TODAY'S NUGGET: Madly in Love (unproduced) - To Invest the Reader: Stay Emotionally True

[Quick Summary: Roger, a fear-filled writer in love, is robbed at home, and embarks on a journey to get his things back.]

I became curious about this unproduced script after I read this sentence in writer Alvin Sargent's obituary:

He mourned in recent years the failure to sell his screenplay Madly in Love, which he wrote in the late 1980s and which used his own terrifying experience at the hands of an armed intruder, as the inspiration for a romp about a man overcoming his phobias.

I feel the title is misleading, as it seems to indicate "light-hearted romance." 

Instead, it is a deeper character study of a fearful man who goes on a wild road trip, desperate not to be that afraid again. 

It's also a prime example of Sargent's invisible craftmanship for a smooth read.  

On the plot level, he has an uncanny ability to plunge the reader into the situation. 

On an emotional level, his familiar images are still interesting, and linger in one's memory long afterwards. 

For example, the script begins with the scene below:
- Roger (42) has an ex-wife, kids, and is now in love with Molly (35).
- Notice that this is a familiar walk-and-talk scene between two people on a beach...and yet, there is a depth.  We already see Roger's flaw...on p. 1-2!

EXT. BEACH - PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY - DUSK

...MOLLY: Great. But first let's walk. To that red neon sign.

Roger looks up the beach at a flashing red neon sign in the distance. Then he looks back toward the bluff where a green MUSTANG is parked. He turns to see she is already moving up the beach. Roger gets up. Reluctantly, he begins to move after her.

ROGER: We could watch the sunset from Omar's and have dessert.

MOLLY: Look at that sky.

Roger slows, then he stops.

MOLLY: C'mon, Rog. (turns, looks at him) Just to the sign.

He stares at her. Then shrugs with some sadly strange, defeated attitude. They look at each other.

MOLLY (CONT'D): You okay?

Then he turns toward the water, moves slowly onto some rocks. Molly continues to look at him. She understands something, and she starts slowly back. 

ROGER (looking out at water): I'm sorry. I can't help it.

MOLLY: It's all right.

They stand and both look out at the water and the sunset.

MOLLY (CONT'D): It doesn't matter.

ROGER: Sometimes things are just too far.

They sit on the rocks.

ROGER: I'm really sorry.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Why did I become so invested in these characters so soon? I think it's because the above scene was so emotionally true and left questions.

Obviously these two know each other well and still can't work it out....What now?

Madly in Love (unproduced)
by Alvin Sargent