Tuesday, February 03, 2004
Lesson 22: Sometimes a cigar...is a bombshell: Quiz Show
In the opening sequence of the movie Quiz Show we watch young, brash lawyer Richard Goodwin circle round a spanky new car while a wary salesman lists the features, AND tries to figure out whether this guy can really afford the car. We find out a lot in this scene--that Goodwin's graduated from Harvard, but he's working for the government--he craves finer things, but he's drawn to public service, a conflict that will play out through the whole movie. Via the car's radio, we learn that the Russians have just beat the pants off the Americans in the space race. This tells us when the movie is set, and also, dramatically, throws down the gauntlet for the rest of the story--which is about looking for a new American hero, and picking the wrong one.
But.
The element in the scene that makes it cook isn't the dialogue or the setting. It's the smoking cigar that Goodwin refuses to put out, even when he is sitting in the car's elegant calfskin AND pigskin seats. Director Robert Redford and writer Paul Attanasio are both masters at taking a simple prop to turn the tension high. You have to keep watching Goodwin, because of that damn cigar. And you have to keep watching the nervous salesman, because you don't know when he might lose his temper. It's a simple explosive device.
Next time, when one of your scenes lacks tension, ask yourself if there's something you could add from your box of props to give the scene some edge--a glass of milk on the edge of a table, a smoldering candle. Bombs and guns are too easy. Try a nice malfunctioning crock pot for real fun.
In the opening sequence of the movie Quiz Show we watch young, brash lawyer Richard Goodwin circle round a spanky new car while a wary salesman lists the features, AND tries to figure out whether this guy can really afford the car. We find out a lot in this scene--that Goodwin's graduated from Harvard, but he's working for the government--he craves finer things, but he's drawn to public service, a conflict that will play out through the whole movie. Via the car's radio, we learn that the Russians have just beat the pants off the Americans in the space race. This tells us when the movie is set, and also, dramatically, throws down the gauntlet for the rest of the story--which is about looking for a new American hero, and picking the wrong one.
But.
The element in the scene that makes it cook isn't the dialogue or the setting. It's the smoking cigar that Goodwin refuses to put out, even when he is sitting in the car's elegant calfskin AND pigskin seats. Director Robert Redford and writer Paul Attanasio are both masters at taking a simple prop to turn the tension high. You have to keep watching Goodwin, because of that damn cigar. And you have to keep watching the nervous salesman, because you don't know when he might lose his temper. It's a simple explosive device.
Next time, when one of your scenes lacks tension, ask yourself if there's something you could add from your box of props to give the scene some edge--a glass of milk on the edge of a table, a smoldering candle. Bombs and guns are too easy. Try a nice malfunctioning crock pot for real fun.
