Sure bets are hard to come by when it comes to screenwriting - even harder when you’re trying to analyze a story because everyone has their own opinion. But one thing that is for certain - if you’re writing a romantic story, the primary relationship is always about the two lovers. Isn’t it?

This was a point of discussion during our meeting on Tuesday night. The film up for analysis was the fantastic Amelie..

Because a generous amount of screentime is devoted to the romantic relationship between Amelie and Nino, many in the class thought that the Impact Character was Nino. As is often the case in most romantic comedies and romantic dramas, the main character and impact character happen to be the two people in love - and is often the most important relationship in the story (what Dramatica calls the Subjective Story).

But this film takes a slightly different approach.

Amelie has a significant personal issue - she’s disassociated and is afraid to open herself up emotionally.

So who is the one challenging her need to be distant? Who is the one who is forcing her to be more personal and to take more risks? Who pushes her?
The answer is “Mr. Glass” or Raymond Dufayel (the guy painting the same painting over and over).

Without Raymond, Amelie would never have had the courage to get together with Nino. Raymond is the one who “gets inside of her,” who prods her along and creates within her the opportunity to overcome her personal issues.When they talk about the girl in the painting, what they are both really talking about is Amelie herself. This is the kind of relationship/conflict that is essential for a good Main Character/Impact Character type story.

An interesting part of their relationship is that they are both isolated shut-ins (the whole “You and I are alike” thing that I talked about in my analysis of Pirates II) but whereas his limitation of having to stay away from other people is real (his bones will shatter with the slightest touch), her’s is imagined.

So, while the Subjective Story in Amelie is not the love relationship, it is the connection between Amelie and Raymond that makes the romance even possible in the first place - and is therefore the most important relationship.

If you’d like, the MP4 audio file of Amelie can be found here. The discussion on Impact Character and Amelie starts at around the 6:30 mark and ends 3 minutes later.

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