Script Analysis: “Aftersun” — Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. It is precisely what it sounds like: A list of all the scenes in the script accompanied by a brief description of the events that transpire.

For purposes of this exercise, I have a slightly different take on scene. Here I am looking not just for individual scenes per se, but a scene or set of scenes that comprise one event or a continuous piece of action. Admittedly this is subjective and there is no right or wrong, the point is simply to break down the script into a series of parts which you then can use dig into the script’s structure and themes.

The value of this exercise:

• We pare down the story to its most constituent parts: Scenes.
• By doing this, we consciously explore the structure of the narrative.
• A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story.

This week: Aftersun (2022). You may download the script here.

Written by Charlotte Wells.

Plot summary: Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t…

Aftersun
Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
By Jacobo Palomo
GoIntoTheStory.com

Written and directed by Charlotte Wells

P1. In a crowded rave party, a strobe light alternates between showing 31-year-old Sophie (out of place and time), and 11-year-old Sophie dressed identically (fragmentary glimpses). Both versions of Sophie have their eyes shut, but as the beat picks up, the adult Sophie opens her eyes. The scene then cuts to black, and the sound of a camera being used is heard.

Opening Scene (as shown in the film): P.65–66. DV CAM footage of Sophie as she asks her father, Callum, what he thought he’d be doing now when he was 11. The camera, held by Sophie, zooms in on Callum’s face and stops. We see a reflection of Adult Sophie (as it’s a reflection of a TV).

Then, what’s in the screenplay is shown but without the appearance of young Sophie. Also, it intercuts Adult Sophie with a montage of DV CAM footage: Sophie’s departure, shots from the beach, a chess board, the hotel’s pool, … Finally, we cut from a close shot of Adult Sophie to young Sophie at the transfer bus.

P1–3. We witness Sophie (11) and her father, Calum, embarking on a trip to Turkey through the use of both video and still images captured on a DV CAM camera. Sophie playfully captures the moments, cracking jokes along the way, while Calum appears reserved, trying to avoid the camera at times. Calum is introduced: CALUM, 30, boyish until closely scrutinised.

As the plane begins its descent, the film title is unveiled in the purple-blue of dusk.

This scene is not in the film. However, I would highlight this line of dialogue from Sophie: “Is it actually possible for you to smile? (beat) Properly.”

P3–6. A sequence at the transfer bus from the airport to the Türk hotel.

A battery drops and rolls under the seats. Calum, with his arm covered in a plaster cast from elbow to knuckles, passes it back to Sophie who puts it back in her Walkman. The tour representative, Belinda, introduces herself to the group and Sophie and Calum mock her rapid pronunciation of “Torremolinos,” her previous location.

The bus travels through various locations until it reaches the destination, where Belinda and the bus driver hand over Calum and Sophie’s luggage and direct them to their hotel, a modest place with its facade masked by scaffolding. Belinda mistakes Calum for Sophie’s brother.

P7–8. Calum and Sophie arrive at an empty reception desk. Calum goes to look for someone but checks for Sophie before (Calum steps through a door. No sooner than it closes behind him, he reenters. SOPHIE: I’m fine). While waiting, Sophie looks at some books and magazines on the table, including an erotic novel. She starts to read it but abruptly stops when her father reenters to announce that someone is coming.

Calum and Sophie arrive at a room with only one bed, so Calum calls the staff to request a solution as he had previously booked a room with two beds. Meanwhile, Sophie has fallen asleep. Calum covers her with the sheet and goes out to the balcony to smoke and dance to the low music coming from Sophie’s Walkman (For a moment it’s as though he’s somewhere else.).

Later, Calum sits on the balcony railing, with his legs dangling over a three-story drop, watching a hotel employee tidy the pool.

P9–13. Sophie and Calum wake up to the sounds of hotel construction. At the pool, Calum records the location and Sophie attempting to “surf” on a lilo with his DV CAM. Later, as Calum applies sun tan lotion to Sophie’s back, he apologizes for the hotel’s construction, asks about her mother and their situation at home (their relationship has improved, but they can’t talk about it on the phone), and they joke about interacting with the Portuguese family that has arrived at the pool.

