(Contributed by Laurie Smith)
Recently I saw three movies, all very different but all with an element of fantasy. (Okay, so only one might be classified as science fiction.) These movies got me wondering: what constitutes an acceptable level of fantasy in a movie? Too little, and it is a documentary or a reality show. Too much and the audience members shake their heads and think “Whoa. What the heck was that?”
The three movies I had the dubious pleasure of watching were:
1. The Immortals. Bleak and brutal, but done well enough for the genre.
2. Sssssss. Yes, I’m serious. That was the title. It was about a mad scientist who turned his lab assistants into snakes. I didn’t even watch the whole thing it was so ridiculous, and my rating for this unfortunate blot on the cinematographic landscape is: Booo. Hisssssssss.
3. Stonehenge Apocalypse. The closest one to actual science fiction, it was also the most enjoyable (damned by faint praise).
What do people expect when watching a fantasy movie? Entertainment? Amusement? Escape? Science fiction movies that include all three of these values seem to do well. Adding some elements of truth and plausibility give the viewer something to relate to, so they can truly imagine a world where....
A few points of verisimilitude provide an anchor for the viewer. What about a movie like District 9, where there is enough day-to-day detail of an improbable situation provided where the viewer can feel almost uncomfortable with the realism? Hey, if you haven’t seen that movie yet, don’t rent it and then go out for a large dish of prawns, you may lose your appetite.
So the rhetorical question is – what is the optimal distance from reality that a movie needs for the audience to be both willing to suspend their disbelief and be entertained enough to provide a success at the box office?
- Laurie
My favorite Robert Heinlein novel is "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" where the moon is used as a penal colony. When the inmates revolt they throw rocks at the Earth instead of space weapons, because if you drop an object from high enough, it will go boom. If you ignore the self aware computer the story could take place in any time frame and the author didn't need to make up any new weapons he used something just lying around. I always thought it would make a believable movie.
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