TODAY'S NUGGET: Man on Fire (2004) - Resuscitating an Action Hero's Hope (Emotional Stakes)

[Quick Summary: When an ex-army security guard fails to protect his client, a precocious 9 yr. old girl in Mexico City, he exacts his own justice on the killers.]

This script impressed me because:

1) It spends a 50% developing the relationship between Creasy and 9 yr. old Pinta. 

2) With these emotional stakes established, his rage is easier to justify in the last 50%.  He begins emotionally dead --> she brings him hope --> she is kidnapped --> he retaliates.

In the scene below, notice the small things Pinta does that gives Creasy hope: She pays attention to what he's been doing. She's amusing. She gives him her trust.

INT. MERCEDES - ROLLING - DAY

Creasy driving. Pinta looking noble and brave.

...PINTA (distant): You should break all my fingers, Creasy, then tape them back together. I wont' be able to play the piano, but I could still swim.

CREASY: Don't be a baby. You're tougher than that.

PINTA: There's no such thing as tough, Creasy. Just trained and untrained.

CREASY (smiles): Then be trained.

PINTA: I'm going to keep people safe someday. Just like you.

CREASY: Be a swimmer.

PINTA: I could do it. Remember the day you wanted the pencil? I know why. And I saw that car again. I wrote the license number in my notebook. Except I missed the last number.

Creasy checks his mirror, nothing back there now. He then looks at Pinta. A bit amazed.

CREASY: You'll have to show me that number when we get home.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Don't be afraid to take your time laying the emotional stakes. The action later will have more impact because of that investment.

Man on Fire (2004)(2/10/03, v.2)
by Brian Helgeland
Based on the novel by A.J. Quinnell

TODAY'S NUGGET: Mystic River (2003) - Dialogue that "Does More Than One Thing at a Time"

[Quick Summary: Three childhood friends linked by guilt come back in contact when one of their daughters is found murdered.]

I'd avoided this script for a long time, but it is not nearly as graphic as I'd feared.  In fact, it is a well written thriller with great subtext.

One reason is that it follows the adage that "dialogue should do more than one thing at one time."  

In the scene below:
- Sean and Whitey are cops interviewing the grieving father Jimmy.
- Notice how the dialogue reveals Jimmy's character (vindictive), mood (impatience), and creates tension (he's threatening to exact his own justice).

INT. MARCUS KITCHEN - DAY

...WHITEY: How about this, Mr. Marcus. We've been talking to witnesses, canvassing people who might've been in the bars and we've run into more than a few people, who were questioned before us by one or more of the Savage brothers.

 JIMMY: So?

SEAN: So the Savage brothers are not policemen, Jimmy.

JIMMY: Some people won't talk to the police.

WHITEY: Just so we're clear, and with all due respect, this is our case.

JIMMY: How long?

WHITEY: How long what?

JIMMY: How long would you say till you put Katie's killer in jail? I need to know.

WHITEY: Are you bargaining with us?

JIMMY: Bargaining?

WHITEY: Are you giving us a deadline? (off no answer) We'll speak for Katie, Mr. Marcus. If that's okay?

JIMMY: Find her killer, Sergeant. I'm not standing in your way.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I like that it's not just a threat, but also foreshadows future violence, and that keeps the tension high.

Mystic River (2003)(shooting script)
by Brian Helgeland
Based on the novel by Dennis Lehane

2021 OSCARS: The White Tiger (2020) - Ah, The Difficulty of Showing Mental Anguish

[Quick Summary: A country boy, who becomes the driver of a rich man's son in Delhi, climbs his way out of poverty, but not without dark humor and corruption.]

How do you show a character (gasp!) thinking? Usually by a physical gesture.

But what if it is even more difficult, ex. a complex thought like changing one's mind or mental anguish?

Writers are always looking for new way to show "thinking," and was impressed in the gesture in the scene below.

First, I'd not seen it anywhere else before.  Second, the addition of the internal monologue helps the actor strike the right tone.

FYI: Italics = Hindi.

INT. ASHOK'S DELHI APARTMENT - AFTERNOON

...Balram serves them lunch.

BALRAM: Here you are, sir.

ASHOK: I don't want food right now.

BALRAM: I made it like we had together the other night, sir.

Mukesh wonders what this is about.

ASHOK: I don't give a shit.

BALRAM: Just a taste, sir.

Ashok slaps the food out of his hand, sending it crashing to the floor, the bowl breaking apart. 

ASHOK: I said I'm not hungry....Get lost.

MUKESH: He doesn't feel like it, why are you up his ass! Get rid of it, you fucker.

ASHOK:  Just leave me alone for a fucking second.

Balram walks away with the tray.

MUKESH: Until Ashok Sir calls you, don't hover over him like a fly!

BALRAM: Yes, sir.

