Do People Really Change?

In AUTO FOCUS, Paul Schrader's take on Bob Crane is a little callous.

When the movie was released in 2002 Schrader said, "I don't think people change that much...Bob Crane was the same creepy guy at the beginning as he was at the end..the only thing that really changed in his life was the level of hypocrisy."

This is fascinating to me because filmmakers are usually compelled to show how a character changes throughout a story. It's a compulsion that can be both good and bad.

How much can a person change in real life? At worst we're like Bob Crane, the same person in different circumstances. At best, our changes are measurable but happen far slower than we would like.

Filmmakers should also consider how an audience feels about these questions. I'd like to think most people hope we're capable of significant change.

And remember, people go to the movies to be entertained, inspired, challenged. They crave to see characters evolve and grow.

This leaves the filmmaker in a difficult position. We must show realistic and measurable change in a two hour narrative even though deep down we know people don't really change very much.

If the change feels false -- your audience will see through it and the narrative will suffer. And if there's too little change you'll leave your audience unsatisfied.

As usual we're walking a tight rope. No one ever said filmmaking was easy.