P13–17. Calum and Sophie visit the Ocean Park Resort. In exchange for reading a chapter from the book he brought with her, Calum allows Sophie to go to the game area. While he waits, Calum realizes his watch is an hour behind. Sophie is playing a motorcycle racing game while listening to a group of teenagers (OLLY, LAURA, TOBY, JANE, and SCOTT) playing pool behind her. She overhears Olly teasing Toby with the insult “turd tapper.” At that moment, Calum arrives to pick her up and tries to spook her from behind without success (CALUM: You don’t miss a thing, do you?).

I would emphasize the use of post-lap in the first scene (21): throughout the screenplay, there are references to not only techniques used with the DV CAM, but also to other film/editing techniques such as sound and exposure.

P.17–19. Sophie and Calum are at the ocean park resort dining area by the pool. Calum is already seated, and Sophie arrives with a tray of dessert. They discuss Alice, whom Calum liked but went back to her boyfriend, and Calum’s plans with Keith, which involve renting a house outside of London to work from. Calum promises Sophie her own room to stay in and teases her about painting it yellow, a colour she likes but her mother does not allow it. During the tour reps’ show, Sophie spots Laura and Scott at dinner with their parents. Sophie asks Calum what “turd tapper” means, and he explains it’s a derogatory term for a gay man. When they realise this is not their hotel, Calum and Sophie playfully throw bread rolls at the stage and leave the dining area.

This scene, along with the previous one, is arranged differently in the final cut.

P.20–21. Calum and Sophie are laughing hysterically and holding hands as they run back to their hotel room. Calum catches Sophie when she trips and carries her back to the room. Calum is lying on a fold-out bed, watching the videos on the DV CAM, and Sophie is asleep on the main bed. The video shows Calum and Sophie in their hotel room, with Sophie filming and Calum in the shower with his broken arm in a cast. Calum smiles and rewinds the video to watch it again. He turns off the camera and lies still for a moment but is disturbed by the sound of dogs fighting outside. He tries to close the balcony door but fails and gets out of bed to properly close it. He returns to the bed and covers the glowing digital clock with a t-shirt, but the t-shirt slides back onto the floor. The red light from the clock remains.

P21. Rave. Sophie is navigating through the crowded room, trying to find Calum. The flashing lights from the strobes offer occasional glimpses of her, and she finally spots Calum from a distance. However, someone blocks her view of him temporarily. She tries to keep her eyes on him as she moves forward.

P21–22. The next morning, Calum is taking a bath in the tub. He is using a cloth to cover his face and breathe steadily as if meditating. Sophie knocks on the door and asks if she can use the bathroom. Calum takes the cloth from his face, looks exhausted, clears his eyes, and pulls the plug to drain the water. Sophie asks him why he is taking a bath in the morning and whether they can do activities like diving and mud baths, which would require taking off Calum’s cast.

P22–24. Sophie is on the phone with her mother while Calum is doing Tai Chi in the hotel foyer. Sophie hands the phone to Calum and goes to play a motorbike game in the gaming area, but returns to find Calum still on the phone with her mother (He expresses his happiness for her and bids farewell with a “Love you.”). When Calum hangs up, Sophie surprises him and he playfully flips her over and dangles her upside down.

P24–26. Sophie and Calum are at a lunch area and playing a game where they guess the capital cities of different countries. Sophie impresses Calum with her answers but when asked about Hungary, she is unsure and Calum corrects her with the correct answer, Budapest. Sophie’s shoulders fall in disappointment. However, a waiter chimes in to correct Calum, stating that the capital of Turkey is actually Ankara and not Istanbul.

P26. Two boys, Michael and John, are playing arcade motorbikes at a resort gaming area. Sophie watches them play and joins in when John leaves. She ends in the first place. Michael offers to play another game, but Calum arrives with drinks, indicating it’s their turn at the pool. Sophie says goodbye to him.

P27–32. Calum is teaching Sophie how to play pool and she quickly catches on. The teens she saw the day before (Olly, Laura, Scott, Toby, and Jane) enter the bar area. The scene cuts to the restroom where Sophie hears two teenage girls, Maxine and Lucy, talking about boys. Sophie overhears their conversation and sees them in the bathroom mirror. The girls leave. Sophie washes her hands and looks at herself in the mirror, appearing younger and out of place compared to the teenagers. Sophie returns to the pool table and Olly and Toby approach. Olly and Toby ask Calum if they can play a game and Sophie offers them to join in for doubles. Calum reveals that Sophie is his daughter and not his sister, as Olly assumed, causing an awkward moment. They start playing and Sophie impresses the group by potting three balls off the break. Olly apologizes for his language (“fuck”) in front of Sophie.

