly obvious there are hostiles in the area, he keeps shouting, “Hello? Hello!” After escaping from a group of infected, he wants to go see his folks, but when he finds them dead–and he knows the infected come out at night–he still chooses to have lights on in the house, along with a video playing sound.
A lot of what the group accomplishes is unrealistic - driving a car with almost no ground clearance over piles of debris that are ten plus feet? Fixing a flat in less than two minutes?
The film did maintain a high level of consistency, but nothing else makes sense. None of it is interesting, and I’m still trying to figure out how and why this has become part of memorable zombie lore.
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