When you’re a viewer you only see what happens on screen, although you may be able to research things before and afterward, what you don’t get to see or experience is what the writers were thinking. Lots of people worked on the script for “Michael’s Resignation”, and each person had a different take on the story. Everyone who reads it seems to find something new and different as it works across many levels.
Richard J Moir:
“What’s this Tag, musical chairs? I want to play” – Michael
“Amidst all the chaos and anarchy, Michael still manages to crack a joke, which really brings out his dark and evil side that had been building up for so long throughout this story. For this reason, he is my favourite character, the definition of a good guy turning bad. The way he is portrayed throughout the script is superb, with every little detail being analysed, and it was due to every writer’s hard work that this worked well.
The whole last scene is an eye-opener, from cracking up on the roof to looking for screwdrivers; Michael is one bad man on a mission and won’t let anything stop him. Who knows why Michael chooses to do what he ends up doing? Maybe, because he was shot down himself by Sarah, he chose to do the literal equivalent. And shoot Sarah down.”
Neil Baker:
“I was amazed to see how Michael’s character developed through the film. I was interested in just why Michael goes crazy and kills everyone. We’re not told as such and for good reason – it’s not important. It could be the effects of war, his abusive lover, the fact that his boss is shagging said lover, his rejection in love and life, or – most likely – a combination of all. The audience is left to make their own mind up – that’s the clever thing. I enjoy stories that don’t hurl exposition and explanations at the screen, often coming off as insulting to the audience. In Michael’s Resignation, we try to do the opposite while remaining true to the psychology of Michael.
My favourite few scenes of the movie have got to be the last half dozen. Everything is set in place; the field of play is set. All Michael has to do now is follow through in a blaze of glory. As he wanders through the office in an almost catatonic state, he’s on autopilot as he gets to work. Then he kills his boss. And everything is off. There’s no going back for Michael and he knows it. So he puts bullets in every single person in the building. It’s a very visual, action-driven scene that shows a further change in Michael.
When writing it, I tried to show how Michael falls deeper and deeper into his own personal hell. The first shot he takes in the ‘turkey shoot’ hits its target perfectly on the back of the head – a very precise, accurate shot. But as things go on, Michael becomes reckless. He begins to lose control and his shots show this. He soon ends up just shooting wildly into the crowd, not caring who he hits.
In all this, my favourite character is ‘Hero’. I wrote him in because in so many other films, something like this happens and everyone just cowers. Hero is the guy who mans-up and tries to take Michael down. I like to think it’s what I’d do (even though it probably wouldn’t be). But alas, Hero doesn’t stand a chance. I initially put in the clichéd “I have a family” line then twisted it. Before the guy even gets out the word “family”, Michael puts a bullet in his brainpan. I wanted to show that in all the madness and chaos, there is still someone out there fighting for what’s right, even if he fails – he’s willing to try. That’s why Hero is my top character in the entire film.
My favourite scene has to be the final one, though. I cheered when he died. Not because he’s died, but because he’s done it. His mission was over and he’d succeeded. The final shot says a lot about Michael’s final thoughts and feelings. Hopefully it will have the same effect on screen as it had when I wrote it:
“We zoom in slightly, to see Michael’s open eyes sparkling in the office lights. A slight smile still remains on his bloodied, but otherwise empty face. The camera hangs in this image for a freakishly long time, then…
FADE TO BLACK”
Gabe Cooper:
“I love Michael’s Resignation. I have from the beginning. When I first read the idea for the script I loved it. It’s not even the kind of movie that I would normally watch, but I loved the script. There is a passion in it that is so very real and human. The one character that really drew me to the film, was Sarah. She works with Michael (the title character) and she is such a beautiful character. Her kindness and eagerness to cheer Michael up is both amazing and tragic. Overall the script is just amazing, and I have every bit of confidence in it!”
Joby Stephens:
“Michael loses his humanity – that’s the point of the script and story.. to me anyway. Man’s inhumanity to man. It’s everywhere, it holds no measure. If you like Disney films, chances are you won’t like “Michaels Resignation”. A stab at everything that is happening, a chance for the film process to say ‘f**k you’. Did the audience lose themselves when watching Mr Pink cut off the others ear? Yes. But why? Because they knew ’shit like that happens’ and don’t like to associate. When you watch a horror, you cower because you can’t take the truth. Everything is real, if you can imagine it.
His love for Sarah is vast and conquers all but himself. Yes its apparent but when you’ve fallen half way down the cliff you can’t climb back up. Michael leans to the one thing he can do well. Kill. Like he was trained to do. Indeed he might very well believe his love is what is killing Sarah. Hume once said that the cleverest man kill themself. It won’t be a bloodbath as the human body only contains 8 pints of blood. A bullet wound can lose around 1 pint of blood in 4 mins. The end of the film is 15 mins long, around 25 people die. There isn’t enough time to fill a blood with bath.
It’s about time a script and film came along to dislocate the association that the world has to the British film industry. It’s about time the truth and violence that exists in this world was exposed and shown. Michael not only resigns, he resigns us all to the fact that we exist in a controlled and mediated shithole. There is a statistic that floats around that about 98% of people in the second world war didn’t shoot to kill, they shot to scare. Michael doesn’t give a shit about statistics.”
Hasani Venkata:
“I can’t. Sarah…if I don’t do this…Then I’ll regret all of this forever.”
- Michael
“This is my favorite quote, and scene….til this day, I still can’t figure out why he did it, would like to have known what was going through his mind right before he pulls the trigger, that was just so unexpected.”
Greilhys Gray:
“Favorite character is Michael. I can completely understand and feel the pain of Michael. I love the sarcasm that evolves his being as he is exposed in the film beginning to end. My favorite scene would have to be when Michael shoots Richard. The whole development of his stance on what is going on in society at this moment as well as having to deal with the heartbreak of his fiance and of course killing scene.”
“My favorite line is when Michael says:
“I officially resign from this mediocre piece of shit office hell you preside over. My sincerest thanks for the memories, and allow me to repay the kindness by leaving you with one.”
And shoots Richard.”
