[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
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