The most memorable characters of any movie I've seen

Rating: 10/10 (25 September 2018)

Whenever I try to explain The Big Lebowski to someone, I tell them that the film is 25% plot and 75% characters. While that is a cursory explanation and neglects setting as a rather large portion, I think it well portrays the priorities and attitude of the film.
To be sure, the plot is still well crafted and exciting. It is an easily flowing story of misunderstanding, kidnapping, and deception. And it manages all three topics without a dark theme by telling it through the eyes of an unmotivated and nonchalant hippie. But the film is far more than just a plot.
After watching it the first time, I realized that many of the scenes and dialogues could be completely omitted and the plot would still make sense. Walter bringing his wife's Pomeranian to the bowling game, as well as his constant reference to his service in the Vietnam war, and the scene where The Dude attends his landlord's dance recital, none of these contribute to the plot at all, but contribute much to character and setting development. And they are so effective that no one could really care about the extra length. They make the characters funny and memorable, and the film as such.
One example scene where The Dude first meets Maude, shows how the Coen brothers squeeze as much theme development as they can out of a scene. In this scene, Maude tells The Dude about Bunny and how the kidnapping is likely staged. They could have had The Dude respond to Maude's statements and conversation, as a normal scene would play out. But instead they have The Dude constantly interjecting to ask about his rug, while Maude ignores him and carries out a one-sided conversation. Doing so preserves the spacey, aloof nature of The Dude's personality, and showcases Maude's persistent and independent character, all while giving the scene a comedic mood.
The film presses the contrasting characters of The Dude and Walter together constantly as well. Their differences - The Dude being an easy-going pacifist and Walter being an impulsive, sometimes aggressive War Vet - bring out the hilarity in both characters. They are constantly arguing, and The Dude often regrets everything that Walter brings him into (such as Walter's involvement in the hand off or Walter clubbing a stranger's sports car). But the relationship is relatable, and gives the movie a casual, familiar tone.
Much of the hilarity also comes from how calmly The Dude handles all the events. He rarely loses his cool or questions anything. There seems to be little difference in how he handles being the courier for a ransom hand off or having his car windows smashed compared to buying cream from the grocery store. He lets viewers experience the cool and calm persona they have always wanted to be.
The visual style of the movie is certainly memorable. Recalling it brings a specific set of colors to mind, those being a sort of orange to tan spectrum. This can be seen from The Dude's gown he always wears, to the wood, the seats, and the wall paneling of the bowling alley, to the tinted glasses always worn by Walter. This is also perpetuated by the lighting of many of the scenes, as it usually comes from warm sources like candles or sunlight when the actual surroundings are not orange in color.
The film is a representation of a feeling or lifestyle, not merely a story. The characters live outside the movies and reside in the heads of viewers as they are some of the most memorable from a single movie in film history. It is no wonder the film has such a cult following.