P32–33. In the hotel room, Calum is teaching Sophie self-defence techniques, showing her how to break free from someone who has grabbed her wrist. In a later scene, Calum is applying face cleanser to Sophie’s closed eyelids; in post-lap, we hear Sophie asks Calum what she should do if someone tries to attack her in a different way.

P33–34. The next morning, Calum and Sophie spend time together at the hotel pool. Calum takes a photo of Sophie underwater, and they both rise to the surface. Later, they lie poolside, watching paragliders in the sky. Sophie expresses her idea that even though they may not be in the same place, they share the sky. They watch as a paraglider performs a stunt in the sky.

I would highlight one line of dialogue from this scene: So that even if we aren’t in the same place, we kind of are you know? We’re, like, under the same sky. Kind of.

P34–37. Calum and Sophie are taking a walk and reciting a tongue twister. Later, they are in a steam room at a hamam, where two older men enter, causing Calum to become tense and protective of Sophie. They move to the shower where Calum tries to encourage Sophie to get under, counting to five. Sophie is reluctant at first but eventually gives in and finds the water freezing. They joke about the length of the count and Sophie shivers from the cold.

In the film, this scene at the hamam is intercut with Sophie’s “monologue” about sharing the same sky.

P37–40. Calum is in the bathroom with his arm in a bucket of water, attempting to remove his plaster cast. Sophie, in the adjacent hotel room, is reading a book that Calum gave her. She has questions about the book, as well as why Calum and her mother say “I love you” to each other. Calum explains that it’s just a way to show affection to family members, even if they aren’t together. Sophie mentions that she used to think they were engaged when she was younger. Calum asks about the book and Sophie says she is having trouble understanding it, but Calum encourages her to keep reading. She asks him what the word “municipal” means, but he doesn’t answer (Calum stares down at the bucket. /Drop. /Drop.)

In the film, these scenes are mostly shot in a singular static shot that shows not the distance between father-daughter, but what young Sophie is unable to see in her father: his sufferings.

P40–48. Diving session sequence. Calum and Sophie are on a dive boat deck and Calum is holding two boxed diving masks. Then, they are in the water and Calum asks Sophie if she’s ready for “a proper dive”, but she says she can’t do it. Calum throws her mask and snorkels at her, but she doesn’t notice and they sink. Calum tries to retrieve the mask but is unsuccessful.

Sophie and Calum are putting on their wetsuits with help from the dive instructor, Onur. Onur instructs Sophie to spit in her mask to prevent it from fogging up. Calum has trouble putting on his wetsuit and the man next to him jokes about peeing in it. Sophie apologizes to Calum for the mask (she knew it was expensive) but he tells her it’s okay and to grab the camera. Onur assists Calum in putting on his wetsuit by giving him a bag to put on his foot. Onur shares his story about finding his job and having a baby coming, despite not expecting to have one until his 40s, Calum replays: “Can’t see myself at 40 to be honest. Surprised I made it to 30.”

Calum, Sophie and Onur are floating on the water. Onur checks if they are okay and they both give a signal that they are. He gives them a thumbs up. They each put on their regulators and descend underwater. Underwater, Onur checks again if they are okay and Sophie drifts upward, but Onur pulls her down. He adjusts her buoyancy and leads them to a coral reef. Then, he shows them a seahorse and Calum takes a photo. Onur asks if they want to go up and Calum agrees.

Sophie is on the boat and giving a live report for the DV camera. She talks about her experience diving and shows the boat.

In the next scene, Calum is diving alone and descends deeper into the water. The music from the rave starts to fade in.

P48 (scene 56). Rave. Adult Sophie pushes through the crowded dance floor and sees Calum dancing. At first, it appears carefree, but upon closer inspection, it seems more desperate and endless.

P48–51. Sophie and Calum are sitting in a rooftop cafe and drinking Turkish tea and milkshake respectively. Calum shows Sophie a card trick, and they discuss the possibility of going to Hawaii for a diving trip. They also talk about Sophie’s new teacher at school and the possibility of her going to a private school for secondary education. Calum mentions having spoken to Sophie’s mother about the money for it and suggests that she start thinking about where she wants to go to university. As they talk, Sophie struggles with the card trick and ends up spilling cards onto the floor.

