A disruption in the system...

We all know that no matter how good the special/visual effects are in a movie, that it is redundant without a good plot. Effects should aid a plot, not the other way round. We are effectively looking for a good story, but what is the difference between a plot and a story?

A story is what the movie is i.e. all the material available to the narrator. The plot is how the story is told, in other words a sequence of events that tells the story. I personally am a huge fan of movies that are told through the main character's (or assisting character's) narration. My personal favourite example is The Shawshank Redemption, the whole story is told by the character 'Red' played by Morgan Freeman, who we all know has a narrative voice worthy of a god. But the film that I would like to focus on in relation to this subject is 'Lord Of War' (2005) by Andrew Niccol. The opening scene is a perfect example of using effects to aid the plot. The audience is lead through a journey; a journey that a bullet makes from production through to execution, in this case the execution is the firing of the bullet to kill a child, a scene that takes the audience by surprise immediately, and effectively holds the audience's attention for the rest of the film.

The whole film is told from Yuri's perspective as he explains all of his techniques to work around 'the system' and become successful, the audience truly feels involved, as if he is teaching the audience directly.

A theory that I found very interesting (purely because it fitted so well with every film I could think of) was Todorov's theory. A theory that describes plot as a generality and describes the way that said plot works.

The theory is as follows:

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset;

2. a disruption of the equilibrium by some action;

3. a recognition that there has been a disruption;

4. an attempt to repair the disruption;

5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium.

But how does this apply to 'Lord of War' exactly?

1. Yuri Orlov (Nicholas Cage) is a standard city man with not much going for him, but a lot of hidden ambition. His life is generally average.

2. A disruption to his life is caused when he witnesses first hand a mafia based shooting incident, at this point he realises he wants to become an arms dealer.

3. Yuri takes this disruption as a positive and progresses to become a successful entrepreneur in that field.

4. In the short term it appears flawless as he is so good at it, but when it starts to effect his family he attempts to revert back to a more legitimate profession.

5. This does not work because as it turns out, the equilibrium is in fact that he was destined to be an arms dealer, as he was so good at it, so good in fact that at the end of the film we realise he was in fact recruited by the government to act in his profession, a twist which truly makes the film.

In all, Lord of War is a movie that acts as a good idol in the world of narration, and is certainly very inspirational.