David AllsoppMemorable Movie MacGuffins: Ronin
September 16th 2011 03:07
MacGuffin = a plot device that catches the viewers attention or drives the plot of a work of fiction. The MacGuffin must be of vital importance to the major players in the story, but its exact nature may be ambiguous, undefined, generic, left open to interpretation or otherwise ultimately unimportant to the true meaning of the story.
The Film: Ronin (1998)
The Director: John Frankenheimer
The Writers: Story by J.D. Zeik, Screenplay by David Mamet
The Plot: In Paris, Irish organizer Deidre (Natascha McElhone) assembles a team of mercenaries that includes former intelligence agents Sam (Robert De Niro) and Vincent (Jean Reno), electronics expert Gregor (Stellan Skarsgard), driver Larry (Skip Sudduth), and weapons wrangler Spence (Sean Bean). Their mission: to attack a heavily-armed convoy and secure a valuable briefcase. The catch: they will not be told who hired them, the true identity of their targets, or the contents of the briefcase. Planning, gunfire, car-chases, and betrayals ensue in entertaining fashion.
The MacGuffin: A metallic case, the contents of which are never explained. All we know if that a number of nefarious groups are after it, and they’re all willing to kill for it.
What makes it memorable: We never find out what it is! It’s the MacGuffin taken to the Nth degree. We don’t know what’s inside the case, and ultimately it doesn’t matter what it is. We know people want it badly enough to kill for it, so it serves it’s purpose to drive the story along, setting in motion the series of events that show us what this film is really about – namely the lonely life of the mercenary, and the bonds of mutual respect, teamwork and even friendship that develops between Sam and Vincent. In an occupation where it seems you can’t really trust anyone, they put their lives in each others hands and find a brother-in-arms they can rely on.
More Memorable Movie MacGuffins:
The 39 Steps
Kiss Me Deadly
The Film: Ronin (1998)
The Director: John Frankenheimer
The Writers: Story by J.D. Zeik, Screenplay by David Mamet
The Plot: In Paris, Irish organizer Deidre (Natascha McElhone) assembles a team of mercenaries that includes former intelligence agents Sam (Robert De Niro) and Vincent (Jean Reno), electronics expert Gregor (Stellan Skarsgard), driver Larry (Skip Sudduth), and weapons wrangler Spence (Sean Bean). Their mission: to attack a heavily-armed convoy and secure a valuable briefcase. The catch: they will not be told who hired them, the true identity of their targets, or the contents of the briefcase. Planning, gunfire, car-chases, and betrayals ensue in entertaining fashion.
Skarsgard gets his hands on the MacGuffin, while De Niro takes aim.
The MacGuffin: A metallic case, the contents of which are never explained. All we know if that a number of nefarious groups are after it, and they’re all willing to kill for it.
What makes it memorable: We never find out what it is! It’s the MacGuffin taken to the Nth degree. We don’t know what’s inside the case, and ultimately it doesn’t matter what it is. We know people want it badly enough to kill for it, so it serves it’s purpose to drive the story along, setting in motion the series of events that show us what this film is really about – namely the lonely life of the mercenary, and the bonds of mutual respect, teamwork and even friendship that develops between Sam and Vincent. In an occupation where it seems you can’t really trust anyone, they put their lives in each others hands and find a brother-in-arms they can rely on.
More Memorable Movie MacGuffins:
The 39 Steps
Kiss Me Deadly
| 19 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