P51–53. At the ocean park resort gaming/bar area, Sophie pretends to play the motorbike arcade game as Calum has gone to get some money. Then, Michael leapfrogs onto the second bike and inserts a coin so they both can play. Michael introduces himself to Sophie and she does the same. It’s a close race but Michael wins in the end, so now they are 1–1 (even though Sophie acted like she wasn’t keeping count).

Meanwhile, Calum is seen crossing the street near the hotel. There is a loud honk in the background. He crosses the road nonchalantly, seemingly unaffected by the departing tour bus close to him.

These two scenes are relevant to the Sophie-Michael subplot, but also to understand Calum’s emotional state, indifferent to everything, even to a bus about to run him over. These types of Calum solo scenes are “narrated” in the script (and later filmed) from a certain distance.

P53–54. Before dinner, Sophie and Calum are in their hotel room. Sophie is feeling down and tells Calum that she feels like she’s crashing after being on a high. Calum is at the bathroom, brushing his teeth, he’s avoiding his own gaze. He tells her that they are there to have a good time, but abruptly he spits at his reflection in the mirror. Then, they go out to dinner. In the early morning, the spit Calum left on the mirror in the bathroom is now dry.

What stands out in these parallel scenes is the way the script (and later, the screen) alternates the points of view:

P54–58. Calum and Sophie are walking through a street with shops and stalls and come across a postcard stand. Sophie brings up wanting to get her ears pierced, but Calum disagrees and tells her it would be dangerous in case of an attacker. Sophie goes to a hair braiding stall while Calum is asked to take a picture of a woman. Calum then goes to a carpet shop where he becomes emotional upon seeing a beautiful rug, Sophie joins in later. The salesman has explained to him the rug has a story to tell. He offers them tea and tells them the price is 45 million lira (£1000).

Only the carpet shop scene is kept in the film. The other previous scenes are done mostly with DV CAM montage.

P58–63 (until scene 74). Calum and Sophie arrive at the Türk Hotel’s poolside with a bag full of souvenirs. They stop at the bar and discuss a rug that costs nearly £1000, with Calum considering purchasing it despite Sophie’s objections and her mother’s potential disapproval. Three teens, Olly, Toby, and Laura, walk by and invite Sophie to play pool, with Calum reluctantly agreeing and heading back to the hotel.

The group orders drinks, with Laura flaunting her all-inclusive wristband. They play pool while Scott and Jane make out at the bar. Scott and Jane eventually join the group, continuing to kiss in front of everyone. Olly tries to cover Sophie’s eyes, but she breaks free.

Back in the hotel room, Calum practices Tai Chi, trying and failing to achieve a sense of calm. He gets his wallet and leaves. Meanwhile, Sophie cheats at pool as the other teens tease Scott and Jane, who are still making out by the pool. Eventually, Sophie and Olly push Scott and Jane into the water and everyone jumps in, including a fully clothed Sophie. However, after observing the fun without her, she leaves, drenched.

P63 (scene 75). Calum is in the carpet shop looking at the carpet he and Sophie had admired earlier. The salesman offers him a cup of tea and they shake hands (he has bought it).

Note: Calum states earlier (scene 68) that the carpet is a “collectible,” a perfect item that encapsulates the main theme of the film (talisman): memory; it will be appreciated in a later scene (P84).

P63–64. Sophie changes into a red and white dress after removing her wet clothes. She tidies up the hotel room by folding clothes and throwing away a matchbook. She then inspects a cocktail stirrer she retrieved from her shorts pocket, which is shaped like a naked woman. She puts it in her rucksack with a puzzle book and an erotic novel she got earlier.

Note: Charlotte Wells fought during the editing process to keep this scene in the movie as it displays a significant moment in Sophie’s growth and highlights the objects that serve as talismans of thar theme: maturity.

P64–67. Sophie and Calum are in a hotel room and Sophie is using a DV camera (hooked up to the television) to film and interview Calum. We must consider this note in the screenplay: [For clarity’s sake, this is a single, stationary shot. We can see both the DV cam feed on the television, but also snippets of Calum and Sophie as they move around the room in the space between the television unit and the edge of frame.]

