Primary Colors
Film Analysis Essay

Brian Stelter
May 8th, 2003
Period 4, Honors English 12, Mrs. Dean

How does a writer condense 350 pages of conversation and narrative into a 2 hour screenplay? This is the challenge writer Elaine May faced with Joe Klein's novel Primary Colors. Some notable aspects of the novel were excluded, but the key elements, plot developments, and questions posed by the text are by and large evident in the film version. Nonetheless, analysis of the literary, dramatic, and cinematic aspects of the novel provide examples of contrasts between the book and the movie.

The novel and film versions of Primary Colors follow a southern governor named Jack Stanton as he campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination. The film follows the same chronology as the movie, while leaving some aspects out. One notable exclusion from the movie is the scene in the book when narrator Henry has sex with his candidate's wife, Susan Stanton. "With Susan Stanton, there had been no anticipation, no expectation. (Okay: a stray thought, occasionally -- but she was Susan Stanton, the world's most fortified bunker; it wasn't anything you could think about in broad daylight.) But it happened." It's a captivating depiction -- "world's most fortified bunker." Certainly, it is a notable statement about the wife of Governor Stanton. But it's almost unimaginable -- the campaign manager and the candidate's wife? The passage makes an important statement about the relationship between Jack Stanton and his wife. Perhaps it was left out of the movie because of it would have added yet another layer to a very complicated narrative.

The characters are the heart of the novel, and the dramatic aspects of the movie highlight this. The relationship between Henry Burton and Jack Stanton is fascinating and never completely comprehended. Adrian Lester's performance as Burton demonstrates the campaign staff members' infatuation with the campaign and his candidate, but his concern that Stanton's inhibitions may doom his push towards the presidency. At the conclusion, Burton quits the campaign, as he is overwhelmed my scandal and rumor. Burton's varying attitudes and opinions of Stanton create an interesting subplot. "With Lester serving as our guide to the potentially alienating world of politics and politicians, it manages to generate sympathy and empathy which makes it all the more potent" (O'Brien). This is in large part thanks to the dramatic skills of the main character. "I want to be a part of something that's history," the grandson of a civil rights leader tells Susan Stanton when he first joins the campaign. But Adrian Lester successfully depicts the challenge of believing in Stanton while attempting to ignore the scandalous stories. "You never have to be ashamed to be part of this campaign, you understand that? You never have to swallow it or duck it or apologize for it, I'll make sure of that," the candidate promises Burton midway through the film.

In addition to acting skills, the sets are an essential element. The changing settings of the novel underscore the hectic pace of a campaign, while highlighting the importance of a home base. Stanton often returned to Mammoth Falls, a city in his home state -- a state never identified in the book or the movie, by the way. The movie portrays campaign headquarters and hotel room encampments as crowded and hectic, contrasting this to the relative calm of Stanton's mansion. The scenes at campaign rallies are important settings as well, marked by hundreds of supporters and realistic, symbolic backdrops. Director Mike Nichols utilized cinematography techniques to invite the viewer into the Stanton campaign. In one memorable scene, the campaign strategists watch television news as allegations of Stanton sexual misconduct surface. As the team encircles in the hotel room, asking "who has thoughts about [an interview on] 60 Minutes?," Burton stares longingly outside the window to the cold night. A soft, soothing piano melody quietly commences, and the shot cuts from one of his face peering outside to a view from his eyes of a Krispy Kreme donut shop across the street. The parking lot is empty, with large glass windows allowing a view of the inside. The store glows in green, and the camera hovers over it for many seconds, very slowly zooming in towards the doors. It shows the outside of the shop for an abnormal number of seconds, taking time to transition from the heated hotel room conversation to the casual donut shop atmosphere. As the same camera shot continues to inch closer, the point of view moves over the shoulder of Burton as he now enters the shop. (Interesting way of including him, by establishing the long overhead zoom.) Suddenly, we are inside the shop, with Burton, Stanton, and the shop employee. The camera cuts to a shot of Stanton, alone eating an apple fritter. After a conversation with the disabled employee, Burton and Stanton muse about the prospects of winning. The camera is located at countertop level, providing a unique view of Stanton. He isn't up on a podium, or walking back and forth with his back arched in a three-piece suit. He's relaxed, on a donut shop stool, reflecting on the campaign while sipping a coffee. The camera angles, shot durations, and points of view are essential in establishing the thoughtful, peaceful mood. As Burton and Stanton finish speaking, the image cuts to one of the side of the shop, with the two men appearing inside. A taxi cab drives by, and the scene abruptly ends. The next shot is of Burton in bed, with the alarm ringing obnoxiously. The immediate conclusion to this deliberative scene, where Stanton is portrayed as a candidate who "truly cares," is notable. His self-reminder that he's running for president to help ordinary Americans is juxtaposed with a staff obsessed with defeating the latest allegation and whiff of scandal. It's a scene that plays out multiple times over the course of the movie, thanks to the creative cinematography of the filmmakers.

The similarities and differences between the literary text and the film are significant due to the important questions raised by the plot. At the end of the novel and movie, the question is left unanswered: Did the ends justify the means? "By the end of the campaign, the outcome of each character's development is left open-ended," one critic wrote. "Has Burton had his faith in Stanton restored, or has he compromised his ideals of the political process, as a trade-off for allowing Stanton to reach the Oval Office where he can bring about change in the country? And has Stanton redeemed himself in the face of his flaws, coming to an understanding of how his lofty goals are not justified by the underhanded tactics used in the process? Was Stanton ever sincere about his desire to effect change in the American political landscape, or were they just empty buzzwords he used to rally his supporters?" (Leong). They are intriguing questions indeed. Depending on the consumer's choice of media, they are portrayed with varying degrees of importance, and via differing methods, whether they be dialogue or plot twists, costumes or set design.