Hi, I'm Michael. This is Lessons from the Screenplay. On the surface, Logan and Children of Men
may not seem that similar, but on a deeper, story level, these two films
are very closely related. Each is an odyssey, featuring a reluctant
hero pressured into a dangerous journey that leads to a powerful conclusion. So how do you create such an impactful character
arc? How do you lead your hero down the path to
redemption? There’s a line in one of my favorite books
on storytelling, Notes on Directing, in which the authors offer the following advice: “Realize that the end is in the beginning. In all the best material, the outcome is inevitable
and inherent in the opening moment and in every moment in between.” So today I want to dissect the first acts
of Logan and Children of Men. To understand how the beginning story world
prevents the change the protagonist so desperately needs, and how this world is then torn down and left
behind. And examine how the transformation we see
in the heroes at the end of the story is established and ignited in the beginning. Let’s take a look at Logan and Children
of Men. In order to properly set up your character’s
arc, you have to know how it ends. So before we look at how Logan and Theo begin
their stories, let’s first look at how they finish them. By the end of Children Of Men, Theo has risked
everything to fight for the future of humanity, and sacrifices his life in the name of hope. By the end of Logan, Logan has gone out of
his way to help a new generation of mutants, and come to embrace the love of family. These are the morals of the stories, and each manifests itself as a truth that
the protagonist must learn on their journey. For this lesson to be dramatic, the character
should begin their journey as far away from this truth as possible. This is why the first act of a story is all
about setting up the lie the character believes. In her book Creating Character Arcs, K.M. Weiland writes: “The Lie Your Character Believes is the
foundation for his character arc. This is what’s wrong in his world.” As Children Of Men opens, we immediately get
a glimpse into Theo’s lie. He enters a cafe where everyone is grieving
the loss of the youngest person on the planet, and he couldn’t care less. A few minutes later, we hear Theo state the
lie he believes pretty clearly. When his friend Jasper mentions “The Human
Project,” a supposed group of people fighting for the
future of humanity, Theo rebukes the entire idea. “Even if they discovered the cure for infertility,
it doesn’t matter." "Too late." "The world went to shit." "You know what?" "It was too late before the infertility thing
happened for fuck’s sake.” Theo believes that it’s foolish to fight
for humanity because all hope is already lost. Logan’s lie has to do with family. “We took you in.” “I gave you a family." “And they’re gone now.” We actually hear Logan state his lie pretty
clearly as well, although in this case it isn’t until toward
the end of the film when he’s starting to admit it to himself. “Bad shit happens to people I care about,
you understand me?” Logan believes that allowing himself to love
and have a family will only lead to pain. Both of the lies these characters believe are the exact opposite of the truth they discover
at the end of the story. Logan and Theo are missing the precise thing
their stories will help them find. But for the audience to go on the journey
with the characters, the lie has to be something we can empathize
with. We need to understand why they believe the
lie and why it’s so difficult to break free from it. This is why the lie should be reinforced by
the protagonist’s Normal World. In Creating Character Arcs, K.M. Weiland writes: “The Normal World dramatizes the Lie the
Character Believes. It empowers the character in that Lie, giving
him no reason to look beyond it.” Children of Men takes place in a world filled
with things that empower Theo’s apathy. He lives in a near future version of London, which has become the last bastion of human civilization. A militarized police force hunts down refugees
from every country, creating a constant reminder of the suffering
in the world. It’s not difficult to understand why someone
might resort to apathy in this environment. In fact in the opening scene, Theo walks out
of the café because of his apathy and we see what happens to those who allowed
themselves to care. (explosion) In Theo’s Normal World, the Lie he believes
is keeping him alive. (screaming) (train goes by) Logan’s Normal world consists of caring
for an ailing and potentially dangerous Charles Xavier, while realizing that his own health is failing
as well. “Something’s happening to you, Logan." "On the inside, you’re sick. "I can smell it.” Knowing that his time is running out, and that the last of his X-Men family won’t be around much longer, it’s not hard to understand why Logan believes that caring about family will only lead to pain. The story world empowers this lie even further. He lives in an abandoned smelting plant in
Mexico, so he is completely isolated from other people. And his work as a driver ensures that the
few interactions he does has with people are very brief. But the most similar aspect of the Normal