INT. ASHOK'S DELHI APARTMENT; ELEVATOR - MOMENTS LATER

Balram pinches his hand hard, again and again. - Why am I still in servitude to this man?

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: One way to show mental anguish is using an unusual repetitive gesture.

The White Tiger (2020)
by Ramin Bahrani
Based on the novel by Aravind Adiga

2021 OSCARS: One Night in Miami (2020) - Explaining an Unfamiliar Gesture Without Losing the Reader

[Quick Summary: Boxer Cassius Clay, singer Sam Cooke, preacher Malcolm X, and football player Jim Brown spend a night together in Miami, 1964.]

What is "craft"? To me, it's the ability to wield words simply, precisely, economically.  

How does one get it? Experience over time (and it's generally a long time).

What does it look like?  As an example, the scene below explains a "dap" gesture.

Notice how the writer uses simple words and keeps the motion flowing from one guy to the next.  It's also an economical way to show friction and differences.

Also, he does not belabor the explanation.  If you can't envision it, it's ok. All you need to know is that the guys tried to connect with a some kind of cool move.

INT. HAMPTON HOUSE MOTEL - MALCOLM'S ROOM

...JIM: Well, what flavor is it?

MALCOLM: Well, we have vanilla, Jimmy, and...

Malcolm looks back into the fridge.

MALCOLM (CONT'D): ...vanilla.

JIM: Shit.

SAM (chuckles): How is that for some irony?

MALCOLM: Last time I checked, vanilla was your flavor of choice.

JIM AND CASSIUS (mocking):Oooooooooooooh....

Sam respects this witty retort, as he turns to Jim and Cassius, who both have an expression that says, simply: "Damn." Malcolm and Sam both laugh as Sam holds out his hand for some "dap."

MALCOLM: That's right, jack...

Malcolm slides Sam some "skin," an older dap that signifies the generational difference. Sam just stares at his hand as the pleased Malcolm laughs to himself as he returns to the fridge to put one tub of ice cream back, before closing it.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I used to equate fewer words = clearer.  But it's not necessarily fewer words... it's the RIGHT combination of words.

One Night in Miami (2020)
by Kemp Powers
Based on his original stage play

2021 OSCARS: Nomadland (2020) - Emotional Arcing During the Passage of Time

[Quick Summary: Fern (60s) learns to survive in her first year living out of her van.]

Fern is a college graduate, self-sufficient, kind, but stand-offish.  She lost her beloved, well-liked husband a year ago, and packed up everything into a van.

I got the sense that he was the more sociable one, the one who connected her to the world.  I don't think she realizes how she's emotionally adrift or who she is now.

One of the strongest thing about this script is how you experience Fern's emotional arc with the passage of time. 

Sometimes months will pass and Fern is the exact same. Sometimes a day will pass and she has grown enormously (see below).

In the scenes below:
- Fern met fellow nomad Dave on the road and they got along well. However, his son James had a baby and wanted Dave to come home. Dave invited Fern to come, but she refused.
- Fern has now finally made it to Dave's house.
- Notice in the flow of visuals shows us how she feels, but the audience must participate to give it meaning: sharp longing for things that anchor --> family is Dave's anchor, what is hers? --> she realizes this is not her --> she leaves.

INT. DAVE'S HOUSE - STAIRS - LATER

Fern carries her laundry down the stairs. She hears music and looks into the study --

Dave and James are playing the piano together. A simple melody in beautiful synchronicity -- something father and son had played together many times in the past.

Fern watches them. She is moved at first, smiling gently. Then, something restless stirs inside of her. She suddenly feels a little short of breath.

INT. DAVE'S HOUSE - GUEST ROOM - THAT NIGHT

Fern lies in bed, unable to sleep. She stares at the ceiling. It feels too tall.

She gets up and walks out of the dark room.

EXT. DAVE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Fern walks out of the house and runs to Vanguard.

She climbs in, closes the door and lies under the covers.

She touches the ceiling. A  moment. She closes her eyes.

EXT. DAVE'S HOUSE - NEXT MORNING

Dark clouds on the horizon. A storm is approaching.

Fern stands outside Vanguard and smokes a cigarette.

She looks up at Dave's house. It's beautiful and tranquil.

INT. DAVE'S HOUSE - LIVING/DINING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Everyone is still asleep. The house is quiet.

Fern looks at the family photos of different generations on the wall. She recognizes a younger Dave with an infant James.

She sits down at the empty dining room table and looks around. Silence.

A moment passes, Fern gets up, quietly straightens the wooden chair and walks away.

EXT. ROAD IN TOWN - SAME MORNING

Large rain drops on windshield.

Fern drives through the quiet town lashed with wind and rain.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I was impressed how the images told the story.  I could see Fern thinking, "Is it easier to stay on the outside side than go in and attempt messy, emotional relationships?"

Nomadland (2020)(1/12/19 draft)
by Chloe Zhao
Based on the book by Jessica Bruder