(Old Idea) Indepth Look at Characters

Three Focus Films:

- Requiem for a Dream (2000)

- Pulp Fiction (1994)

- Trainspotting (1996)


Requiem for a Dream:

Characters (main):

- Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn)

- Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto)

- Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly)

- Tyrone C. Love (Marlon Wayans)

Relationships:

- Mother and son (Sara and Harry)

- Girlfriend and boyfriend (Harry and Marion)

- Best friends (Harry and Tyrone)

Identities:

- Harry ~ Doesn't have a job. Lives away from home. Takes and sells drugs. Thief. Young.

- Sara ~ Lives alone. Feels alone, through missing her husband and son. Addicted to TV. Old.

- Marion ~ Ambitious. Takes drugs with boyfriend. Young.

- Tyrone ~ Loves his mother (more than normal). Takes and sells drugs. Young.

Similarities:

- Loneliness

- Addiction to drugs

- Outside influence

Messages created by characters:

- More than one kind of addiction (drugs and food)

- Addiction causes addiction

- Weakness

- Escape is hard

- Drugs are damaging (don't end well)

Trainspotting:

Characters (Main):
- Renton (Ewan McGregor)
- Sick Boy (Johnny Lee Miller)
- Begbie (Robert Carlyle)
- Tommy (Kevin McKidd)
- Spud (Ewen Bremner)
- Diane (Kelly Macdonald)

Relationships:
- Friends (Sick Boy, Tommy, Spud, Begbie, Renton)
- Romantic attachment (Renton and Diane)

Identities:
- Renton ~ Lives away from home. Heroine addict. Little self will. Wants to escape. Young.
- Sick Boy ~ Con artist. Heroine addict. Has a son, it dies. Young.
- Tommy ~ Breaks up with girlfriend. Becomes a heroine addict. HIV positive. Young
- Begbie ~ Psychopath. Loves violence. Against drugs. Oldest.
- Spud ~ Simple minded. Heroine addict.
- Diane ~ 15. Still at school. Not an addict but does drugs. Lives with parents.
Similarities:
- Addicts (Renton, Sick Boy, Tommy and Spud)
- Disconnected
- Lost
- Held Back

Messages created by characters:
- Peer pressure
- Age (maturity)
- Addiction

Pulp Fiction:

Characters (main):
- Vincent Vega (John Travolta)
- Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson)
- Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman)
- Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis)
Relationships:
- Partners (Vincent and Jules)
- Driver (Vincent for Mia)
- Murder (Butch to Vincent)
Identities:
- Vincent ~ Heroine addict. Hit man. Worked in Amsterdam.
- Jules ~ Hit man. Knows some of the Bible.
- Mia  ~ Married to Marsellus. Heroine addict.
- Butch ~ Father died in Vietnam war. A boxer. Has a French girlfriend
Similarities:
- Addicts (Mia and Vincent)
- Killers (Butch, Jules and Vincent)
- Angry
- Carefree
Messages created by characters:
- Can't run away from problems
- Violence
- Addiction