As you could predict by the great reviews, I think it has a complete storyform. Bring tissues and antihistamines. I’ll save my guess about the storyform until after Thanksgiving to prevent spoilers.
I absolutely loved this movie! I am completely on board with doing an analysis.
I’m feeling very confident that Lloyd Vogel is the MC and Fred Rogers is the IC, though I’m not so sure about the Overall Story. What do you think the OS throughline is about generally? What are all of the characters concerned with?
Can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts!
I think the rotten tomatoes summary has the OS/MC solution in it:
“Much like the beloved TV personality that inspired it, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood offers a powerfully affecting message about acceptance and understanding.”
Makes sense. I definitely see Lloyd’s Problem as Non-acceptance/Rejection, with him rejecting his father’s apology, rejecting the opportunity to interview Mister Rogers, and rejecting his wife’s plea to stay with his family in the hospital.
What do you think about the MC Approach? Is Lloyd a Do-er or Be-er?
P.S. Sorry for the late reply.
I suspect it’s a do-er MC since he hits his dad, runs off to do external work instead of dealing with inner work, etc. But I’m not sure.
I’m no good with OS’s in general. For this movie, it’s hard to know what is MC TL and what is OS. I can use a trick and use the subject matter / genre of dysfunctional relationships to call it a psychology OS or conceiving an idea since I already want to jump to non-acceptance / acceptance as problem / solution. Plus, I usually have that same confusion about MC vs OS TLs when it’s a psychology OS. But I lack a really good reason beyond these hints.
That puts the MC in the present, but nothing obvious jumps out as his external status that is separate from the family OS. Something to do with his job? Writing the low status puff piece instead of his usual work? Again, is the article the OS while his family problem is the MC TL? Help!
If I set the software to change, linear, do-er, action (guess), optionlock, success, good along with OS of psychology & OS problem of non-acceptance, then some elements that make sense with this storyform are:
IC problem: Reaction - I can see this as Fred consistently causing reactions in Lloyd. It can also be Lloyd noticing how people keep reacting to Fred Rogers when they see him. Lloyd asks him about this in every act. Something like, “It must have been hard for your kids to have Mr. Rogers as their dad.”
IC unique ability: Doubt - Fred causes Lloyd to doubt his misanthropic outlook.
MC critical flaw: Investigation - This could mean Lloyd won’t investigate / listen to his dad, wife, etc. It could also mean he’s wrapped up in his investigation work so he doesn’t focus on the OS family-related caper.
The OS being in Psychology sounds right, though I will want to think about it for a while to find some good illustrations for it.
Maybe to figure out where the MC throughline lies, we could try this limitus test from @jhull:
Mindset jumps out. If he stopped believing people were terrible, then he would be at peace. So he could be a be-er. This may fit better as the IC’s influence or the RS. I’m not sure.
On the other hand, if he could escape not being present with his wife & kid, then he would be at peace. So he could be a do-er, which was my first instinct based on punching out his dad. Did I mention I’m bad at analysis?
EDIT: Perhaps a better one is, if he could escape refusing to accept his dad’s apology, then he would be at peace. But is that the OS or MC TL? If he could escape believing that this story is just a puff piece, then he’e be at peace.
Sorry for the late response!
I think that “if he could escape refusing to accept his dad’s apology, then he would be at peace” describes Lloyd’s Problem/Solution perfectly. I would guess that the belief about the Mister Rogers story falls under the OS.
Maybe those external illustrations are of the actual conflict, rather than the source of conflict. Or in other words, Lloyd’s belief that people (especially Dad) are terrible (source of conflict) causes him to punch out his father and abandon his wife at the hospital (conflict).
I just finished watching this one a few minutes ago. It definitely wants to have a storyform, but I’m not sure where I’d put everything yet.
I think the OS is probably something about Lloyd and Jerry. It’s all about being hurt and then forgiving. Total Psychology story. I’d say Lloyd’s MC was a Mind character in that he’s a guy whose reputation (what people think of him) preceded him. And Mr Rogers affects others often simply by the nature of who he is as a celebrity, his Universe. And the relationships can be seen in a few places, but I think the main one is between Fred and Lloyd as Lloyd begins to respect Fred through the process of interviewing him (or being interviewed by him).
I wouldn’t be able to go below that at the moment.
Outside of the storyform, I’ll just say that I loved the movie. But, man, it was slower than the first three quarters of Joker.
Huh, I never thought of the throughlines that way. That clears up my confusion about where the daddy issues lie. Thanks, @Greg!
I’ll want to watch the movie again so I can help dive deeper into the story.
To elaborate on this a bit, I’m not suggesting that Mr Rogers influenced the people on the subway to sing his theme song. I’m saying that Mr Rogers being sung to by the people on the train because of who he is is what influences the MC.