When writing a script, location is one of the first items a writer thinks about. Doesn’t matter the budget or genre, location is always key. Do I want this scene in a hotel room? A mountain? Are my characters in a small town or a big city? The location of a film can be used as a great device for an audience to get know the characters, it can even help with the plot. It can be used for backstory, humor, clues for what’s to come, etc. It’s almost as important as your main character. In some of the best movies it can be a character.
Here is a list of 5 films where the city and setting played an important role:
CHICAGO: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) Dir: John Hughes
So this is a bit of an obvious choice but it’s a nice ease into the list. You can’t go wrong with Ferris Bueller. It’s a great tour guide to downtown Chicago, a guide to it’s finest restaurants and entertainment. Wrigley field makes a guest appearance, The Art Institute of Chicago, as well as the window into Chicago’s suburbs. A great glimpse into the life of what it would be like to live in one of the titans of American metropolitan cities. A coming of age story that uses the city’s gritty hustle and bustle backdrop to contrast the innocence of adolescence. Growing up in a small town I watched it as a pre-teen and would imagine how great it would be to be a teenager in a big city. It was also a nice palate cleanser from watching all the horrible things that happened to a teenager in Chicago in Adventures in Babysitting (1987).
MIAMI: Magic Mike (2012) Dir: Steven Soderbergh.
It was kind of hard to choose a movie to do about Miami. I honestly thought I wouldn’t have any choices, but I had too many. Now I know, looking at this title you’re either rolling your eyes or you’re thinking oh ya, that’s an interesting one. I’ve never been to Miami. The only thing I know about Miami is what I saw on Season 2 of Jersey Shore (the first time around) and Hulk Hogan’s reality show. That’s what I’m going off of. From what I’ve gathered it’s dirty, it’s seedy, there are tons of drugs, cool beaches, and naked people. Every one of those things are in Magic Mike.
I saw this in the theater by myself at a matinee and I’m not going to lie I gasped when I saw Soderbergh’s name pop on the screen. Oooh that’s why these opening credit shots are so beautiful. I wanted to watch men strip, not an art film from the guy who did Sex, Lies, and Videotape. But, it turned out to be an ok movie. None of this has to do with the location. I just wanted to set up who I am, as a person. All this being said, when I watched this, it was exactly what I had pictured Miami to be. Seedy, druggy, naked-y. Men who aren’t the brightest and women who are tan, very tan. Extremely tanned. I thought Soderbergh did a great job of putting the city on the cusp of the stereotypical. He captured what Miami is but didn’t overdo it. He showed the dark and the light and helped me confirm with myself that I never want to go there.
Honorable mention: Moonlight, Ace Ventura, Birdcage
SAN FRANCISCO: Harold and Maude (1971)
Dir: Hal Ashby
There are so many wonderful things about Harold and Maude that have been written about: the amazing cast, Cat Steven’s beautiful music which sets the perfect tone, the whole young boy having sex with a much, much older woman. It’s all been discussed at length. I feel like the setting doesn’t always get mentioned and is outshone. San Francisco is one of the most recognizable cities in America. The Golden Gate Bridge, the trolleys, the tight hilly streets of San Francisco, and none of that is shown in this movie. I love it. Ashby captured the Bay in a romantic and lonely way, which is exactly who Harold is. About a third of the movie takes place in cemeteries, (Holy Cross Cemetery and the Golden Gate National Cemetery) Which we tend to think as morbid and sad, but these were scenes were shot so beautiful, romantic, and say so much about who these characters are as well as setting up their relationship.
On paper this film could very well take place in LA. Rich kid who acts out because his mother ignores him, he’s in therapy, falls for an older woman. I mean, that has LA written all over it. There’s something about it taking place in San Francisco that gives it an extra punctuation. The cold weather and water adds an element to this film that I think simply wouldn’t have come across the same in LA. This makes the movie organic and earthy. Usually when we see ocean we think of palm trees, bikinis and surfer dudes. When we see in the ocean in this film we see cold, loneliness, isolation. Only Northern California could provide that in the tone it needed. I don’t think an audience would have rooted for this character in the same way if he was from Southern California.
