TODAY'S NUGGET: Tom and Huck (1995) - How to Show A Kid Character Realizing the Consequences of His Actions

[Quick Summary: After Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn witness a murder in a graveyard, they try to defend the man unjustly accused of it.]

I felt myself relax as I read this script.  

First, it read extremely quickly.  Second, I wanted to go with the characters, eagerly wondering what they'd decide to do next. 

One of the reasons is that the kid characters do not get a pass on hard decisions.  They are allowed to make them AND SUFFER the consequences of their actions.

For example, in the scene below:
- Injun Joe, Doc Robinson, and Muff Potter rob a grave at night.  They fight.
- Doc aims a gun at Joe, but hits Muff, who passes out.
- Joe take Muff's knife and kills Doc.
- Muff is unjustly jailed for killing Doc.
- Tom and Huck witnessed the fight and slip away.
- Tom tells Huck they have to help Muff, who has been kind to them, but Huck refuses.
- This scene is constructed to show Huck the consequences of not helping Muff. 
- It also leads to more questions that made me want to turn the page, ex. What will Huck do next?
- Notice where the writer positions Huck: from afar, in the distance. We only see Huck's reaction shots. 
- Why put Huck that far away? I think it helps better convey Huck's mental state, i.e., that he is finally seeing things more objectively.

EXT. JAILHOUSE - NIGHT

Through the barred windows of his cell, we see Muff Potter sitting in a pool of light, a defeated, pathetic character. The cell door CLANGS open and Muff looks up hopefully but it's only the Sheriff come to deliver Muff's meal -- a hard biscuit and a cup of water.

MUFF (wishing): Has anybody come to see me, Sheriff?

We JUMP BACK TO A LONGER SHOT to reveal that someone is observing Muff from the shadowy roof of the building next door. It's Huck, though we can barely make out his face, just his tattered outline, rags blowing in the breeze.

SHERIFF: Don't be stupid, Muff. (as he CLANGS the door shut; a cruel laugh) Nobody cares about you. And nobody's gonna miss you when you're gone.

The words, meant for Muff, seem to have an effect on Huck. At any rate, he turns and disappears into the night.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Where a character is physically positioned in a scene can really help the audience psychologically understand his internal emotional state.

Tom and Huck (1995)(9/6/94 rev.)
by Stephen Sommers, David Loughery and Ron Koslow
Based on Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"