BSA 104 (Screenwriting) Week 9 : No. 2 Review
No. 2 is a New Zealand film written and directed by Toa Fraser in which the head of a Fijian family wants to name her successor. The film follows different members of the family, exploring their relationships and conflicts as the matriarch contemplates her decision.
The film is very uplifting, the story sees a fractured family coming together, a universally relatable theme.
There was some debate over who the main character in No. 2 was but eventually we decided upon the matriarch, the reasoning being that she is the one who puts the events into motion, changes the world around her and has the largest internal change as well.
The general consensus in class was that Soul was the best side-character. This is because he was the only other member of the family that seemed to care about repairing all the broken relationships and bringing everyone together under one roof. He is also the one who has the most profound change happen in his life, as a character he stays the same but the matriarch naming him as her successor turns his life around. As an audience we enjoy seeing this and throughout the movie we rooted for him because of how fun and passionate he was. He changes the main characters mind the most, his presence is always felt while some other characters disappear into the background (e.g. Tyson). Him being named feels deserved and the family rejoices, as an audience we reciprocate this emotion.
With such a large ensemble cast there was a runner up for best character and that was the European woman in the film. She has a similar affect on the matriarch as Soul, changing the old woman's mind on people outside the family, As an audience we respect characters who can make a change.
The movie was very engaging for me throughout, I appreciated the way that information about the people were trickled out. To me the characters and relationships were central to my enjoyment of this film, the way we learn about them and how they changed throughout the film was very entertaining.
If there was one moment I had to choose, the side door scene was very effective. It's engaging because it's unexpected, a big fallout between the characters and a turning point for the film and instrumental in the arc of the main characters.
The only point in the film that my attention wavered was the conversations between the Matriarch and European woman, I think these were boring because there was a lack of conflict. There are also some weird changes in pace throughout the film, often the tensions would die down, making space for a musical montage, but then suddenly pick up again.
The film is very uplifting, the story sees a fractured family coming together, a universally relatable theme.
There was some debate over who the main character in No. 2 was but eventually we decided upon the matriarch, the reasoning being that she is the one who puts the events into motion, changes the world around her and has the largest internal change as well.
The general consensus in class was that Soul was the best side-character. This is because he was the only other member of the family that seemed to care about repairing all the broken relationships and bringing everyone together under one roof. He is also the one who has the most profound change happen in his life, as a character he stays the same but the matriarch naming him as her successor turns his life around. As an audience we enjoy seeing this and throughout the movie we rooted for him because of how fun and passionate he was. He changes the main characters mind the most, his presence is always felt while some other characters disappear into the background (e.g. Tyson). Him being named feels deserved and the family rejoices, as an audience we reciprocate this emotion.
With such a large ensemble cast there was a runner up for best character and that was the European woman in the film. She has a similar affect on the matriarch as Soul, changing the old woman's mind on people outside the family, As an audience we respect characters who can make a change.
The movie was very engaging for me throughout, I appreciated the way that information about the people were trickled out. To me the characters and relationships were central to my enjoyment of this film, the way we learn about them and how they changed throughout the film was very entertaining.
If there was one moment I had to choose, the side door scene was very effective. It's engaging because it's unexpected, a big fallout between the characters and a turning point for the film and instrumental in the arc of the main characters.
The only point in the film that my attention wavered was the conversations between the Matriarch and European woman, I think these were boring because there was a lack of conflict. There are also some weird changes in pace throughout the film, often the tensions would die down, making space for a musical montage, but then suddenly pick up again.
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