Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Lesson 15: Relish the Unexpected
In the classic thriller Three Days of the Condor, Robert Redford plays a CIA employee who reads books for a living, siphoning out the plots of thrillers and comparing them to actual CIA activities. When Redford gets too close to the truth, his entire office is murdered, and he goes on the run. Along the way, he kidnaps a woman, played by Faye Dunaway, who believes some of what he says, but not all. It is pretty clear to Dunaway, a lonely, sharp-eyed photographer, that Redford is soon to be a dead man. The chemistry is intense, and they have desperate, frenetic sex.
The next morning, Redford tells Dunaway he has a plan. But he'll need her help.
Dunaway smiles slightly, and says, "Have I ever denied you anything?"
It's a beautiful line, because we don't quite expect it. It's a funny line in the middle of a tense situation. And it's a line which manages to describe what happened the night before.
And--not so coincidentally--it also moves the plot along.
Sure, Faye Dunaway could have said, "Yes, I'll help you." Or: "What do you need?" But that would be mediocre writing. And you don't want to be mediocre, do you?
In the classic thriller Three Days of the Condor, Robert Redford plays a CIA employee who reads books for a living, siphoning out the plots of thrillers and comparing them to actual CIA activities. When Redford gets too close to the truth, his entire office is murdered, and he goes on the run. Along the way, he kidnaps a woman, played by Faye Dunaway, who believes some of what he says, but not all. It is pretty clear to Dunaway, a lonely, sharp-eyed photographer, that Redford is soon to be a dead man. The chemistry is intense, and they have desperate, frenetic sex.
The next morning, Redford tells Dunaway he has a plan. But he'll need her help.
Dunaway smiles slightly, and says, "Have I ever denied you anything?"
It's a beautiful line, because we don't quite expect it. It's a funny line in the middle of a tense situation. And it's a line which manages to describe what happened the night before.
And--not so coincidentally--it also moves the plot along.
Sure, Faye Dunaway could have said, "Yes, I'll help you." Or: "What do you need?" But that would be mediocre writing. And you don't want to be mediocre, do you?
