Narrative technique · used in 2 films
Placing the main character between 2 mentors with opposing ideas of who they should become. One may want to use their gift and the other to free them from it, and they have to choose.
Examples
Oliver Stone · 1986
Sergeant Elias and Sergeant Barnes are the film's moral split in the form of 2 men. Elias stands for humanity that survives under fire. Barnes stands for the dehumanizing logic of survival at any cost.
Where to see it: Barnes shooting Elias alone in the jungle, where nobody sees it. From the helicopter, Chris later watches the wounded Elias chased down and killed by enemy troops. This killing of a mentor is the central moral event of the film.
Gus Van Sant · 1997
Lambeau sees Will as a mathematical asset, a genius to be put to use. Sean sees Will as a person who needs to be freed from the gift that traps him. The 2 men disagree on principle, and the film is built so that Will's choice between them is its central question.
Where to see it: The hallway argument between Lambeau and Sean. Each man has his own idea of what he owes Will, and the 2 ideas clash.
Questions