[Quick Summary: An ill minister of a small congregation grapples with more despair after a parishioner commits suicide in upstate New York.]
This is the 4th Paul Schrader script that I've read so far (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Obsession), but perhaps my least favorite.*
Enough about me. On to the good stuff...
WHAT THIS SCRIPT DOES WELL:
1) It is stripped down. This shows what can be done for $3M today (and investors can get their money back!)
2) It shows (not tells) grave illness. In the scene below, we see Toller in a normal, routine biological act... except for one thing.
Notice the power of only two sentences (especially the last two words):
ex. "INT. PARSONAGE BATHROOM - NIGHT
Propping one hand against the wall, Toller urinates into the toilet. His urine runs dark brown."
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: How does the writer gets the reader to make the conclusion that Toller is ill? Use a universally understood behavior + unexpected result.
First Reformed (2018)
Written and directed by Paul Schrader
*For anyone who cares: I could stomach that this is a serious film about a serious circumstance, but it took me until p. 17 to get interested.
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