Script Analysis: “Living” — 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.

Today: Living (2022). You may download the script here.

Written by Kazuo Ishiguro, based on the film “Ikiru” written by Akira Kurosawa & Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni

Plot summary: In 1950s London, a humorless bureaucrat decides to take time off work to experience life after receiving a grim diagnosis.

Living
 Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
 by Andrew Lightfoot
 GoIntoTheStory.com

P 1–3. This story starts off in the countryside of 1950’s England at a train station. A man, PETER WAKELING, is just starting a new job. He searches the bustling platform for and soon finds his to-be co-workers MIDDLETON, HART, and RUSBRIDGER.

P 3–5. All are seated on the train. Rusbridger sees that Peter is nervous. He calms him by telling him that the first days always are a bit nerve-racking. Middleton chips in and tells Peter that they are all pals and the only one he needs to impress is Williams, the boss. Peter confesses he didn’t see much of Williams during his interview. The guys tell him he will see him again very soon. Sure enough, at the next stop, Williams on the platform at the right place and time. They greet one another through the train window, but Williams doesn’t ride with them, never does.

P 5- 6. They exit the train at Waterloo station. Peter moves to follow the crowd but is held up by his co-workers who tell him to wait. They wait for Williams who soon shows up and greets them before leading the way through the crowd.

P 6–7. They enter their workplace, which is a massive grand building on the bank of the Thames River. A few other departments like fire and police use this same building as their headquarters, too. Peter follows Williams through the crowded building, up flights of stairs, and into his own department called “The Public Works Department”.

P 7–11. Peter arrives at his department. He moves through a large room full of rows of tables and workers. He meets SINGH, a clerk, before moving into an adjoining office. Here he sees a large table and a skyscraper of paperwork with his name sign on it. He meets his other two co-workers HART and MARGARET. Margaret teases him about the skyscrapers of paperwork saying that if his it too tall or he works so fast he doesn’t have one that people will suspect he has nothing important to do.

The banter is broken up by Williams, who is seated at the head of the table. He questions Rusbridger about a document that keeps coming back to them without the proper attachment. Rusbridger acknowledges this but claims that MR. WRIGHT keeps sending it regardless. Williams decides to keep it in his stack of paperwork.

At this moment Singh comes in announcing that the ladies from Chester Street have shown up. Everyone at the table groans. Williams tells Singh to show them in and tells Middleton that it’s his turn to deal with them. He also sends Peter to help.

P 11–13. Peter, Singh and Middleton meet the three women MRS SMITH, MRS McMasters, and MRS PORTER., who complain to Middleton about the amount of time they have spent in the building and nothing being done about their petition. They present a folder to Middleton who takes it and walks back into the office to speak with Williams. Soon he returns and instructs the women that they need to go to Parks and Recreation and volunteers Peter to walk them there. Peter agrees to escort them to their destination, but he doesn’t know the way, so the women lead him.

P 13–15. Middleton returns to the table. Williams brings up Margaret getting a new job at a corner house. Margaret explains that it’s not certain yet, but the interview went well. The guys tease her about wearing an apron. She informs them the position is for assistant manager. Middleton tells Williams that sending Peter with the women was a good idea and that it’s good training. Williams doesn’t hear him at first due to staring at his watch.

P 15–16. Peter walks with the women and finds out that they want to put a playground in a vacant spot. Unfortunately, no one wants to touch it ever since a German bomb fell there.

P 16. Peter enters the Parks and Recreation office, but soon emerges from it looking dejected. An official walks out and indicates to Peter where he should take the form. A series of shots follow Peter trying to get someone to accept the form, but they all ignore him or send him off to someone else.

P 16–17. Peter and the women are inside the office of the planning department. The man there, TALBOT, tells them they need to go see the cleansing department first so they can drain the water that has filled the area they plan on building the playground on.

P 17. Another series of shots of Peter getting rejected again and the women lecturing him.

P 17–18. HARVEY, a cleansing department official, stands in front of the women with their folder in hand. He embarrasses Peter by telling the women that the public works department would assist them as it wasn’t a cleansing department matter. After finding out that Peter is from public works, he asks him why he brought the good ladies here.

P 18–19. Peter returns to the public works department with the petition still in hand and, guided by Margaret, walks over to Williams. Williams doesn’t notice him at first and announces he will be leaving early, to everyone’s surprise. Williams eventually sees Peter beside him and is informed that Harvey says the petition from the women is a public works matter. Williams takes the folder and crams it into the middle of one of his two towers insisting that Harvey is wrong, but there’s no harm keeping it there.

P 20. Williams heads for the exit of the building. On the way he is greeted by JONES and a few others. They gossip with him, but Williams seems distant. He soon finds himself at the front entrance to the building. He approaches the doors but pauses to look at himself in a mirror. After a few moments he adjusts his tie and heads off.

