Since her choice to live on the road seems to have been instigated by the Great Recession, that might make us think she’s a dynamic character.īut the “twist” at the end of the film comes when we find out she’s always been a nomad, long before she lost her husband and came on hard times.

We are dropped into Fern’s story while she’s on the road, an itinerant Amazon worker. Her backstory continues to be revealed in bits and pieces throughout the film.

Think of Fern in Nomadland, who is an excellent example. Static characters can be compelling protagonists specifically for their inability to change, which is often their downfall. Whereas, a dynamic character is always transformed by the story’s end.Ī dynamic character is always round (or eventually becomes round, through a transformational journey of some kind most likely).īut these characters does not necessarily have to be dynamic - they can remain static and still be interesting. But they do not necessarily have to change over the course of the story. Round characters are always interesting and develop to some degree over the course of the story, in that we continue to get to know them better.

What is a static and flat character