I'm working on a screenplay where my protagonist's arc, her change, is negative. She achieves her goal, but she does not change for the better. In fact, she winds up in a worse place psychologically than where she started. Are stories like these frowned upon? I've been advised against them in the past, with people telling me that only happy ending stories sell.
Screenwriting : Negative character arcs and down endings by Nancy Dillon
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I guess it would depend on who your intended audience would be. A fun story with a happy ending is going to generally sell more tickets, but that doesn't mean there is not a crowd who loves stories with not so happy endings. If it's unique enough, it can get you noticed. But that's just my thoughts.
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I believe you will never get anywhere following the bromides commonly throw about in writing circles. Your story must be extra-ordinary to succeed, and one can not achieve an extraordinary result following the herd.
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My favour writing is Steven Knight the creator of so many great shows and films such as Peaky Blinders, Locke and Eastern Promises. In a lecture given at BAFTA he said a character's need to change for the better is a purely American need. He thinks not having that style of story introduces an element of risk for a producer. That a character that changes for the better has worked before and will work again. I tend to write darker things where people get worse or have to do bad things to escape and this leaves them changed. Perhaps not popular.
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Write your story the way you want it to be told, Nancy.
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A great story works. Write what it is.
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Two of the worst and most ridiculous disadvantages of being an unknown writer are those dang "positive transformational arcs"/"happy ending" handcuffs. Paging Mr. Scorsese! Paging Mr. Scorsese! Tell us, Mr. Scorsese, how those positive transformational arcs with a happy ending worked for you in "Mean Streets", "Taxi Driver", "The King of Comedy", "After Hours", "Goodfellas", "Cape Fear", "Casino", "Gangs of New York", "The Aviator", "The Departed", "Shutter Island", and "The Wolf of Wall Street"? I'd take a walk down Sunset Boulevard if I was in L.A. right now to clear my head on this matter, but I might get hit by a stray bullet from Norma Desmond's gun. Dang again.
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That's how I would describe SEVEN, which is a beloved movie. If it's right for the story, if it shows off your voice in an authentic way, and if it works for your market strategy, then go for it. (These would be my criteria for most strategic decisions, not just this one posed by the OP.)
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A lesser known Hitchcock film is "The Wrong Guy". A mixture of sad and justice at the end. But the character arc happens to someone who doesn't start out as the protagonist. Who knows, there might be something to spark the imagination in it for you.
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It is very rare for a totally downward arc to succeed. That's the warning. But I don't hold to the contrived happy ending. Not every film needs a happy ending especially if they don't ring true, it can be enough to end on hope.
1-8-7 with Samuel L. Jackson andHARDCORE with George C. Scott are another few examples.
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A negative character arc worked pretty good in Citizen Kane! CJ, the Night Crawler screenwriter (and director) Dan Gilroy has stated that Nightcrawler has no character arc and that he doesn't believe people change very often in real life and prefers films without character arcs. I agree with what he says, and think a character arc is not required of a film, but they sure do provide emotional resonance at the end when done right. Steven, the name of that Hitchcock film was THE WRONG MAN.
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@Eric - Oops! You're right. I stand (sit) corrected. And Eric makes a very good point. Some stories have very little or no character arc - the protags are the same people from start to finish. I think the expertly crafted neutral or negative arc stories make the audience BELIEVE there is an arc. It's the perception that the character has "turned" or found their better selves. When in actuality, it may only be that the person is put in to a situation that makes their inner self show. In other words, in totally plot-drive stories.
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Anyone who tells you "Only _fill-in-the-blank_" is usually wrong. I assume you have more than one story in you. Write the story YOU want to write. If it doesn't sell then sell the other scripts you have. BTW didn't the "Birdman" screenplay win some award? Not exactly a happy ending. It sold.
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There is a buyer for everything. As long as it is a compelling story it doesn't matter. I am producing one like that right now.