It’s Groundhog Day!
With one of the greatest character arcs in screenwriting, Phil goes from selfish and shallow to considerate and complex. What Enneagram number can contain such a change?
I want to start immediately with a Heart Type choice. He’s too cruel to be a Two and too much of a professional failure to be a Three. His frustrating career as a news weatherman who’s always tasked with the bottom-level reporting from Punxsutawney would make a Three quit. (And a Two would find it endlessly interesting!) He expects strangers to recognize him and larger TV markets to employ him. These are Envy characteristics.
Four, right? He can hold our attention even while displaying the ugliest qualities. For the first half of the film he lives in the darker aspects of his personality. Fours have a great swing between high and low. They are also Enneagram numbers who aren’t afraid to dig into their flaws, which is what Phil does in the second half of the film. He’s able to think less about “poor me” and more about his strengths.
And don’t forget his wit. Fours can be scathing, as Phil is originally, or more gentle and teasing as he is later, but that consistent humor is a Four trademark. It’s also a great writing choice. It helps us stick with an unlikable character until he can become more heroic.
