Last winter, I went on a bit of a movie binge. I saw lots of movies, but two, Cloud Atlas and Les Misérables, have a special place in my heart. They are both wonderful films, and are surprisingly similar when you really think about it. Both films have one over-arching theme told through many interwoven stories, both films have striking visuals and big-name actors, and both films are very, very emotionally draining to watch. Because of this last fact, both movies benefited tremendously from their use of comic relief.
Here are some (non-spoiler) examples of the humor in both films:
Les Misérables relied on the hilariously inappropriate Thénardiers to allow allow the audience to catch their breath.
Cloud Atlas employed the pitiful Timothy Cavendish to get the same job done.
Without the occasional break in the heavy feelings that permeated these movies, both of them would have been absolutely impossible to watch. That, right there, is the job of comic relief.
Comic relief is defined as being "an amusing scene, incident, or speech introduced into serious or tragic elements, as in a play, in order to provide temporary relief from tension." It is a story-telling device that has been used and documented since the Renaissance. I'm sure we all remember Ms. Hewsen's favorite instance of comic relief, the Porter scene in Macbeth. Comic relief was not always the norm, though. In classical Greece and Rome, tragedy and comedy were meant to be kept absolutely separate. Luckily, since then, the practice has caught on and almost everything, from Gone With the Wind to Star Wars, has featured some form of comic relief.
I say luckily because that "relief from tension" is the only thing that allows me to watch movies like the ones mentioned above. Two hours of soul-crushing sadness is too much for me, and many other people, to take in. One and a half hours of soul-crushing sadness interspersed with a few instances of wacky shenanigans, however, is totally doable. Without the occasional breather, these films and their wonderful messages would be lost on a huge portion of the population. That's why comic relief, silly as it may seem, is one of the most important tools in storytelling that we have developed.
I totally agree with you, especially with Les Mis. Do you remember "Jacob Have I Loved?" We all hated it mostly because it was just completely negative and boring, ...and creepy.
ReplyDeleteI can't say I've seen either of the movies that are the basis of this post, but I can definitely relate to what you're saying. Comic relief is, as you said, a way of redeeming stories that would otherwise be irredeemably depressing. They speak to our human side. We can relate to sadness and tragedy, and often revel in it, ironically, especially in the form of fiction where we can leave any time we like without harm. But comic relief is a way of incorporating the complexity of the human method of dealing with despair and darkness, which often, due either to shock or surfeit, includes introducing comedy and light-heartedness. I can honestly say I didn't understand the importance of comic relief until reading this post of yours. Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you when you say that you could not sit through Les Mis if it were all sad and depressing. Then again, is it even possible to sit through something so depressing for that long? I guess it could be, but it's definitely not ideal. It's interesting how much comic relief does make a difference in material like the ones you named. It's also a way to keep an audience interested. Without some of the relief in these movies, I don't think an audience would be able to sit through it for the amount of time they take up. I sure wouldn't be able to. Overall, very interesting post!
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