Journal+Entry+1+-+David+O.+Russel

Throughout my time of watching David O. Russel's films, the main stylistic motifs I have noticed a common reoccurrence of dark comedy. In his films, David O. Russel often deals with very serious matters, however almost always that films have a comedic undertone. No matter how serious the films becomes, David O. Russel loves to through in some comedy. The film I will create will be in contrast to this style because the majority of my film will be a comedy, however the climax of the film will be dark. Though my film is a very different style then what David O. Russel normally works with, I feel I am able to use many of his filming techniques to add to my film. A very common theme that seems to be present throughout David O. Russel's films is a major theme of helping other people at your own expense. This theme is present throughout the majority of his films when the main character has to give up something he has been working so hard to achieve, to help the lives of other characters. As the director of my film, I want to add this major theme into the main story. I feel if I do so it could add a lot to the story, resulting in giving the film more meaning. My idea of how I will incorporate this into my film is by making the main character, Hugs, give up on his pursuit of running his lemonade stand and somehow aid Herbert, whom he has previously pushed away. One major thematic motif almost present in David O. Russel's films is the use of a strong female character. In his films this strong female character is never the main character of the film, but often is the one who persuades or helps the main character achieve what he was looking for. As my film is set in a post-apocalyptic setting, I feel simply writing in a female character in a world where almost nobody exist and giving her a significant meaning to aid Hugs would seem awkward and misplaced, so I have decided to stay away from this motif. Finally all of David O. Russel's films share a common aspect that every main character doesn't want the same thing at the end of the movie as the beginning. Each movie begins with the main character pursuing a goal, however near the climax of the movie it is clear that that goal is not what they need but in fact what they should give up to get what they really need. This will play a major role in my film because in the beginning of the film the main character Hugs has no idea that in the end all he really wants is normalcy and to have somebody else with him. To conclude I will be using many aspects I have learnt in David O. Russel's films to contribute to my own film to give it meaning.