Characterization

 

Living in Europe, I don't always get to see popular series when they first appear. Netflix has changed some of that.

One of the series I'd never heard of was Suits. It was only Meghan Markle's marriage that called it to my attention. When I found it on Netflix, there is a pleasure of being able to Binge watch rather than wait for next week or next season.

I can also watch smaller amounts of series. I was intrigued with Bridgerton for the first season, mainly the costumes and settings. I thought of it as Desperate Housewives meets Downtown Abbey. 

As a writer, besides the story of any series, I'm interested in the writing, plotting, and characterization. The character of Louis Litt in Suits has fascinated me. In the beginning he was a sorta bad guy and over the many seasons, he has turned into the good guy. His background was revealed in dibs and dabs. 

Rick Hoffman, who plays Litt, has impressed with an actor more than any other actor in a long time. I've dubbed him a face actor, because he can say more with a twitch of a muscle than some other actor would with a long a speech.

Years ago watching the movie Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks in one scene I realized that the placement of the actors in the car was a visual and psychological addition to the story.

Hanks’ son has seen him kill a man. Hanks and he talk about it in their Model T. They make no eye contact until the last moment of the scene.  He shot the scene in such a way that the bar of the driver’s door separates father and son. It is so subtle that no one would say, “Oh look at the bar of the driver’s door emphasizing the separation between the father and son it has disappeared when the two characters reach a moment of understanding.” 

Of course as a writer limited to words on paper, I don't have the luxury of the visual, so I must create it in words. I hope I can do it was well as Rick Hoffman does it with his face.