Honorable mention: Princess Diaries
NEW YORK CITY: The Royal Tenenbaums. (2001) Dir: Wes Anderson.
Wes Anderson turns everyone of his films into a dollhouse version of the world. You’re either on board for his universes or you’ve jumped ship. Soft color schemes and perfectly symmetrical shots make his movies unique to his own universe. I’m on board! A lot of what makes his films standout has to do with costumes and art design but in The Royal Tenenbaums he did something really special. He created an alternate New York City. Locations are familiar but entirely made up (i.e. The “Lindbergh Palace Hotel” is actually “The Waldorf”). It doesn’t feel like we’re watching a movie about a random place. We all know it takes place in New York City but not because of any landmarks or dialogue. It feels like the city. A city from a different time. Public transit, gothic buildings, damp tin wherehouse all make this an undeniable New York movie. Anderson made his version of NYC distinct and yet, familiar. He kept the exact essence of the New York we love. The New York romanticized in many films.
Which is what makes that city so great. It’s essence is so recognizable that even when you’re not seeing elements of the city (the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building) you still know where you are. Whether you’re a fan of Anderson’s or not, there’s something very special about what he created using this iconic setting.
LOS ANGELES:
This was hard because there are a million and a half movies to write about LA and I couldn’t choose one. I could go for the obvious and most recent big LA movie but I was underwhelmed by LALA Land. Love Gosling, love musicals, love LA, loathed this movie. You could go L.A. Confidential but that’s been done. Sunset Blvd? Meh, that’s more about the industry than the city. Ooooh, Chinatown?! Who hasn’t written about goddamn Chinatown? I’ve written at least two college papers about it. I wanted to write about How To Be A Latin Lover, because it was filmed in my neighborhood. I wanted to write about 500 Days of Summer because it made me not look at Downtown LA as the disgusting horrible place that it is. The Big Lebowski, but that’s shot all over, mostly the valley. Does the valley count as LA?! I’ve heard both arguments.
The fact is LA is one of those places that a lot of people fantasize about and love. Even when you claim to hate LA, like I do every other day, you still love it. It’s one of the only few cities where you could move 5 miles in any direction and be in a completely different world. There are so many movies that capture Los Angeles in a special way, you need to have a whole separate list. No matter what, you’re always going to feel like there’s a better choice. So, today my choice isn’t the pretentious film school movie that you might be thinking. I pick one of the greatest movies of all time and my first insight into the idea that is “LA.”
LOS ANGELES Clueless (1995) Dir: Amy Heckerling
Clueless. What a fan-fucking-tastic movie. Female-dominated cast. Female writer/director. This movie is 23 years old and I hear it still being quoted today! The fashion, my god, the fashion. Clueless was one of those quintessential 90’s movies that everyone’s seen and everyone loves. It gave us a hilarious peak into the lives of the rich and spoiled brats of Bel-Air. Most importantly, it showed me how important neighborhoods are in LA.
Location in LA is a huge thing. If you ever seen the SNL sketch, “The Californians”, you’ll know that freeways and streets are a daily topic of conversation. I’ve lived in LA for about 10 years and I still say “I’m above Olympic” in my head when I see the street Olympic Blvd. Everytime I pass by Circus Liquors neon clown sign in North Hollywood I think about poor Cher having to lay down and ruin her Alaia, who is like, a totally important designer. The dialogue of these characters is seemingly over the top, but I promise you, spend one hour at the Beverly Center in West Hollywood and you’ll hear it 10-fold. What I love most about Clueless is that even though it completely makes fun of ridiculousness that is LA socialite-scene, it’s filmed lovingly. This film shoots LA full of color and beauty. There’s a reason it’s one of the most over-populated cities in California. Clueless showcases that.
Written by Justine Barrera & Illustrated by J-Walk
