Logan – Constructing Death [Video Essay]
Few cinematic deaths find a mainstay in my memory. There’s Bambi’s mother, King Kong, Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan, and a couple more. There’s only one superhero death that makes it into that list, and that’s Logan.
Logan is one of the best superhero films ever made. The film had a massive impact, in the way they decided to send the title character off into the sunset. The film respects it’s title character, and his history. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who noticed that, Logan’s journey in the X-Men franchise begins with him transporting a girl, and it ended with him transporting a girl as well.
But it’s more than just the character’s history, the film or should I say the script respects Logan’s emotions too. His journey is nothing short of heartbreaking, yet heartwarming as well. When the character finally kicks the bucket, it’s a waterfall of emotions. But this only applies to Logan, however he’s not the only character to die, another beloved character in Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier dies as well, but it isn’t as emotional, a lot of you will say ‘Well Logan’s death obviously hurt more because he’s the main character of the film.’ It’s much more than that. We’re gonna be taking a look at why Logan’s death is so cathartic?
For this, we’ll look at Logan’s needs and wants. Wants are physical and needs are conceptual, in this case. So what does Logan want in this film? To take Charles and live on the water away from the world. What does he need? A family. The script constantly reminds us of this through imagery and dialogue.
Logan spends the duration of the film surrounded with people. He definitely fits the role of son, to his father Professor X and caring mother Caliban. He then plays the father himself to Laura, then he sort of becomes Charles Xavier near the end. Again, a great parallel to X-Men Origins Wolverine here. *Use shot of Xavier saving kids, in the forest.*
What’s the common recurring theme in all those scenarios of Family? Rejection. Logan rejects his inner need of a family.
(Charles scene, does that mean nothing to you)
He also rejects his reputation as a good guy.
Wolverine’s always been a lone wolf (Pun Intended), it’s in the name of the character, and he has reason to be that way, he’s one of the very few depressed comic book characters that has a believable depression. He stays away from people, because everyone around him dies.
The quartet of screenwriters, which include director James Mangold understand this character inside out, thus they gave him very little to live for in the film, he refuses to do the right thing because it’s gotten him nothing but misery in the past. The screenwriters, they’re the real good guys, presenting their main character with opportunity upon opportunity of a helping hand.
Even when he grudgingly agrees to transport Laura, he fundamentally disagrees with it. Actually let’s count all the times Logan refuses help and refuses to help.
He gets mad at Caliban for offering his help. He tells Laura’s nurse to fuck off. He leaves Laura while the Reavers arrive. He refuses a home cooked dinner by the Munson family. He doesn’t allow the doctor to heal him, and he chooses to not transport the kids through the forest.
Let’s look at all the times Logan smiles in the film.
There’s one in the line, two at the dinner table, three in this shack and four in death. Four times.
All those rejections, your brain gets used to Logan’s character until the end, when finally there’s acceptance.
He accepts his role as a hero, he accepts his role as a father and he accepts his death. It hits you like a ton of bricks, and all there is left do is too cut those onions. Logan’s transformation comes at the end of the third act.
Opposites attract not just in physics, but also in screenwriting. This is not the first time this setup has been used, another great Cinematic death, that of The Terminator in Terminator 2, has virtually the same payoff. The machine rejects humanity through out the film, and finally near the end starts to act like a human.
Logan manages to be an incredibly powerful film, and because of it’s ending an incredibly memorable one as well.
