Spotting sensational dialogue in film and TV...and a bonus exercise!
Whenever I watch a scene on TV or in the movies, my mind subconsciously breaks the dialogue and action down into its component parts. I've noted elsewhere that great dialogue doesn't follow a Q&A format. Instead, speakers' hidden agendas reveal themselves in subtle, nuanced ways. Great dialogue:
Suggests hidden character agendas
Employs action to further inform the scene
Surprises us
Changes both the inner and outer stories of the scene
Some of TV's greatest dialogue can be found in the five seasons of AMC's modern classic, Breaking Bad. If you haven't seen it, and you're committed to writing the best dialogue possible...binge it now!
EXERCISE
Chemistry teacher Walter White is dying of cancer. What's more, he's a wallflower, condescended to and mistreated by his wife, students, brother-in-law, boss, business partner, and strangers on the street. But over the last few years Walter has been harboring an astounding secret: he's the mastermind behind one of the most powerful meth labs in North America. In the course of building his empire—ostensibly in the name of leaving a legacy for his wife and children—he has become a hardened criminal.
In this iconic scene, Breaking Bad delivers one of the most anticipated reveals of its five-year run. Walter discovers his brother-in-law, a DEA agent, has been monitoring his movements with a tracking device. Concerned about exposing his double-life to his beloved family, Walter confronts Hank. Watch it now before you go on, and take note of how the power constantly shifts between Walter and Hank throughout the scene.
Is it any wonder that the last line of this scene is Bryan Cranston's all-time series favorite? And it consists of two words: an imperative verb and an adverb.
Is it any wonder that the last line of this scene is Bryan Cranston's all-time series favorite?
Now, consider the following questions. You don't have to write your answers down, but think about them earnestly, and watch the scene again if you need to. It never gets old!
AGENDA: What does each man want, both in scene, and on the inside?
ACTION: How do the characters' actions, big and small (even facial expressions) reveal their agendas, emotions, and the shifts in power throughout the scene?
SURPRISE: What surprised you or felt unexpected in the dialogue? (Thereby lending a sense of particularity and authenticity to the scene)
TRANSFORMATION: What changes in the outer story of the scene?
INNER STORY: What is the inner story that's floating just under the surface of the scene? What is happening behind the dialogue, left unsaid, but made implicitly clear?
FUN BONUS EXERCISE: Rewrite each line of dialogue to show what Walt and Hank really want to say to each other. Edit the original video with dialogue bubbles and your work is sure to be enshrined in the world of internet memes!
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