American Gangster - Character Part 2

Richie Robbins is also a complex character.

Qualities:
- Honest about money.
- Dishonest with his family.
- Arrests bad guys.
- Plays softball with bad guys. A bad guy is his son's godfather.
(Note the play of opposites)
- Pussy hound.
- Tough, relentless.

So what! This isn't film club, why should I care? What use is this to me as a screenwriter?

1. Create great, complex characters. It will help you create great drama: at the scene level, the sequence level and the plot level.
Note how some of the film's best scenes came directly from Robbins character.
- Robbins turning in the million dollars.
- The scene in divorce court, where he yields custody to his wife and apologizes to the court. This scene also produces a good, "What's it all about?" speech, when his lawyer describes the problems facing cops.

2. Complex characters, with both good and bad, are more believable to the audience and more sympathetic, thus producing better audience involvement.

3. Complex characters imply that sometimes you will like them and sometimes dislike them. You have to frequently adjust your opinion of them. This induced activity in the mind of the audience keeps the characters interesting and fresh.