She starts by showing the camera around the room before turning the lens on Calum, who shows his dance moves. Sophie laughs and wants to interview Calum about his life (he’s about to turn 31 in two days), “When you were eleven, what did you think you’d be doing now?”, but he tries to dodge the question. He asks her to turn off the camera, she pretends to do so, but finally, Calum turns it off from the TV. We still see part of them at the edge of the frame as he recounts his 11th birthday: Calum recalls that nobody remembered his birthday and his mother grabbed him by the ear and told his father to drive him to a toy shop where he picked a red toy phone.

In the film, this stationary shot is done thanks to the reflection of the characters in the mirror and, once the TV is off, on its screen.

P67–69. Music sequence with “Tender” by Blur.

Calum and Sophie are playing chess on the hotel room balcony, with Calum drinking a beer. Sophie asks if he’ll ever move back to Scotland, and Calum says no, as it’s in the past for him and he never felt like he belonged there. Calum tucks Sophie in and says she can live and be whomever she wants to be (CALUM: You have time). Later, Calum goes to a nightclub and dances and kisses a woman, Belinda?

In the next scene, at a rave, adult Sophie watches Calum take a pill and dance. She looks away for the first time in the rave scenes.

Then, back at the Türk hotel, the camera tracks down an empty corridor, eventually reaching an opening that overlooks the street behind the hotel. The street is illuminated with lights from unknown sources.

P69–71. On the balcony railing of their hotel room, Calum is standing still, facing the poolside, his back is to the camera. The scene then moves to the hotel dining room where Sophie and Calum sit down to have breakfast. Calum stirs in a little cream and murmurs something to himself, Sophie mentions that talking to oneself is a sign of madness and tries to make Calum laugh by making a joke about it. Calum is not amused and instead warns Sophie about the high sugar content in her Coco Pops. Sophie becomes upset and asks Calum what his problem is that morning

P71–73. Sophie and Calum are at the poolside of the Ocean Park resort. They put on headphones, but eventually, Calum suggests they play water polo. Sophie is a poor swimmer and during the game she gets hit in the face with the ball, resulting in her nose bleeding. A woman steps in to help stop the bleeding and gives advice to Calum who is feeling lightheaded.

P73–76. Calum and Sophie are at a resort dining area They are eating dessert in silence (It’s been a rough day). A waiter offers Calum another beer. The entertainment for the night is a man singing. Calum asks Sophie why she is wearing her bikini. She says she doesn’t know. Sophie asks Calum if he is excited about tomorrow and he nods.

Later, at the ocean park amphitheatre, the tour representative announces that Calum and Sophie will be performing next. Sophie is surprised that Calum didn’t know that they would be performing. She chooses to sing a song from R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion”. Calum does not join her on stage. Sophie sings, but she’s not good, and she becomes increasingly self-conscious as he doesn’t join her. After the performance, Calum offers to pay for singing lessons for Sophie. She gets upset, saying that Calum does not have the money to do so (SOPHIE: Offering to pay for me to do stuff when you obviously don’t have the money.). Calum gets angry and tells Sophie that he is going to bed and tells her not to stay out too late. Sophie stays at the table.

P76. Calum sits in his hotel room, watching a video playback on his DV CAM as on the second night (P20–21). He hears Sophie’s voice introducing him, “Ladies and gentleman, my father, the marvellous, wondrous, one-armed, Calum Aaron Patterson,” but he doesn’t smile and closes the screen before standing up.

P76–79. Sophie approaches the group of teens, joined by a few older individuals at the gaming/bar area. Olly offers to help her find her father but turns back to the table before she can respond. Sophie then sits at the bar and is approached by a drunken Laura who gives her all-inclusive wristband as she’s leaving, telling her she can now have whatever she wants. Sophie thanks her and adjusts the wristband and asks for a Fanta lemon.

P79–80. Sophie walks through the hotel grounds at night and takes a wrong turn, ending up lost. Suddenly, Michael grabs her from behind, causing her to struggle and react with the move taught to her by Calum. When she realizes it’s Michael, she calls him a “dickhead” and punches him for frightening her. Michael apologizes and invites her to hang out with the other kids.

P80 (scene 97). Calum is walking down a path towards the shore. He encounters a woman who drops a lit cigarette, which he retrieves and smokes. He continues his walk past a taxi stand where a driver is eating a late-night snack and smoking.

