Paul: The Best You Can Quote From An Alien

Paul offers a great answer to the question of what a relatable alien might look like.

Paul is a gem. Although most alien films focus on alien invasions, Paul tells a different kind of story about an alien who behaves like a human, and talks like a human but doesn't quite look like one. Similar to E.T., this fantastic film explores the possibilities of coexisting with extraterrestrial beings. However, unlike E.T., Paul features a more mature and less adorable alien character, but with a captivating personality nonetheless. In this article, I’m going to show you some of Paul’s memorable lines and how they are essential for bringing such a character to life. Let's take a look:

Graeme Willy:

You are an alien!

Paul:

To you I am, yes.

When Graeme meets Paul, he is shocked by Paul's appearance and screams in surprise. However, Paul clarifies that the statement is only true for Graeme, indicating that he has been observing human beings for a while. More importantly, it reveals Paul's efforts to establish a mutual understanding with Graeme. While he disagrees with the use of the term 'alien', he doesn't view Graeme as an alien and instead finds a shared perspective where he can respect Graeme’s knowledge while also maintaining his own viewpoint.

Well, at least he does try very hard until he realized that he has to be a little bit aggressive to actually reach Graeme.

Graeme Willy:

“How come I can understand you? Are you using some neural language router?”

Paul:

“Actually I’m speaking English you fucking idiot!”

Graeme is curious about why he's hearing Paul speak English instead of another language, and Paul's response is rather impressive. He sounds annoyed, which shows in his tone, but he doesn't answer the question directly. Paul has been asked similar questions too many times, so it's understandable that he's frustrated. If you were in his shoes and had already mastered a native language, you would likely feel the same way as Paul does when asked the same question as Graeme.

I was curious about why they gave Paul pants and slippers but didn't give him a T-shirt. It wasn't until this scene that I realized this was a clever way to emphasize Paul's unique personality trait.

Paul:

“Over the last 60 years, the human race has been drip-fed images of my face, on lunchboxes and t-shirts and shit. It’s in case our species do meet, you don’t have a fucking spaz attack!”

The underlying message is that humans tend to imagine and promote the idea of aliens out of fear. Even if aliens do not exist, we try to visualize them until they become familiar to us. In the movie, some characters faint at the sight of Paul while others do not. Graeme does not faint because he genuinely believes in the existence of aliens. He is excited when he sees Paul, but only surprised to find that Paul is different from what he had imagined.

Graeme's close friend, Clive, is so shocked when he saw Paul that he fainted. Clive is someone who doesn't have a strong opinion on whether or not aliens exist. He joined Graeme on the trip not because he was particularly excited about aliens, but because he wanted to create a special memory with Graeme and honour their friendship.

Two minor details in the film reveal Clive's attitude towards aliens. First, he becomes attached to a Katana sword every time he sees one, even when he's in the middle of running away. Second, later on in the trip, Clive becomes jealous of Graeme's closeness to others but keeps his feelings to himself. The former detail shows that Clive is more visually oriented and interested in appearances rather than substance. He includes the idea of a "three-tits" alien in his comic book because he thinks it looks cool, not because he believes such an alien exists. The latter shows that Clive shares Graeme's opinion about aliens simply because he trusts Graeme.

Paul is not only physically present with them but also spiritually joins them, as both his facial expression and posture suggest that he is relaxed and connected to them.

In fact, Ruth initially held a belief that would make it difficult for her to accept the existence of aliens. Before she eventually forms a strong connection with Paul, there is a unique chemistry between them.

Paul: Oh, we’re all made in God’s image?

[Throws open the bathroom door]

Paul: Then how do you explain me?

[Ruth faints]

Paul: And that’s Jenga.

Instead of directly contradicting Ruth, Paul asks a question in reply. When Ruth fainted, he likened it to the game of ‘Jenga’, a British board game derived from the Swahili word ‘kujenga’ which means ‘to build’. Paul’s comment is revealing, as in Jenga, players build a tower with blocks and take turns removing one block at a time from the tower. The fact that Paul challenges Ruth’s original belief and reshapes it resembles the rule of the game.

Ultimately, Paul is an excellent example of how to create a relatable alien character in film. His unique personality and memorable lines showcase the importance of understanding and respecting different perspectives.

After all, we are connected by shared perspectives.