The biopic or true story film is always a draw for audiences. Seeing recreated scenes and historialc figures presented on screen offers a moment to relive actual events. Beneath the sweeping music and added dramatic license, exist nuances that are riveting and techniques that offer a greater appreciation for this real life events. Reliving true stories isn’t just entertaining, it’s contemplative too, bringing us close to experiences we may have only seen on the news or read on the page.
In a video compilation edited together by Zachary Ramos-Taylor, a grouping of true story films is revisited next to the actual figures and moments that inspired their motion picture counterpart. The editing is seamless, and asks us to look at the small details we may not have noticed when enjoying the films themselves. We first meet Cate Blanchett with her performance as Bob Dylan in “I’m Not Here.” A press conference is being held for the singer, with the dramatic take on the right and the actual footage on the left. Blanchett’s nuances and study of Dylan’s mannerisms and character are near perfect mimicry. The same feeling is generated when we see close ups of Frank Langella’s face in “Frost/Nixon,” comparing his cautious looks and purposeful gestures to the real man.
Beyond the performances of characters are the techniques used to recreate what was once broadcast on television. The amount of detail in Billie Jean Kings’ entrance for the original “Battle of the Sexes,” is realized once again in it dramatic, intimate retelling. This year’s “I, Tonya” is featured as Margot Robbie recreates the same movements, turns, and eventual breakdown of the controversial figure, with the camera never far behind. Overall, the compilation offers goosebumps. The impeccable detail and editing garners a moment to digest the exacting work and attention, that is taken in bringing to the screen characters and moments, all based on a true story, to life.