Sophie’s Choice (1982)
Directed by Alan J. Pakula and based on a bestselling novel by William Styron, Sophie’s Choice received over eleven Academy nominations and won the best actress Oscar for Meryl Streep. It’s aspirations to be a tragic love story were never quite fulfilled in the film version but the tale of a triangular relationship between two men and a woman (a little like Truffaut’s Jules et Jim) seemed to strike a chord with the public.
An aspiring young writer, Stingo (Peter MacNicol), forms a deep friendship with a young couple in post-war New York. Sophie (Meryl Streep) and Nathan (Kevin Kline) appear to be deeply in love but Nathan is a Jekyll and Hyde character; he suffers from a mental illness that can make him vicious and destructive. Stingo tries to rescue Sophie from Nathan’s cruelty but, when she reveals her tragic past, he accepts they belong together.
Character case study: the terrible choice
The choices that you present your characters are an important indicator of how well character and plot are integrated. A protagonist, in particular, needs to have the power to make important choices for an audience to identify with them fully. A feature of many classic film dramas is a moment that occurs in the third act called the crisis decision:
A major decision taken by the Protagonist under full pressure from the story. Ideally it should go beyond the character’s sense of right and wrong: ie. a choice between two irreconcilable goods or the lesser of two evils. If he or she then chooses A by sacrificing B, a price is paid, a risk taken.
Robert Mckee
In the scene shown here, Stingo has offered to marry Sophie and mentioned the possibility of them having children together. In response, she reveals a part of her backstory; something that has not been told to him or to the audience before.
Sophie’s choice is a classic example of a crisis decision but it is not used directly to turn the story. Although it occurs in the third act, the function of the scene is to reveal a crucial piece of information, something that transfigures our understanding of the character. It is also a presentiment of the film’s tragic ending, creating a sense of pity and dread in the audience.
(See notes on “The Three Act” structure)
© David Clough 2010