Character or Story Driven films?

[Foggy]

Which is better.

Story usually tends to lend itself to good characters, and Characters usually embody good Stories.

But what do you prefer, A film that follows a character(s) or a film that follows a story?

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

Story for me. Though character driven is great too.

[Deadset]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say character.

If I don't care about the characters, I sure won't care about the story. I tend to like Character movies better.

[The Mad Kiwi]

Story for me. A character-driven film has to have VERY colorful and impressionable characters for me to overlook narrative shortcomings (like Alice in Wonderland or The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh). So long as you have a halfway decent plot, I'm already invested in it, even if the characters aren't the most striking (like Sleeping Beauty or Legend of the Guardians).

[octagon]

Story is more important to average to good movies but really good movies tend to rely a bit more on character.

[KubrickFan]

Stories are motivated by actions made by the characters, at least the good stories are, so it's character for me.
Bad movies seem to move from plot point to plot point, without regard of the characters (I'm looking at you, The Dark Knight).

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by Deadset

I'm going to go against the grain here and say character.

If I don't care about the characters, I sure won't care about the story. I tend to like Character movies better.

Deadset plagiarized my thoughts.

[Member-115369]

Story for me. I don't much enjoy character studies unless there's a great story behind them.

But I'm also not a people person and don't give much of a shit about the trials and tribulations of other's lives, so that's probably a big part of it.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Story for me. I don't much enjoy character studies unless there's a great story behind them.

But I'm also not a people person and don't give much of a shit about the trials and tribulations of other's lives, so that's probably a big part of it.

You must really dislike the first movie listed in your collection (not to mention John Adams...).

[Member-115369]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

You must really dislike the first movie listed in your collection (not to mention John Adams...).

But those have great stories that are centered around a character!

I don't mind character study films. But they have to be about an exceptional person and have a great story centered around that person.

Too many indie films etc. are about random, uninteresting people and their relationships etc. with little plot. That's the type of character driven things I can't stand.

[charlieray1]

I'll take either one over films driven by CGI and explosions!

[Mahatma]

Is The big Lebowski a story driven movie,or character driven movie?

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Too many indie films etc. are about random, uninteresting people and their relationships etc. with little plot. That's the type of character driven things I can't stand.

lol. Well said!

[jvince]

Either, as long as it's done well.

[Cremildo]

I generally* consider character-driven films more penetrating and compelling (European filmmakers are pretty good at it), whereas plot-driven films (Hollywood's specialty) tend to be convoluted and predictable.

* meaning there are exceptions, of course.

[MisterPilgrim]

I tend to gravitate towards character driven films. You can throw a generic story at me, but if the characters are fun, likable protagonists I can root for, then I'm all set.

[Al_The_Strange]

A movie solely about character will entice me if the character study is indeed good, deep, and well-told. But it has a good chance of boring me if it's all about a character (especially one I don't like or feel hooked my) with nothing else happening.

A movie with a great story will always captivate me, and great stories usually need great characters.

[LegacyCosts]

I like a good character study but what's a good character without a good story. My brain hurts. I choose character.

[dgoswald]

Depends on the film, but either way I prefer the balance tipped in the favour of character. Although, a poorly executed character-driven film is more often than not a waste of time.

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

A movie solely about character will entice me if the character study is indeed good, deep, and well-told. But it has a good chance of boring me if it's all about a character (especially one I don't like or feel hooked my) with nothing else happening.

A movie with a great story will always captivate me, and great stories usually need great characters.

Stop reading my mind, Al.