Notorious - How to Make A Nazi Likable (WGA's best screenplays #101)
In 2006 the WGA released a list of their top 101 screenplays, and unknowingly gave me the answer to my future blogging prayers. Without structure, I write a post once in pretty much never, but exploring this list and finding what’s great about these scripts is a genuinely exciting premise: why these scripts? What makes them so special? What can I learn from them?
So we’re starting with #101 on the list - NOTORIOUS. A lot of people love NOTORIOUS, and consider it one of Hitchcock’s greatest films, but when I saw it nearly 20 years ago I felt it fell below some of his more thrilling classics. Watching it again now, I both understand what writers love about it, and also see more clearly what didn’t quite work for me about it.
Context
NOTORIOUS came out in 1946, it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and written by Ben Hecht, though Wikipedia suggests Hitchcock may have written the first outline and collaborated closely with Hecht on the script, often rewriting Hecht’s pages. Hecht was one of the top screenwriters in the 1930s and 1940s, often doing uncredited work, and collaborating with some of the greatest directors of the time. NOTORIOUS was a huge hit, and was nominated for two Academy Awards - for Hecht (best writing, original screenplay) and for Claude Rains as supporting actor.
Plot Refresher (Spoilers, obviously)
ALICIA, an American playgirl whose Nazi father has just been convicted for treason, is recruited by DEVLIN, a government agent who wants her to spy on a Nazi ring in Brazil. Alicia and Devlin fall in love, but the romance is ruined when Alicia’s first assignment comes in - she is to seduce SEBASTIAN, a Nazi officer who knew Alicia’s father. Devlin puts duty over love, and Alicia is hurt by the callousness with which he pushes her into another man’s arms.
Alicia successfully insinuates herself into Sebastian’s life and starts to suspect he is hiding a meaningful secret in his wine cellar. Sebastian, who has fallen head over heels for Alicia, asks her to marry him. Alicia hopes Devlin will ask her not to go ahead with the marriage, but she is again disappointed. Heartbroken, she marries Sebastian.
Alicia steals the key to the cellar and sneaks in there with Devlin. However, Sebastian catches them as they leave, and when he notices the key missing from his chain, he realizes that Alicia is a spy. Sebastian can’t share the truth with his Nazi friends, fearing they will kill him for his incompetence. His mother suggests they simply poison Alicia instead. Sebastian’s mother starts to poison Alicia’s coffee, and she gets more and more sick. Alicia eventually realizes what is going on, but by then she is too weak to escape.
When Alicia misses a rendezvous, Devlin comes to rescue her. Devlin confesses his love to Alicia and carries her out to safety in full display of Sebastian’s friends. Sebastian can’t stop him, fearing that causing a scene would reveal the truth of his mistake and get him killed. However, his Nazi partners suspect it anyway, and take Sebastian inside, probably to murder him.
What Can We Learn From It?
Lesson #1: Sympathy for the Devil
The most striking thing about NOTORIOUS is how likable, even tragic, the antagonist is. Here we have a Nazi officer, plotting with his Nazi gang to build some kind of atomic weapon, yet he is given as much depth and empathy as the protagonists, perhaps even more so (one year after the end of World War 2, no less!). At the film’s end, when Sebastian’s fate is sealed, we don’t cheer, but rather experience a twinge of sorrow. It is no coincidence Rains got an Oscar nomination - Sebastian is the most complex character in the film.
How is this achieved? For starters, Sebastian’s villainy is outsourced. The two acts of murder in the film - poisoning Alicia, and the murder of the bumbling Nazi who drew Alicia’s attention to the secret in the wine cellar - are performed by people near Sebastian, but never Sebastian himself. Legally and morally perhaps there is no difference - Sebastian abets and supports these crimes. But emotionally and narratively, it ‘protects’ our connection to him. We also sympathise with him because Sebastian has no good choices. He isn’t a powerful mastermind - just a pretty regular man, navigating difficult circumstances. What would you do if you found out your spouse was a spy? If revealing her would get you killed?
