{"id":25,"date":"2013-01-31T06:28:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-31T11:28:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-03-26T09:45:16","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T14:45:16","slug":"is-the-script-helgelands-naturally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/k-tock.com\/?p=25","title":{"rendered":"Is the Script Helgeland’s? Naturally"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spoiler Alert<\/span><\/strong>: Although this post does not go into a detailed analysis of the movie Mystic River<\/em>, it does look at a crucial clue which could spoil the movie, if you haven’t watched it.<\/span><\/p>\n

*******<\/div>\n

 Not only is L.A. Confidential<\/a> a movie that I love, there are many screenwriting tips to be gleaned from a careful study of the script, some of which I blogged about.<\/p>\n

Mystic River<\/a> is another script by Brian Helgeland<\/a>, and one I had the pleasure of reading a week ago.<\/p>\n

It was a different experience reading it ‘blind’– most of the time when I read a script I have already watched the movie, but not for this one.<\/p>\n

The tid-bit of screenwriting wisdom that jumped out at me from reading this script was how critical it is to reveal information in the right order.<\/p>\n

Audiences are smart. They are quick to piece together clues of the puzzle. And there is nothing worse than knowing where a story is leading you well before the moment that information is revealed.<\/p>\n

One technique that Helgeland used to great effect in Mystic River<\/em> — and which also served to plant a clue for a later reveal– was to purposely reveal information in a specific order.<\/p>\n

I’m speaking of the 9-1-1 call logged at the bottom of page 18, top of 19. There is a vital line of dialogue buried in the call. We don’t realise it at the time, because it is only after this scene that we are shown the victim. It is only when the call is revisited towards the end of the movie that we realise there was something suspicious about the call.<\/p>\n

Had we seen the victim first and then heard the call, we would have been suspicious. We would have been a step ahead of the screenwriter. Had we not heard the call until the end, it would seem like cheating. It would be unsatisfying writing.<\/p>\n

But because we were given a piece of the puzzle prior to us realising how it fit, we almost forgot about it, and then had that magical ‘AHA’ moment when it was revealed how it fit.<\/p>\n

So in my writing, I need to ensure that I reveal information in the appropriate time and context. Clues need to be planted. But they need to be planted in such a way that they either misdirect, or are given no weight until the appropriate time.<\/p>\n

Thanks for the lesson, Mr Helgeland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spoiler Alert: Although this post does not go into a detailed analysis of the movie Mystic River, it does look at a crucial clue which could spoil the movie, if you haven’t watched it. *******  Not only is L.A.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-learning","category-mystic-river"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t