Day 3: Pushed to a Breaking Point – GOOD WILL HUNTING

[Sandeep Gupta]

I am presuming once again the headline for this thread will be corrected to The Matrix.

My first take was that the superhigh-density metaphoric content of this scene likely compensates for directly checking all the boxes for a turning point. I guessed the audience is still rooting for NEO, after all he is Keanu.

Knowing full well they have more expertise in their pinkie compared to me, I had to pore over the scene wondering what it is the Wachowskis knew about the audience this for TP1 that I don’t see. I was about to settle for the above paragraph when I realized a lot of the work for this scene is done in the scene immediately before.

So the audience doesn’t penalize the scene’s rhinoplasty, and we are all in for the ride into the unknown, expecting the revelation of the Matrix that seems to be the racket behind everything going on. That’s brilliant, isn’t it? Did C&H choose last two scenes together on purpose? I have a take. First back to the assignment.

We already know Neo is defiant and brave, he has hesitantly met with his “mentor” and crossed the “first threshold” by not settling to return untouched to the “ordinary world,” and is committed to the “journey” into the unknown. But he is not yet known for his fortitude, just for being a brilliant hacker with a penchant for trouble.

So the Campbellian stage tricking us into watching him up his “game” and go from avoidant to committed, turning tenaciously confident / resolved. I think we are tricked¹ because we were waiting to see the matrix revealed — another example of what I named “negative red herring” a few hours ago. Instead of showing us the matrix right then via Neo, they deliver six million referential metaphors of (re)birth complete with…, immersion, baptism, overcoming fear, this Campbellian “belly of the whale” (separation from the past,) and his newfound fortitude. Finally at utter exhaustion he is pulled towards the light, a dorky skylight, oddly passively. Maybe it is to signal to the audience in a second that he is in the hands of safe albeit tough-love Allies?

¹ Funny, not on the nose by being on the nose. And funny a scene I entirely tuned out of when I very reluctantly saw the movie IRL, could teach so much today.

[Deb Johnson]

Turning Point – The Matrix

What stands out to me is the clear turning points that take place in this scene. I’ve seen this movie many times, yet see this technique for the first time. This is part of Neo’s journey that changes his life forever and requires him to “up his game.”

What also struck me was how the writer expressed the depth of his character in this scene. Sometimes when we see something and are familiar with it – we don’t think it could possibly go any other way. That’s not true. It could have played out a dozen different ways – but the way it’s written expresses his character perfectly.

I see some of his core traits as: curios, reserved, a fighter – and in this scene, these characteristics are expressed:

In a very slow, almost unemotional way, he leaves his “known” world and enters “reality.” When he “wakes up” in the pod, he doesn’t just lie there – he fights his way out of the membrane and then curiously looks about him. He tries to resist the spider machine that frees him from the brain link. He fights to stay above water – even though he has no physical strength. He only stops moving as he yields to the crane that raises him to the ship. There is a strength of character that comes through – even at his most vulnerable, he fights for his life.

[Trish Carothers]

Wow! The drama, the intrigue, the acting, the world they created..from writing. Writing a script. The glorious birth of Neo…meaning “New.” I’m in awe. Keanu Reeves…I cannot imagine now anyone else on this role…he is Neo.

Pwerful support team for his journey for his re- birth. I laughed because he chose the “red pill!” And away he went into the real world, sucked out if the Matrix…many people can relate to that with every insight and breakthrough they have ever experienced themselves. Though to see it on-screen in such a dramatic way…maybe not. What a thrill to watch Neo’s hand raise up and fight through the membrane, to see his stunned amazement at the AI machine. Then snatched out of the embrionic state and Flushed away as refuse..not a word spoken…simply experienced. My heart stood still. Action: yes! Emotion: yes! Relateability: yes! Traits: Courage, yes Deb – curiosity, no fear, wonder, willing to go where…and immense trust. Definitely a turning point of such power…he will never be the same. There’s no going back…only forward into his future. Can we do as much…or more.

[karyn laitis]

Week 3, Day 3 –Turning Points–THE MATRIX

This scene is highly impactful as it transitions NEO from what was to what will be his new reality. He found comfort knowing that Trinity had gone through the process. Neo trusts the team and but he knows nothing about the process and doesn’t know where it will leave him. It changes him, his essence, he is the chosen of many. He needs to evolve into his potential–amp it up. It requires a team to orchestrate his process. Too much is riding on his evolution into “The One”.

What I learned–As in life, a character’s journey must have turning points to move the story forward.