P80–82. In a covered pool area at night, Sophie and Michael are sitting side-by-side, their legs dangling in the water. Michael expresses his interest in Sophie and asks if she likes him. Sophie hesitates but eventually agrees. The two of them kisses then engage in a conversation about their past experiences (Sophie says this is her second time). The camera pans across the water and shows six silhouettes of kids peering down through a skylight. The kids start whooping and drumming on the glass. Sophie and Michael pull away from each other and put their socks and shoes back on. As they leave, they cross paths with two other kids from the group, their turn now.

P82 (scene 99). Calum jumps over a wall and reaches a public beach at night. He removes his shirt and shoes, walks into the water in his boxer shorts, and disappears under the water as the moonlight reflects off the rolling waves.

P82–83. Sophie tries to enter a hotel room but there is no response after she knocks. She then exits the hotel and sees two men kissing through a crack in a storage space door. She ends up sleeping on a couch by the hotel’s pool before entering the hotel room thanks to the receptionist. She finds Calum naked on the bed, covers him with a sheet and goes to sleep on the smaller bed. The camera then focuses on Calum and pans down to…

P84 (scene 107). A New York City apartment at night. The camera lands on a carpet, the same one Calum had been admiring in the store earlier. Two legs are seen hanging off the edge of the bed, with the person grabbing at the carpet’s pattern methodically. A woman’s voice, half asleep, asks if the person, Adult Sophie, is okay and wishes her a happy birthday. The sound of a crying baby is heard, and Adult Sophie stands up and says she’ll bring the baby through. The room then begins to strobe between darkness and light.

P84 (scene 108). An adult Sophie approaches Calum as he continues to dance at the rave. The pace of the music slows down and there are close-ups of Calum’s face showing his eyes straining, his skin appearing ashen, and sweat trickling down his face. He appears to be in a state of exhaustion (He looks like death).

P85. Through the DV CAM, Calum is filming Sophie as she sleeps, the hotel phone rings and he answers it, it’s the receptionist informing him of his wake-up call and the excursion bus leaves in 20 minutes. He tries to wake Sophie up. The DV CAM recording ends.

P85–87. Calum and Sophie are on the bus. Calum tries to get more sleep and Sophie retrieves his sunglasses from his pocket and fiddles with them before putting them back in his pocket. Calum says a man died from putting sunglasses on in a dangerous way, but Sophie jokingly disputes this claim. She wishes him a happy birthday and brings up a reference to “Belinda from Torremolinos,” which makes them both laugh. Calum asks why she thought of it, and she says it’s just being on the bus.

P87–89. The bus stops. They go out and start practising Tai Chi, Sophie watches him and imitates his movements. Later, they are in a cold spring. A group is competing on for who can stay in the water the longest. Then, Sophie imitates them and asks Calum to measure the time. He takes a photo of her: 1:45. A little later, Calum wraps her in a towel, in post-lap Calum says: “You’re so much stronger than I am.”

Only the Tai Chi scene wasn’t cut from the film.

P89–91. Sophie and Calum are visiting a mud bath. They talk about Cleopatra being there and her alleged suicide. Sophie notices a wound on his shoulder. Calum apologizes for passing out on her bed the day before and Sophie forgives him. Finally, Calum takes some mud from the bath and smears it on Sophie’s face as a joke.

P91–92. Calum and Sophie are sitting on a raft. He is having a serious talk with her about growing up and making choices. He tells her she can talk to him about anything and wants her to promise that there will be no secrets between them. Sophie agrees.

P92 (scene 116). Later, the tour group is at the amphitheatre and Sophie steals everyone’s attention by whistling and then leading the group in singing “For he’s a jolly good fellow.” Calum stands at the top of the structure, his face obscured by the shade, while the crowd cheers and claps.

P93 (scene 117). In a hotel room, Calum is sitting naked on the bed, crying and struggling to regain his composure, his back hunched to the camera. Post-lap, the crowd is still singing. The camera pulls back slowly.

In the film, the transition between these last two scenes is a fade.

P93–94. Back at their hotel, Sophie plays with the Portuguese girls, Andréa and Marcia, whom Calum pointed out the first day. Later, at the Ocean Park Resort Gaming/Bar area, Sophie wins a pool tournament against Steve(40s), who deliberately pots one of Sophie’s last two balls in error. She wins “A romantic dinner for two” that her father and she will then enjoy.

