What happens when a character’s desire conflicts with a moral code, personal need, or lofter cause? You’ve got the potential for an intriguing story!
Going in a slightly different direction, I’m doing a case study of the movie Casablanca instead of a novel.
The main protagonist, Rick Blaine, owns a thriving nightclub in Casablanca, during World War II. The city is run by Vichy France under the command of Nazi powers, and overwhelmingly occupied by refugees seeking passage to the United States. It’s a hotbed for under-the-table deals, desperation, and desolation especially in the heat of the desert.
Yet, Rick remains enigmatic and neutral, not swearing allegiance to Vichy French, the Nazi’s, or the refugees.
What neither the Nazi’s or the Vichy French police know Rick’s reason for leaving Paris and starting a new life in Casablanca. The only one in Rick’s club who knows is his best friend, Sam. Rick left Paris to escape a broken heart. For a while, he masks his compassion, loyalty to the resistance, and idealism through feigning indifference, isolationism from any intimate relationships, and focusing on building his nightclub.
But forces intersect that remove the steady veneer he had developed.
- Ugarte, a petty crook who exploits refugees, secretly hands Rick “letters of transit” that would allow the beholder to travel freely around German-occupied Europe and Portugal. This inciting incident is a catalyst for a series of events that lead to major conflict and moral dilemmas for Rick.
- Victor Laszlo, a Czech resistance leader, and his wife, Ilsa Lund, walk into Rick’s club. Ilsa is Rick’s former lover in Paris, where one night, he had planned on proposing to her. Actually, the same day that the Nazi’s marched into the city. But she disappears unexpectedly that night, leaving him feeling betrayed and broken.
- Victor needs to leave Casablanca and find safe passage to the US, where he can continue working as a resistance leader. The German Major Heinrich Strasser flies into Casablanca to prevent Laslo from leaving the city to further galvanizing the resistance.
- Once Ilsa discovers Rick has the letters of transit, she asks practically begging for them, but when he refuses, she threatens him at gunpoint. Of course, she can’t follow through as she cries and admits she still loves him. The tension racks up. Does Rick still care for her? And if he does, what does this mean for his future, Lazlo’s, and Ilsa’s?
- Laszlo attempts to cut a deal with Rick, asking Rick to escort Ilsa to the US. Lazlo’s willing to sacrifice his life to save her. Through Lazlo, Rick sees the side of himself that he’s worked hard to calcify. Now, Rick’s moral ideals come to the surface.
- Rick has a choice. Does he leave with Ilsa as Laszlo negotiated and find love and safety in the US? Or does he play true to his hidden desire for justice, sacrifice, and fidelity by giving the letters to Lazlo to travel to the States with Ilsa?
Throughout the movie, Rick faces paradoxes within himself. He shows slight shadows of justice and fidelity when he helps a newly married Bulgarian couple. But he also shows his self-protective side when Ugarte runs toward Rick while pleading for protection. Rick refuses and Ugarte gets arrested. When a patron approaches Rick and says, “When they come to get me, Rick, I hope you’ll be more of a help.” Rick’s reply is, “I stick my neck out for nobody,” then walks away.
Watching Rick’s transformation from a cynical, selfish man who’s forced to face his deepest wounds, moral dilemmas, and opening for restored love keeps the story moving while drawing the audience deeper and deeper into Rick’s hero journey.
We discover when Rick was in France and Spain, he had served as a freedom fighter, smuggling arms to the Resistance. Yet, in Casablanca, he serves Nazi soldiers and officers in his club. He is a man of no allegiances except to himself.
As the movie careens to an end, we are unsure if Rick will continue to pursue his initial desire to be neutral and self-serving. Or if he’ll give love a chance as he mends his wounds and forgives? Or will he tap deep inside to follow his moral code that once dictated his life?
As writers, when we show the depth of a protagonist’s initial desire, we can get the readers rallying for that character. But when circumstances, relationships, and conflicting internal needs thwart that desire, we provide an environment for our character to transform as they navigate conflict, turmoil, and difficult choices. And this often drives our story, just like the classic movie, Casablanca.
What aspects of Casablanca especially Rick Blaine’s arc interests you? Please share in Comments below. Thank you.