Most importantly, Sebastian is given two big, redeemable traits: he is trusting, and he loves Alicia sincerely and deeply, probably even more so than Devlin. Meaning, he gives one of our protagonists (Alicia) exactly what she wants (real love and a true connection), and is successful where the other protagonist (Devlin) is flawed (the ability to trust, and express love). In the values of the storyworld, this makes him an ally to Alicia and ’superior’ to Devlin. If it weren’t for his slight case of being a Nazi, he’d be perfect. To make matters even more complicated, he is the one being lied to. In the grander scheme of things, it’s great that American espionage got a Nazi who planned to create an atomic weapon killed. On a personal level, Sebastian finds out that the woman he loved manipulated him, and that his marriage is a sham. That is a devastating blow for anyone. As Roger Ebert neatly summarizes it: “we actually feel more sympathy for Sebastian than for Devlin. He may be a spy but he loves Alicia sincerely, while Devlin may be an American agent but has used Alicia's love to force her into the arms of another man.”
Lesson #2: Ironic Setups
In STORY, Robert McKee discusses ironic setups, where a single action advances a protagonist’s pursuit of one value, while hindering their progress towards a different, equally important value. In NOTORIOUS, Devlin grooms Alicia to be a spy and falls in love with her. However, when her first mission is to become romantically involved with Sebastian - he finds himself in an ironic situation. From this set up, every success Alicia and Devlin have as spies, becomes their failure as lovers. The clearest example is at the midpoint when Sebastian asks Alicia to marry him, and Devlin, jealous and hurt but choosing duty over love, lashes out at her, all but ending their affair. Ironic set ups complicate emotions for both characters and audiences, and force characters to make tough choices.
Lesson #3: An original Suspense trigger
I’ve already discussed Hitchcock’s theory of suspense at length, so I won't repeat the full spiel, but the wonderful suspense sequence at the center of NOTORIOUS has to be acknowledged.
Alicia and Devlin plan to investigate Sebastian’s wine cellar during a party, but they face two key obstacles: the jealous Sebastian won’t take his eyes off of Alicia, and the caterer’s wine supply will run out at some point, forcing him to ask Sebastian to retrieve more from the cellar, possibly catching Alicia and Devlin in the act. Alicia and Devlin have to get in and out of the cellar before the wine runs out, whenever that will be.
What I love about this set up is the mundaneness of the trigger of the danger. The suspense isn’t derived from a high powered car-chase - it’s based on how quickly the party guests get hammered. The movie makes the most of this - champagne corks pop on the soundtrack, while trays loaded with newly filled glasses receive grand close ups. The camera keeps returning to the caterer’s dwindling supply of bottles on ice. Eventually, the booze runs out and Sebastian does come downstairs, but thanks to Devlin’s ingenuity, he and Alicia avoid being caught.
This is classic Hitchcockian suspense. Setting up a ‘bomb’ (Sebastian coming to the cellar), a trigger (running out of wine), and two people in danger, not knowing when the bomb will go off (Devlin and Alicia). Once these elements are set up - and in a fresh, unique way - the film uses alternate POVs and smart editing to ramp up the suspense.
Structure breakdown
Inciting Incident: Devlin invites Alicia to join the cause.
Plot Point 1: Alicia accepts the mission to seduce Sebastian.
Midpoint: Alicia accepts Sebastian’s marriage proposal.
Plot Point 2: Sebastian learns the truth about Alicia and decides to poison her.
Climax: Devlin rescues Alicia, leaving Sebastian to be taken care of by his colleagues.
It’s worth noting that the main protagonist (Alicia) is passive throughout the third act. The actions and decisions that take place at the 2nd plot point and the climax are made by Sebastian and Devlin, robbing Alicia of the kind of agency and emotional arc usually given to a protagonist. Devlin is the character who changes the most over the film and takes climactic action: his newfound trust of Alicia is what allows him to rescue her and confess his love.
Personal Opinion
I truly like NOTORIOUS, but I can’t say I quite sign off on its inclusion on the rarefied WGA list. Alicia’s character is pushed to the sidelines in the 3rd act, and she is mostly defined by the two men around her, so she ends up being a less than compelling protagonist. There are several Hitchcock movies I’d put on this list before NOTORIOUS: ROPE, DIAL M FOR MURDUR, and my personal favourite, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. Still, Hitchcock’s direction makes NOTORIOUS pop, Sebastian makes for a touching, memorable character, and the wine cellar sequence is as good as anything.
