Film Courage: What is subplot?
Naomi Beaty, Writer, Screenwriting Teacher and Consultant: Hmmm…what is subplot?
I would say a true subplot is any plot separate from or plot line separate from the A-story
that has its own sort of goal and through line right?
So the through line is going to be created by the pursuit of the goal?
So it could be your protagonist with another goal that they are trying to pursue I guess
that’s maybe the most common example that we could pull up would be your character is
trying to rob a series of banks and then there is a romantic subplot so he is also trying
to have a romantic relationship with someone who has nothing to do with the banks right
it’s its own goal that has its own arc through the movie so I would call that a true subplot.
You could also have a subplot that is driven by another character so your protagonist is
robbing a series of banks unbeknownst to him or known to him his brother is trying to win
custody of his child.
So separate goal, it’s going to have it’s own arc in the story.
It probably won’t have equal weight (that’s why we call it a subplot right) because you
want your focus to be on the A-story but it will have its own there is a separate goal
that is being pursued that has its own through line.
Film Courage: Why do we need subplot?
Naomi: I think you could argue that not all stories, not all movies need subplots right?
Sometimes we watch movies and it just feels like everything is connected to that A-story
and we don’t really have true separate subplots but depending on the affect that you’re
trying to achieve and the sort of takeaway message that you’re trying to give with
your story sometimes a subplot can compliment that.
I’m trying to think of a good example?
I feel like in Jerry Maguire the Rod Tidwell getting his new offer from the team or whatever
(it’s been awhile since I’ve seen the movie) but I feel like that was a true subplot
because it was (if I remember right) it was Jerry trying to get an offer for his client
so it would have been Jerry’s sort of separate goal…is that right?
Now I don’t remember.
Film Courage: And I think he really needed Rod because he was like his biggest client?
So it was kind of a stakes thing too?
Naomi: Now I am confusing myself so I’m not sure if that’s right?
But I think that’s true so I think the subplot was he’s trying to get a deal or an offer
for Rod Tidwell from Arizona his current team.
That subplot was necessary to Jerry Maguire’s story because it compliment his learning that
lesson of the theme which is that you have to plea with heart.
You have to stop being calculated and strategic sometimes and just put your whole heart into
it.
I think you can look at subplots as helping to again teach your protagonist the lesson
that they need to learn from these series of events…so Jerry gets fired and he starts
his own company and his romance with Dorothy I think is a subplot because that’s a separate
goal.
He is having a…they very much overlap and sometimes they happen in the same scenes right
where there are these two plot lines being pushed forward at the same time but starting
his business and making it a success…gosh now that I’m thinking of that the Rod Tidwell
thing might have been part of that and then the subplot of the romance would be a separate
storyline.
That would be the romantic subplot that he is pursuing.
Film Courage: So can a film have many subplots?
Naomi: Yes.
Film Courage: Oh they can, okay.
Naomi: I definitely think so and I think that how much weight a subplot has can vary greatly.
Like you can have a romance subplot that is nearly equal with the A-story or you can have
something that ends up looking like a runner through your script.
Maybe it is a minor goal that the character is pursuing but we only need to see three
or four scenes where it’s like introduced - pursued - and then accomplished (or whatever).
So I think you can have lots of subplots.
My caution about having subplots would be careful that our focus stays on the A-story
because if you have too many subplots and you’re not keeping our focus on that main
storyline like that main conflict that we are watching it can end up feeling like we
don’t know which story we’re supposed to be paying attention to.
It can feel sort of scattered so that’s the only thing I would say to be careful of
but most people are when they come at writing a screenplay they have a pretty good sense
of what that main story that they’re trying to tell.
Film Courage: Well because…is it Dorothy who is the Renée Zellweger character?
Because she has her own subplot in that (and I don’t even know if you’d call it that)
but that she is living with her sister and her sister is maybe like a divorcee and older
and maybe a little more bitter and the great scene of Renée and Tom coming into the women’s
group and they all just shoot these daggers at Tom and he’s trying to prove that he’s
a good guy.
And that against all odds that he is this good guy and she has this sister character
who is real doubtful and just trying to fight against that.
So you see Renée and her situation and I don’t know if that is also a subplot?
Naomi: Well so I would say that you could look at the subplot…Renée Zellweger (Dorothy)
has her the romance subplot we look at it from her point of view as well so we actually
see that relationship from both points of view.
I would say that her relationship with her sister is just a relationship and it’s not
its own subplot because Renée isn’t necessarily pursuing anything, I don’t think her sister
is either?
There isn’t really a goal that we’re sort of seeing the goal established and then seeing
them pursue it and conflict and then resolution right?
So I would call that a relationship with a supporting character and I would say that
that supporting character is one of the benefits of the sister is that she helps Dorothy reflect
on what she really wants in life, the sort of role of love in her life, how much she
needs and how much she is willing to settle for right which is still in that same thematic.
Question for the viewers: Would you ever write a movie that had zero subplots?