P 20–21. Williams is seated in the waiting room at a doctor’s office. Another patient speaks with the receptionist about an upcoming vacation. Williams gets called in. Inside the consulting room the doctor gives him grim news, his results came back conclusive this time.

P 21. Williams is back at Waterloo station. While waiting he examines a seaside poster advert. Something inside him stirs for a moment.

P 21–22. We meet Williams’ son MICHAEL and his wife FIONA. They are returning from a night out slightly intoxicated. They giggle and laugh as they walk but quiet down as they pass their neighbor, Miss Fry, out walking her dog. Once they get to the family home that they share with Williams, Fiona tells Michael that he needs to talk to his father about something, to get the ball rolling on it.

P 23–24. They enter the house. Michael calls out to see if his father is home but gets no response, so they think he’s out at the cinema. We soon find out what Fiona is talking about. Michael’s late mother left them some money, but it’s being held by his father and Fiona would like to get a place of their own before Christmas. Fiona moves to the living room and flicks the light on revealing Williams sitting in a chair. Michael hears Fiona’s shouts and rushes in. Williams explains that he was just sitting there thinking things over until they walked in. He offers them some cocoa, but Fiona says they both need to get to bed.

P 24–25. Flashback of the funeral for Williams’ wife. Michael, now five years old, rides in the back seat of a car with Williams. He does not know what is going on and when the hearse ahead of them turns a corner he shouts in excitement that mum is leaving them behind. Williams grabs and hugs his son.

P 25. Flashback of Williams attending a cricket match that Michael is playing in. Michael scores a hit, and it takes a lot of effort for Williams not to jump up and cheer wildly.

P 25. Flashback of Williams and a colleague talking in a bar. His colleague tells him that he needs to get a wife and that Michael will come around to it as youngsters get used to anything.

P 26–27. Flashback of Williams up a ladder collecting apples from a tree. A bus drops off his son who is dressed in a military uniform. He calls out to his father. This snaps Williams out of his daydreaming slightly. He rises from the armchair and calls out to his son as if he was just returning from the war. His son calls down from upstairs asking if he could lock up. Now completely alert of where he is he eventually responds by saying he’ll lock up and wishes them a good night.

P 27. Williams sneaks up the steps after hearing Fiona and Michael talking. He hears of their desire to have their own house and own life. He returns to the living room, clicks off the light, and sits back down in the chair. Tears roll down his cheeks.

P 27–29. Back in the office, everyone is there working as usual. Everybody except Williams who is two hours late. This concerns his co-workers who wonder if they should notify the police as this is very unusual for Williams. Middleton disagrees, saying Williams is hardly an infant and is only a couple of hours late. Margaret tells the group that her new potential employer requested her reference and she’d hoped that Williams would do it. Middleton offers to take Williams’ place as a reference but is declined.

P 29–35. Inside a café, a playwright, SUTHERLAND, converses with the owner about his grand plans for the small town they live in and his poor sleep schedule, too. Listening in on this conversation is Williams. He invites Sutherland to his booth to talk. Williams gives Sutherland the pills given to him by his doctor and tells him that he was given six to nine months left to live. He also informs Sutherland thet he has taken out half of his life savings which is stuffed into a briefcase he has with him. He came down here to live a little but doesn’t know how to do it. Sutherland agrees to be his guide, but only if Williams keeps every penny he has, this night is on Sutherland.

P 35–37. It’s nighttime and Sutherland has led Williams to a seafront amusement park arcade. Sutherland finds Williams absorbed with one arcade game. After failing at that game, he guides Williams over to a crane game. Inside the glass box of prizes lies a fluffy toy rabbit that is bigger than any other prize in there. He urges Williams to go for the rabbit as no one can get it. Williams tries but is so slow he can’t even get the jaws of the crane around the rabbit before the time runs out. He’s disappointed, but Sutherland claps him on the back and leads him away.

P 37–39. Williams and Sutherland are in a pub having a quick drink. They leave and follow a crowd. Williams gets his hat stolen off of his head. He moves to go after the woman that took it, but Sutherland stops him by telling him it would be cheaper to just buy a new one.

P 39–42. Now they find themselves at a bar and far more intoxicated. Williams is wearing a fedora that he bought from another patron at the bar. Sutherland tells a disapproving bartender about why it’s a good thing that Williams, with a terminal illness, is getting drunk. The pianist playing in the bar finishes his song and asks the crowd for another. Williams announces that he has a song, an old Scottish tune “The Rowan Tree”. The pianist starts playing it and Williams, at first quietly, starts to sing louder and louder until he catches himself, trails off, and stops. Embarrassed, he offers apologies to the people at the bar for ruining their night before being escorted away by Sutherland.

P 42. They move for the rear exit of the bar, which is a flight of stairs leading to an exit door. At the top of these stairs Williams throws a fist up in the air triumphantly and nearly falls down the steps in the process. Luckily Sutherland steadies him and tells him of another place they need to go, a place “strictly VIP.

