30 Days of Screenplays, Day 2: “Prisoners”
Why 30 screenplays in 30 days?
Why 30 screenplays in 30 days?
Because whether you are a novice just starting to learn the craft of screenwriting or someone who has been writing for many years, you should be reading scripts.
There is a certain type of knowledge and understanding about screenwriting you can only get from reading scripts, giving you an innate sense of pace, feel, tone, style, how to approach writing scenes, how create flow, and so forth.
We did 30 Days of Screenplays in 2013 and you can access each of those posts and discussions here. This time, we’re trying something different: I invited thirty Go Into The Story followers to read one script each and provide a guest post about it.
Today’s guest columnist: Christopher Brennan.
Title: Prisoners. You may read the screenplay here.
Year: 2013
Writing Credit: Aaron Guzikowski
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Plot Summary: When Keller Dover’s daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?
Tagline: A hidden truth. A desperate search.
Awards: Best Original Screenplay Nomination: San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2013
Analysis: Prisoners is a very unique and interesting script. On the surface, it may look like another entry into the somewhat crowded kidnapping subgenre. However, from page one, we can see that the writer, Aaron Guzikowski has another agenda on his mind.
We get an understanding of this from the very beginning. The opening scene featuring the father teaching the son how to hunt contains many of the themes that are going to be featured and dissected in the rest of the narrative: The destruction of innocence, the ambivalence of morality, the passing of characteristics from adult to child (Alex’s involvement in the kidnapping of Anna and Joy for his Aunt Holly, Bob Taylor ‘playacting’ what had occurred to him when he was a child).
In the very first page we completely get a sense of our protagonist Keller Dover as well. From the hunting of the innocent deer, to his very first line of dialogue about a man’s necessity to do whatever it takes to survive.
This immediately establishes character, tone and theme all within the first few pages.
The acceleration of action is quite notable as well. Whereas many films of this kind would have the kidnapping occur around the 25/30 page mark, Prisoners instead jumps straight in with Anna & Joy disappearing around page 10. This is a clear indicator from Guzikowski that this will not be as straightforward as once thought.
Another indicator that the script intends to go in a new direction is that they don’t draw out the search process or even introduce other potential culprits until much later in the story. This script skips all of that and moves straight to a brand new character, Detective Loki, finding the van and detaining the driver. It is notable, as now the reader is curious as to what will happen next. They have already moved away from the more familiar structures of the genre.
Choice is always a very important part of character development. And in this script, we are invited to watch as characters are forced to make some extremely difficult choices.
Take for example the scene on page 39, where Keller makes it clear that he is choosing to torture Alex. However, Keller is also the one who is deciding what the options are:
‘We hurt him until he talks or they’re going to die. That’s the choice.’
By choosing to believe that there are only two options available, Keller attempts to absolve himself of the crimes he is committing.
This is also important, as the reader is forced to consider the morality of his actions. We understand that his motivations may come from a pure & noble place; but his revolting actions make us question our allegiance.
As the torture scenes continue, the reader’s convictions are steadily questioned.
By page 56, Keller absolves himself of his actions once again. But this time he does so by putting the choice onto Franklin and Nancy. This way, the audience are actually being given the choice of what to do. But with all the information we have at this time, we cannot decide what to do either. Franklin and Nancy finally decide to walk out on making the decision. As for the reader, we are not going to judge Keller’s actions any more either. The questions of choice and duty are constantly being raised. And in Prisoners, it is handled beautifully.
But we can see that the writer did need to give the reader a little bit more mystery and doubt. This comes through the introduction of the Tall Man during the candle vigil. Detective Loki’s hunt for this mysterious Tall Man helps to create a sense of doubt about the actions of Keller. This is crucial to the audience’s sympathies shifting from Keller to the now seemingly innocent Alex.
In storytelling terms this is quite striking, as we really are left to question what will come next. Similar to the film Zodiac, we follow the police as they chase down a variety of different leads, each of them as suspicious and complex as the next.
As well as with Zodiac, we are introduced to the main culprit early on. Our protagonist’s have a clear understanding of the guilt of the culprit, but are unable to prove this irrefutably. For Zodiac, it is the interview with Arthur Leigh Allen. For Prisoners, it is the capture of Alex Jones. Both of these men are actually guilty of the crimes. The protagonists truly believe this, but are somehow powerless to find the concrete evidence to prove this.
Most Memorable Dialogue:
Pg. 1 — KELLER: Most important thing your Grandpa ever taught me. Be ready. Hurricane, flood, whatever it ends up being. No more food gets delivered to the grocery store, gas stations dry up. People turn on one another and all of a sudden all that stands between you and being dead is you.
Pg. 39 — KELLER: We hurt him until he talks or they’re going to die. That’s the choice. I know what I heard.
Pg. 57 — NANCY: You’re not going back to that place. If you do, I’ll call the police and tell them everything. (beat) We’re not gonna help Keller — but we’re not gonna stop him either. Let him do what he thinks he needs to… (beat) We don’t know about it anymore.
Pg. 86 — CAPTAIN RICHARD O’MALLEY: We’re not superheroes, kid. We don’t save the fucking day. We’re cops. Hell’s janitors. You want fulfillment, start a family, have some kids.
Pg. 88 — FORENSICS GUY — It’s not a map, it’s the last maze in the maze book. Unsolvable. No way out.
Most Memorable Moments:
Pg 38A — Keller’s Prisoner
Pg 44A — Candle Light Vigil/Tall Man Chase
Pg. 69 — Loki nearly catches Keller and his captive
Pg. 114 — Loki’s blind race to the hospital to save Anna
What Did I Learn About Screenwriting From Reading This Script: Aaron Guzikowski’s script is an incredible example of how to make the audience question where their sympathies lie. By providing a proactive protagonist such as Keller Dover, the script challenges you to question his actions, even though his motivations couldn’t be stronger. The script also gives the heroic climax to the character of Loki, while Keller is locked underneath the Trans Am. This is an incredibly bold decision that makes perfect sense in the flow of the narrative.
This reimagining of the classic protagonist’s role is definitely a strong reason for reading Guzikowski’s script.
Thanks, Christopher! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
To read my interview with screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski, go here.
To see all of this year’s 30 Days of Screenplays, go here.