Biopics seem to be the new go-to genre in Hollywood. Some of the best films of the industry belong to this genre, with most of them being produced in more recent times. Despite being an offbeat topic, there continues to be a steady demand for films like these. For example, the Oppenheimer audience did not just include Nolan enthusiasts, but also individuals with a genuine interest in J. Robert Oppenheimer. The audience for the biopic genre is a treasured one, and is has been optimized by Hollywood in all the right ways.
Of course, there are the OG picks like Lawrence of Arabia, Malcolm X, and the like. But there are also gems of biopics in the very bizarre filmography of the 2000s. These include films like Steve Jobs, The Social Network, and many more. Now, biopics have turned out to be high-grossing films for Hollywood – Bohemian Rhapsody, Elvis, and Oppenheimer are part of the biggest films clubs of their respective years.
The need for something new is going to be ever-present in the audience’s minds. The idea of unheard stories from real life seems is exciting to them. Or simply, a visual dramatization of what their lives might have been like intrigues audiences. Especially if these are figures from the past or people who are not alive today – to be a transported to a time before ours is a thrill like no other. The simple drive to get more knowledge on characters like these is what makes biopics a trusty pick for success in Hollywood. They seem to be a keen interest of major production houses, and even actors are able to add feathers to their caps through their roles in these films.
Right into the new year of 2024, the film One Life is slated to release, starring Anthony Hopkins. The movie is on the life of Nicholas Winton, who is famously known to help many Jewish Children out of war-stricken Czechoslovakia. Another biopic that is in the works is on Martin Luther King Jr., which has roped in Chris Rock to star as the lead. Thus, it seems evident that biopics are not going to lose their shine anytime soon.
Biopics draw in audiences because it gives them a first-hand view into the character’s perspective of the situation. People are in tune with their emotional and mental states, and form a bond with these personalities – who might not even be alive today. Whether it’s Jordan Belfort or Stephen Hawking, their films have resonated deep within movie-watchers’ hearts and minds. Cinema has, in a way, immortalized their stories for the world to see and learn from. Viewers can visit them anytime they want to and have a more immersive and invested experience than reading about the same events in a book.
However, because a biopic is most often made with an attempt to glorify the protagonist, their moral ills tend to be a side element in the stories. They are present, but not focused upon unless they were life-changing events. Biopics have also banked upon the human curiosity towards the abnormal, and exist also upon lives of criminals. Netflix’s Dahmer went on to receive an Emmy for Evan Peters, who plays the titular serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. Families of Dahmer’s victims expressed their distaste for the series, claiming that it hurt their sentiments. Biopics on such elusive characters perpetuates them for a long time in pop culture.
People who come up with these ideas dig through resources deeply and thoroughly. Because it is either the first time a story like this is made public, or after a long time since its public discovery. Because these are real events and real people, the creators go through intensive checks to vet the accuracy of the plot that is being dramatized. In today’s social climate, biopics on people from underrepresented communities are also the need of the hour. Given their impact, a biopic like this could not only used for entertainment, but also for a lot more holistic needs. A great example for this is the soon to be released film A Million Miles Away, starring the excellent Michael Peña in the lead.
However, every story needs to be structured into a dramatic arc, for it be appealing to the audience in all aspects. Here, the true stories behind biopics are sometimes altered, for enhancing it creatively. Extra characters are added, some are removed, and often times the plot shown on screen might not even be the same as it was in reality.
For example, Netflix’s OG show Narcos has a lot of false elements in it. The no-nonsense Horacio Carillo, who headed the first search bloc for Escobar didn’t exist in reality. He is surprisingly based off of Colonel Hugo Martinez, who appears in the later season of the series as a separate character. In reality, Martinez was indeed the leader of the new search bloc that ultimately caught Escobar. A lot of personality changes were made, especially with Escobar’s wife, Victoria ‘Tata’. She was not very much like her compassionate portrayal in reality.
At the end of the day, these dramatizations ultimately made Narcos one of Netflix’s cult favorites, till date. Narcos truly is a rabbit hole if you dig deeper and find out more about the Medellin Cartel. A good brain-tickler for crime geeks!
Biopics continue to remain a foolproof strategy for producers and directors. One can easily expect to see at least one biopic released every year, which can easily go on to enjoy a good reception. Despite the formula seeming relatively easy, directors have to maintain the balance between reality and the creative freedom that they exercise on the story. The stakes are higher in biopics because they not only please the audience, but also have to do justice to the events and the characters based on whom they are made. There are still scores of unheard stories about heroes (and maybe villains) that the world needs telling of, so we can expect a steady flow of biopics in the near and good future.