These scenes are cut from the final montage. Instead, we see some of the additional interstitial shots described on P101. and some stationary shots from some places we have previously visited like the Ocean Park resort or the Amphitheatre.

P94–95 (scene 121). Calum and Sophie are enjoying their final dinner together, indulging in an ice cream that Calum has treated Sophie to. As they savour their dessert, a photographer approaches their table and takes a photo. Calum pays for the picture and as it’s revealed, Sophie expresses to her dad how much she is enjoying this holiday and wishes they could stay longer, a sentiment that holds great significance for Calum.

In the film, the characters are off-screen while the photo is being revealed.

P95–96. Calum and Sophie arrive at the hotel to find a lively party underway. Callum tries to convince Sophie to join him on the dance floor, but she’s hesitant and finds his moves embarrassing. As Callum gets lost in the crowd, she loses sight of him. The disco light flares the lens and we cut to:

P97–98. The film intercuts the rave with the dance at the Türk hotel, showing two vastly different versions of Calum (He looks pallid, moves frantically, sweats profusely / His face is lit up, playful, delighted, emphatically alive). While Adult Sophie tries to “save” her father at the rave, Calum and Sophie dance happily and euphorically, embraced during the dance. Eventually, Calum disappears from the rave and Sophie is left alone.

In the film, the song is ‘Under Pressure’ whose lyrics add a layer of meaning and deepen the emotions of the film: Can’t we give ourselves one more chance? / Why can’t we give love that one more chance?

P98–99. Sophie says goodbye to her father through the DV CAM, held by Calum, in the airport halls before boarding the plane. The image freezes as she says goodbye to him for the last time. We finally see that we are watching a TV in Adult Sophie’s apartment in New York and pan over to the couch where she is sitting. We continue to pan back to the airport where Calum holds the camera: he preserves the recording, puts the camera away, and leaves through the hallway. Through the door at the end of the hallway, he enters the rave that we have seen throughout the film.

P99–100 (scene 133). We pan again to Adult Sophie who remains on the couch and then leaves after hearing her baby crying.

This final pan is not in the film. Instead, we hear “an infant crying off screen” when the film has ended and we’re on black. However, both the screenplay and film version depict the same thing: Sophie finally moving on.

P100 (scene 134). Turkey: Calum and Sophie sit on the sand by the ocean and then jump up to run into the water together.

The final shot on the beach was actually captured and is included in the film. It takes place just before their last dinner and depicts a beautiful moment of Sophie admiring her father as he gazes out to sea. The part in which they run into the water is earlier in the film, just after the DV CAM montage after the scene in which Calum applies sun tan lotion to Sophie (P13.) Obviously, when you watch the movie, you don’t realize those two shots are in fact a singular shot.

I think I prefer this moment/scene where it finally is. Therefore, the ending connects with the overall theme of the movie: memory; and not the one depicted in the beach scene: fatherhood.

P101. Additional interstitial shots described:

Sophie’s mask sinks to the depths of the sea.

Calum’s cigarette rests on the edge of the roof on the floor below their room.

Sophie’s lost bag remains on the lush greenery near the hotel.

A stack of written postcards fell on the floor. One of them reads: “I love you very much. Never forget that.”

The sun dips behind the mountain at sunset.

Additional Videos

The writer-director talks about the writing and editing process.

“Adult Sophie was the overarching perspective in the film and beneath that, you have other perspectives: you have Sophie’s direct point of view, almost images that are the basis of memories; and then, you have Calum alone, which are imaginings to some degree where we kept him more arm’s length, we shot those [scenes] further away, he was usually abstracted or obstructed from view.”

She also explains how hard she fought to maintain the scene in P63–64. It’s an essential one considering Sophie’s maturity.

This is from one of my blogs, ScreenplayWise.

This kind of video helps me appreciate the pathing of the film and compare script-film.

A trailer for the movie:

Writing Exercise: I encourage you to read the script, but short of that, if you’ve seen the movie, go through this scene-by-scene breakdown. What stands out to you about it from a structural standpoint?

To download a PDF of the breakdown , go here.

Major kudos to Jacobo Palomo Martin for doing this scene-by-scene breakdown. Many thanks, Jacobo!

For 100+ movie scripts broken down scene by scene, go here.