Born: January 17, 1961
Occupation: Screenwriter
Best Work: L.A. Confidential
Other Highlights: Mystic River, Man on Fire, Green Zone, Payback
Upcoming Films: The Serpent and the Eagle
There is no doubt that Brian Helgeland is one of the industries most prolific screenwriters. He’s such a force that it seems like every project in Hollywood has passed by his desk and features parts of his penmanship. Helgeland even had two films released this year alone, only two months apart (Green Zone, Robin Hood). Still, like most talented artists, the highs come with the lows. In fact, I’d say that, currently, Helgeland only has his name attached to two kind of projects: those that are well executed and riveting, and those that are, to put it politely, absolute duds.
Nothing sums up Helgeland’s dichotomy more than the year 1997. His success story was L.A Confidential. Based on the James Ellroy novel, the jumbled mixed of storylines and
intrigue that Helgeland and co-writer and director Curtis Hanson managed to juggle proved to be a fascinating expedition. Sure, a lot of that credit goes to Hanson’s capable direction and a plethora of fine performances, but this is a film that proved that Helgeland could work out a smart, sophisticated story that was grown up enough to work out its own problems in the most clever and witty ways. But Helgeland also had The Postman released in the same year. I admit that I haven’t seen the film in its entirety (it’s reputation always made me cautious to approach it), but of the bits I have seen, I have witnessed a screenplay that is inherently clunky and riddled with horrendous dialogue, made even more mesmerizing by the fact that it was co-written by Eric Roth, the Oscar-winning writer Forrest Gump, Munich and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This year is a perfect summation for this writer, as not only did these films represent both sides of the artistic spectrum, he also won both the highest and lowest honors bestowed on films. He and Hanson won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, while Roth and Helgeland shared the Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay. Helgeland is one of the few people to win both awards in the same year.
Most would agree that Helgeland’s best work after L.A. Confidential is more than likely Mystic River. Again, the superb direction by Clint Eastwood and numerous powerhouse performances deserve a lot of the credit for the film, but Helgeland’s work also manages to show a great depth in these characters. Taken from the Dennis Lehane novel, Helgeland gives the blueprint for a believable world for these characters to exist in, and the humanity he gives them provides another great layer of depth for Eastwood and his actors to play with. It seems that Helgeland is mostly fascinated by this topic: providing characters that inhabit one type while having the capacity to showcase something completely different. I think Mystic River is one of the best scripts written, and should have given him his second Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar (Sorry Peter Jackson, but you won the writing award for the wrong entry).
Outside of his most famous works, Helgeland almost works as a writer-for-hire on a lot of projects. His name has been credited for films like The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Man on Fire, Cirque de Freak, and the two films from this year. The big problem is that you never know which Helgeland will show up: the talented writer with a creativity for characters that makes him Oscar worthy or the hollow hack who phones it in for subpar work. Even Green Zone, a movie that I liked a great deal more than other people, I found was profoundly lacking in its screenplay. But I guess that’s what keeps him such a fascinating figure. He’s not untalented, but he isn’t a guaranteed hit either, and I suppose it’s an interesting guessing game to find out which one will be credited on the film. Even with some serious reservations in his career, I still look forward to just about anything he creates, because even his bad films still offer a look into the style he adores, and even adds possibilities for what could be improved and what else to look forward to.
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