“Chewie. We’re home.”
The J.J. Abrams tent-pole Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) is critic proof. Virtually everything negative that can be thrust into conversation has been so thrust; virtually every celebration of the first episode of the third trilogy in the Star Wars master plan has already been said and written, video recorded, podcasted, and screamed, and loudly.
What’s left? What can be added to the mix that hasn’t already been offered?
Having just watched The Force Awakens for the third time since its release on December 18, 2015 (my first times was in a conventional theater, the second was in a college classroom, and the third was in my living room), I can report that it is a frustratingly beautiful, strangely haunting, SFX extravaganza that regularly employs limp dialogue and repetitive plot points (another Death Star?). That it’s successful in its quest to dominate the commercial box office is obvious; I’ve contributed at least $50 to the cause of all things Abrams-in-space, and Box Office Mojo reports global ticket sales of more than $2 billion.
My new fascination with the movie is the way it might improve if every speaking part were simply ignored. We would see performers recite their lines, and we might be confused as new characters show up, unnamed, a matter easily corrected with chyrons, as in the scrawl beneath cable news pontificators. But we would hear no dialogue.
Would something important get lost in this negation? Yes: all of the unnatural, super-expository speech most viewers don’t need because Star Wars is a keystone of American pop culture. Which also means the movie, now clocking in at 135 minutes, with credits, could easily be shortened because no one wants to watch the performers mouth silence.
Would the loss of speech and shorter run time hurt the movie? No: all the “good” stuff the people at Disney/Lucasfilm/Bad Robot Productions do so well would shine. We would miss nothing of the character and plot development because there isn’t all that much character or plot development to worry about anyway, particularly because everything important is presently stated multiple times over a rich, emotionally communicative soundtrack.
What, then, is the margin for redacted dialogue in The Force Awakens, excepting, or course, the sounds of non-speakers like Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and R2-D2 (Jimmy Vee)?
First, all dumb dialogue simply disappears, as in this short moment from a scene between Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford:
Leia: You know, no matter how much we fought, I've always hated watching you leave.
Han Solo: That's why I did it. So you'd miss me.
Leia: I did miss you.
The beat will work better when we are allowed to watch these performers act, visually, and pay no attention to silly words. Why? Because Harrison Ford is gray and gorgeous, and Carrie Fisher uses her eyes to nail down all the longing and frustration in a love relationship that won’t go away. The actors seem like the people they are: a man and woman who have been bound together for more than 40 years by a youthful project that has overtaken virtually everything else about them, about which they have many complicated feelings, not to overlook their clear and obvious affection for one another.
Second, the movie’s cinematographer, Dan Mindel, and his various crew members, do a great job framing the practical effects, performances, and CGI composites with the help of many technicians, artists, and modelers. The Force Awakens is a feast of animation-meets-art and set design, and that’s why the movie lingers in memory. Think about the short bit when Rey (Daisy Ridley) eats a modest dinner in the ruin of an AT-AT; or consider the sight of Han caressing the face of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver); or watch for an X-wing fighter emerging from the explosion of Starkiller Base. These are wonderful instances of pure cinema, and they work precisely because they aren’t irritatingly explained by dialogue absolutely no one needs to hear, which, incidentally, also shortens the movie and, therefore, presents more screenings-per-day, a magic number for increasing box office results.
Third, the best parts of the movie are already “silent.” Consider the lightsaber fights between Kylo Ren and Rey; or the dogfights in space among fast-moving TIE fighters and X-Wings; or parallel action sequences to connect the actions of individual players with other characters from across the galaxy. These wordless sequences don’t require translation or context. So, the lesson is: void all dialogue, bring up the sound effects mix and the music, and let the audience loose in a visual stew.
–September 30, 2018