Worlds in these two films is the lack of a future. In Children of Men, the human race is going
extinct. There hasn’t been a newborn in eighteen
years. In Logan, it is the mutants that are going
extinct. “There are no new mutants. Understand?” “Hasn’t been a new one born in twenty-five
years. Not anywhere.” This helps us truly empathize with the characters’
lies. How could someone want to care when there
seems to be no hope? The protagonist’s Normal World gives them
no reason to ever challenge their lie, which means they’ll never discover the truth
they need to transform. This is why at the end of Act One, the normal
world must be destroyed. The destruction of the normal world begins
with the inciting incident. The inciting incident often has three parts: a sudden opportunity, a refusal by the protagonist,
and a reluctant agreement. Theo is asked to help escort a young girl
and her caretaker on dangerous mission across a long distance. “I need your help. I need transit papers.” “Not for me. A girl, she’s a fugee." "Need to get her to the coast, past security
checkpoints.” This would challenge the lie he believes,
so he refuses… “I can’t. It’s too dangerous.” And reluctantly agrees because of money. “I can get you five thousand pounds.” Logan is asked to help escort a young girl
and her caretaker on dangerous mission across a long distance... “There are men after us. We need to get out of here.” “Go north, cross to Canada.” This would challenge the lie he believes,
so he refuses… “Not available, call a cab.” And reluctantly agrees because of money. “I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars!” In his book The Anatomy of Story, John Truby
writes: “The best inciting event is one that makes
your hero think he has just overcome the crisis he has faced
since the beginning of the story. In fact, due to the inciting event, the hero has just gotten into the worst trouble of his life.” Logan and Theo think they’ve finally found
a way to solve their financial problems, but in fact they’ve just taken the first
step toward destroying their normal worlds. This quickly becomes clear as everything goes
wrong and their plans are flipped on their heads. (car crash) Logan: “Shit.” This is called the first plot point. In Creating Character Arcs, K.M. Weiland writes: “This is where the setup ends, and the story
begins ‘for real.’ At this point, the character commits—usually
because he has no choice— to a decision that will propel him out of
the comfortable stagnation of the Normal World and the Lie He Believes.” For both Logan and Theo, this is where the
most powerful element of their normal world— the lack of a future—is stripped away. “I’m scared.” Theo realizes that Kee is the first pregnant
woman in eighteen years. “She’s pregnant.” “Now you know what’s at stake.” And Logan realizes that there are new mutants, and that Laura is not just any mutant, but
one very similar to himself. “Holy shit.” Suddenly the Lies that Theo and Logan believe
are harder to hold on to. “As I told you, Logan. She’s a mutant like you.” “Hold on!” This triggers a reversal in the protagonist’s
behavior. Before this moment, Theo had nothing but apathy
toward the world and didn’t want to get involved in politics. Theo: “I don’t talk politics.” “That’s all you ever used to do.” But now he’s participating in a discussion
of what to do about Kee’s pregnancy… “Make it public!” …and leading her escape to safety. For Logan, a minute ago we was ready to leave
the girl for dead. “Logan, we mustn’t forget about Laura.” “She’s not our problem.” And now… Logan and Theo have passed the point of no
return. Their normal worlds have been destroyed and
the story moves on to Act Two. (train impacts the car) Logan and Children of Men are great films
to study because the protagonist’s internal changes
are expressed by their external journeys. While Theo and Logan are destroying their
normal worlds emotionally, they are literally leaving their starting
locations behind. They travel with an embodiment of the truth
they’re trying to hide from— two young girls who represent hope for the
future and a chance at family. As they navigate the second acts of their
stories, they visit new worlds which are very different
from their old worlds, where they meet characters that teach them
about faith and love. They witness the last people they care deeply
for die to defend the truth they themselves are afraid of. And by the end of their stories, Theo and Logan abandon their Lie and make
the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the future of humanity, and for the love of family. When it comes to Theo and Logan’s character
arcs, it’s clear that the end is in the beginning. Many of you guys have sent me messages saying that you’re interested in making
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to start your free seven-day trial of Videoblocks by Storyblocks. I hope you guys enjoyed this video! Logan was one of my favorite films of this
year, and Children of Men is one of the best films every
made, so I had a lot of fun putting this together. I want to say a big thank you to all my patrons
on Patreon. I really, really appreciate that you guys
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