One of the keys to the fact-based adaptation is simplification. Composite characters are an important tool in streamlining your story and voicing a particular POV…
What are composite characters?
Different from completely invented characters (which we cover elsewhere), composite characters replace multiple real-life characters with a single fictional character.
They are generally used to represent a certain viewpoint in the narrative. They might also carry out functions that – in real life – would have been carried out by a team.
An example is law enforcement, where multiple investigators might have pursued the actual criminal but in the screen adaptation, one detective does all the legwork.
Composite characters: function and advantages
The main functions of composite characters in a fact-based script are to simplify and strengthen the story. Composites avoid the need to weigh down the script with overlapping (and possibly forgettable) secondary characters.
They also mean you can heighten your protagonist’s obstacles. If, for example, your real-life character was faced with discrimination, you can ramp this up through the actions and words of a composite.
Other advantages of composite characters include the ability to:
- Create a memorable (and layered) character tailored to the narrative
- Increase emotional engagement
- Develop invented and composite scenes
- Strengthen character conflict
- Turn an impersonal “system” into a single antagonist
- Amplify a controversial POV
- Obscure the identity of the actual people involved
Composites can be particularly useful in period pieces, where there’s a danger the audience (or reader) will lose track of all the gents in topcoats. They also have a function in stories where the protagonist is mired in bureaucracy or organisational complexity.
Another use of composites might be to highlight an aspect of your protagonist’s character. If, for example, they have a history of abusive relationships, you can highlight this aspect of their character in one composite date or marriage, rather than a whole sequence of toxic behaviour.
Composites can also help to solidify story expectations. By defining a single character who – for example – wants to prevent your protagonist from achieving their goal, anyone reading your script knows their function in the story. Fictional characters are often expressed as archetypes – such as Hero, Mentor, or Villain. Composites are a way to shape a character’s archetypal function in your story.
Creating composite characters
The main challenge is to ensure the composite fits seamlessly into the story world. Elements like their language, morality, manner, homelife, place in society, etc., should all be in keeping with the time in which the story is set. If you’ve done your research, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Ideally, no one should be aware the character is invented for the purposes of the story. After all, we’re on the side of sticking to the ‘spirit’ of the truth in our fact-based stories. By channelling the essence of a group of characters into one, you can keep that spirit intact.
Also, if the composite is too close to one (or more) of the people it’s based on, there is a danger that they could identify themselves in the story. Putting extreme views in their mouths might leave you open to claims of misrepresentation.
Another thing to remember is that composites don’t have to mean fewer bodies. Imagine a scene where your character enters a boardroom filled with stern faces to face a dressing down. Even if your composite does all the talking, you can still leave the sense of tension and foreboding by having all those pairs of eyes boring into your protagonist.
Examples of composite characters in fact-based film & TV
The Post (2017): In this drama about the publication of the Pentagon Papers, the composite character of Arthur Parsons embodies the misogynistic attitude of the male board members of The Washington Post who opposed Kay Graham’s leadership.
Hidden Figures (2016): This story about the vital role three pioneering black female mathematicians played in the US Space Race simplifies NASA’s complex management structure into a single character, Al Harrison.
Catch Me If You Can (2002): Having a single composite law enforcement officer, Carl Hanratty, represent all the FBI agents who were on the trail of serial fraudster Frank Abagnale Jr. turns the film into a highly entertaining cat-and-mouse chase.
Chernobyl (2019): The character of nuclear expert Ulana Khomyuk was created to represent all of the scientists who spoke out against official accounts of the disaster and those who worked to clean up the site.