“We cannot go back. That’s why it’s hard to choose. You have
to make the right choice. As long as you don’t choose, everything remains
possible.” (Dormael, Mr. Nobody). The film Mr. Nobody abandons a
traditional, linear narrative structure by allowing the viewer to explore the
several different lives lead by Nemo Nobody, the last mortal alive. Avoiding a
linear narrative by creating many potential storylines through one person’s
life, Director Jaco Van Dormael captures the endless possibilities one is
presented throughout one’s lifetime.
One of the first scenes consists of Nemo as a one hundred
and seventeen year old man who is attempting to recollect his past. At the age
of nine, Nemo was faced with an impossible choice- to live with his mother or
to live with his father after they separated. The two possibilities are
explored, both of which are followed by the possibilities of marrying three
different women in three different lives, and subsequently his deaths which are
caused by either driving off of the side of the road into a lake, crashing his
bike into a tree, and even by being inside of a combusting spaceship on a
mission to spread one of his three wives’ ashes on Mars after she was blown up
on their wedding day. If any part of this plot sounds confusing to you, then
Dormael is doing his job of directing a nonlinear narrative correctly. Douglas
Rushkoff states, “There is plot-there are many plots- but there is no
overarching story, no end. There are so many plots, in fact, that an ending
tying everything up seems inconceivable, even beside the point.” (Rushkoff 34).
Rushkoff, referring to the many different aspects in the plots of fantasy,
exemplifies the endless options that the fantasy genre leaves to the reader.
Although the different possible outcomes of Nemo’s life (or lives) are shown,
Dormael does not directly give the viewer a straight answer as to which life
was really led by Nemo. By leaving this aspect of the plot unsaid, Dormael
follows both the ideals made by Rushkoff and the theme of his film: there are
endless possibilities.
Pulp Fiction,
a film described by Rushkoff as an example of a nonlinear narrative, has a lot
in common with Mr. Nobody in terms of multiple story lines. Rushkoff
explains that, “On one level we are confused; on another, we are made privy to
new kinds of information and meaning. The reordering of sequential events
allows us to relate formerly nonadjacent moments of the story to one another in
way we couldn’t if they had been ordered in linear fashion.” (Rushkoff 34). By
showing the events that happened in each and every one of Nemo’s lives, Dormael
demonstrates to the viewers how the idea of multiple storylines allows them to
fall together in order to create one general plot by parting from the idea of
linear narratives.
Another way that Mr. Nobody differs from a
traditional narrative is not only the fact that it shows the past, but how the
future is described. Due to the discovery of how to create renewable cells,
humans accomplish their goal by becoming immortal. Because of this immortality
and Nemo’s lack of it, the movie features events taking place in year 2092, and
therefore exemplifies to the viewer the ways in which people communicate in the
future. Each immortal, along with their stem cell compatible pig, watches Nemo
recollect on each life he lived. By the time one of the futuristic eye-like
cameras film Nemo saying his last words, the whole world is alerted with
holograms and every television zeros in.
Mr. Nobody explores the themes shared with Douglas
Rushkoff in Present Shock by pushing the boundaries of traditional
narratives. Dormael explores the different ways in which narratives can be told
in Mr. Nobody, a movie that holds multiple paths, bending the ideals of
traditional narratives. “Every path is the right path. Everything could have
been anything else and it would have just as much meaning.” (Dormael, Mr.
Nobody)
Works
Cited
Mr.
Nobody. Dir. Jaco Van Dormael. Perf. Jared Leto. Pan-Européenne, 2009. Film
Rushkoff, Douglas. Present Shock:
When Everything Happens Now. N.p.: n.p. Print
Emily, can you repost without the white highlighting? Only the first paragraph is visible!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't stop laughing while reading you trying to describe the plot of Mr. Nobody in under 650 words without confusing every person who reads your post. You definitely summarized it as best as possible, considering the story line can be overwhelmingly confusing, even after your second or third time watching the movie itself. However, I suppose such confusion, in a way, is the entire premise of nonlinear stories that fit the criteria of what Rushkoff refers to as "narrative collapse". I really like how you connected Pulp Fiction and Mr. Nobody, considering they both appear to be very different movies. However, when viewing them as postmodern films, much like those described by Rushkoff, they prove to be surprisingly similar, as they both push the boundaries of traditional film making and narrative structure. However, a word such as "collapse" comes with a sort of negative connotation that I don't feel does the brilliance of directors such as Tarantino or Dormael any justice.
ReplyDeletePS: your title is good but I would have made it "Douglas Rushkoff doesn't go swimming with idiots"
ReplyDeleteIs it too late to change it? H. Can I go back if I want to? I. I don't want to.
DeleteG. Can I go back if I want to? H... Can I go back if I want to...?
Delete“Every path is the right path. Everything could have been anything else and it would have just as much meaning.”
ReplyDeleteRemember this quote when we get to our postmodern/experimental fiction unit! Sometimes it seems that not having one clear ending is part of the point with postmodern works.