30 Days of Screenplays, Day 26: “American Hustle”
Why read 30 screenplays in 30 days?
Why read 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: Sarah Grimes.
Title: American Hustle. You may read the screenplay here.
Year: 2013
Writing Credits: Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
IMDB rating: 7.4
IMDB plot summary: A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive partner Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso, who pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia.
Tagline: Everyone Hustles To Survive.
Awards:
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay;
Nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay — Motion Picture;
Won a BAFTA Film Award for Best Original Screenplay;
Nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Original Screenplay;
Won a NYFCC Award for Best Screenplay;
Won a Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay;
Nominated for a WGA Award for Best Original Screenplay;
Analysis: What I found most enjoyable about reading this script was the fact that the characters were so provocative and came to life off the page. They leapt out at me. I could feel their struggles, their desires to be different people, to live different lives, to make something of themselves, etc. It felt as though every spoken word or decision made was motivated by feelings of life or death; it could all begin or end as each scene progressed. Each scene felt as though it was a tension-filled building block being placed one on top of the other, and made me think back to the line spoken numerous times by Irv and Richie: “from the feet up.” Every character had me invested, from Irv to the Congressmen: I felt sympathy for them all. In this story universe, they’re all real people with real lives and they’re all struggling to make it through.
I also loved the fact that the script began with the scene in which Polito leaves the meeting with Richie, Edith and Irv because the direction of the journey for each of these characters depends entirely on this moment. Polito states to Irv during Act III that all this happened because Irv chased him down. Obviously, if Irv didn’t chase him down and get him to agree to return to the meeting, Polito would have never been involved in the take down and Irv wouldn’t be left with this plaguing sense of guilt for the rest of his life, amongst other things. Also, I don’t feel as though this opening moment would have been as powerful and effective when it appears again in Act II if the film began with Irv telling the reader why he is the way he is and how he met Sydney/Edith. You clearly see from this opening scene that Irv is at a pivotal point in his journey because of the fact that he has seemingly lost control over the way he runs his life; not to mention that it captures a reader’s interest and makes him/her want to know why Irv is being forced into this situation.
Structurally, I enjoyed the way scenes bounced back and forth between moments in time from present to past and vice versa. It wasn’t done an inordinate amount of times, and when it was, it was precise and often comical (pgs. 126–133), namely when Irv is telling Rosalyn that he was attacked by Pete.
Most Memorable Dialogue:
Page 26
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: We fight and we fuck and that’s what we do. That’s our thing.
Irving Rosenfeld: [Narrating] She was the Picasso of passive-aggressive karate. She was better than any con artist I’d ever met including myself. And she had me like nobody had me.
Page(s) 98–99
Sydney Prosser: What the hell do you think you’re doing?
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: What do I think I’m doing? What the fuck do you think you’re doing? You’re going to come in here and judge me for flirting with someone else when you’ve been fucking my husband for how many years?
Sydney Prosser: You don’t have any fucking clue what’s going on!
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: I have a ring on my finger. We have a child together!
Sydney Prosser: He doesn’t love you, Rosalyn. He loves me. And you know it, and I know it, and he knows it. And it might be done now, but it was beautiful, and it was real…
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Stop it.
Sydney Prosser: -and we loved each other.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Shut up.
Sydney Prosser: You scare him, and you manipulate him, and you use your son!
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Well, he must like it on some level. He must want it, because he keeps coming back for it. It’s like that perfume that you love, that you can’t stop smelling even when there’s something sour in it. Can’t get enough of it. Well guess what? He’s never gonna leave me. He’s always going to want me, and I will make you so sorry, Edith. I will make you so sorry for what you’ve done to my family. Mark my words!
Sydney Prosser: That is fucked up! I would never say anything that fucked up to anybody, but you do because you’re gross inside. You’re so fucked up and gross.
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Oh, I’m gross inside?
Sydney Prosser: Yeah!
Rosalyn Rosenfeld: Maybe you’re gross inside. What, robbing people and all that shit that you do? Maybe we’re both gross inside. That’s what Irving loves about us. At least he’s consistent. You know, sometimes in life, all you have are fucked up, poisonous choices.
[She kisses Sydney and laughs]
Most Memorable Moments: One of the moments I enjoyed the most was during the scene when Sydney/Edith and Richie go out dancing (pgs. 66–68). Sydney’s character is overwhelmed with so many emotions during this point in the movie (knowing that Irv is out to dinner with Rosalyn, etc.) and is desperately trying to convince herself she wants a life other than the one she has been living with Irv for so long.
Another memorable moment is when Irv confronts Rosalyn after Pete attacks him (pgs. 126–133). The interaction between these characters is brilliant, especially when he’s trying to contain himself while she’s telling him that she “intended” for all of this happen and caused him to develop his plan. The dialogue is hysterical and Rosalyn is an engaging character because how convinced she is of her madness.
What Did I Learn About Screenwriting From Reading This Script: Reading this script reinforced how important it is to tell stories about “real” people who drive the plot forward, as opposed to developing a plot and trying to infiltrate the characters into that journey. This story lives or dies with these characters and would have been much less effective and powerful had they been shallow with unrealistic motivation(s).
Thanks, Sarah! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!
To see all of this year’s 30 Days of Screenplays: Vol. 2, go here.