P 43–44. Sutherland brings Williams to a large tent with loud music, singing, and female dancers. One of these hostesses is up on a makeshift stage giving a striptease. They are seated in the midst of the audience, both extremely drunk, and both having women hooked onto their arms. Williams, encouraged by his hostess, starts to sing along with a song until he suddenly starts feeling sick. He breaks away from the hostess and runs outside. Sutherland follows.

P 44–45. Sutherland rushes outside and finds Williams returning from a dark field and dabbing his mouth with a handkerchief. Both men don’t say anything, they just look at one another. Williams is embarrassed that he threw up and Sutherland now realizes the extent of William’s illness. They return to the tent without a word. Back inside the tent, they return to their original seats. The hostesses are still there and immediately interlock their arms with the guys as soon as they sit down. Nothing is said. Williams stares off into space as Sutherland stares at him.

P 45–48. Williams, again not at work, is busy window-shopping when he hears someone calling out to him, it’s Margaret. They talk a bit about Williams’ new hat and what the reactions at the office would be when he shows up to work again. Margaret informs him of her new job and tells him she needs a reference to get the job and everyone at the office thinks he should be the one to do it. Williams agrees but proposes that she join him for lunch so he can fill out the reference form.

P 48–52. Margaret and Williams are having lunch. Williams is filling out the reference form for her. She remarks how different Williams is and that she didn’t know he could be so alive. She goes on to mention that she has nicknames for everyone at the office. She lists them off leaving Williams’ last, which is “Mr. Zombie”. At first, she is worried that Williams wouldn’t like it, but soon enough he starts laughing and reflects on his old ways saying it was very appropriate. Ms. FRY, a woman who knows Williams and his family, spots him with Margaret.

P 52–53. Williams and Margaret are walking down the street. She thanks him for the reference and wishes that he could see where she will be working, but they need to be at work soon. Williams convinces her to take the afternoon off saying it’s a beautiful day and what difference would their absences make. They do so, going to the art gallery and the park. They see an advert for a film, too.

P 53–54. At the office, Hart notices Peter looking gloomily at Margaret’s empty seat. Hart tells him one can easily find her future place of employment and suggests that, as acting head, Middleton could look it up. Peter is annoyed and tells Hart he’s got the wrong idea and wishes Williams to return to bring order back to the office.

P 54–56. Williams and Margaret arrive at Waterloo station. Williams wants to catch an earlier train, so he doesn’t have to share one with his colleagues when they leave the office. Margaret is concerned about how wicked they may have been by skipping work and how expensive it might be for Williams. He waves away her concerns saying he had a great afternoon and hopes that Margaret doesn’t look back too harshly on her time with the department.

P 56. Outside the Williams’ household Ms. Fry speaks fervently to Fiona who soon becomes bewildered at what she is being told.

P 56–60. Michael stands in the dining room having already been told by Fiona has learned. He tries to pass it off saying that Ms. Fry is a prize mischief maker. Fiona busies herself with supper, ignores Michael’s comments, and later insists that he speak with his father.

Williams is up in his bedroom practicing a speech in front of a mirror.

Back down in the dining room Michael has now believed the story about Williams with a younger woman. Fiona claims this is proof of skipping work and taking money out of the bank. Now Michael is intent on speaking with his father.

P 60–61. Williams moves downstairs to the dining room and takes a seat at the table. Fiona brings in supper and flashes a glare at Michael, who has lifted a newspaper to block his view of his father. Fiona gets him to do away with the paper and looks at him as if to say, “start talking”. Williams notices the tension in the room and mistakenly assumes that they are in a fight, so his plan of sharing what was on his mind goes out the window. He instead starts playing peacemaker. Fiona’s frustration boils over, and she shouts that there was a time when what one did in London, stayed in London, but now half of their street works in London. Williams agrees with her, trying to make peace. They continue supper without another word.

P 61. Williams’ seat in the office is still vacant. The calendar on the wall behind his desk moves from July to August. Margaret’s sign has been replaced by one that reads “Mrs. Johnstone”.

P 61–62. Peter is walking the halls of the north block of the building when he runs into the three women from before. He is shocked to find out that there still hasn’t been nothing done with their petition. The women are fed up and want to get someone who can take charge, so they bid Peter a pleasant afternoon and walk off.

P 62–63. Williams is seated at a bench in a park enjoying the scenery. Suddenly, he is hit with a round of severe pain. He tries to relax again and find something to distract him but can’t find anything. He gets up from the bench and walks away.

P 63–65. Margaret is at her new job at Lyons Corner House working as a waitress. It’s late in the afternoon and she is extremely busy with customers. Williams shows up and gets seated by the head waiter while Williams chats with him pointing at Margaret. The head waiter walks up to Margaret and tells her to make it snappy.

Margaret walks over to Williams and immediately tells him that she is disappointed that he is skipping work again. He fires back with saying it’s been three weeks and she is still only a waitress. He offers to go speak with her boss; she declines. Williams asks when her shift ends as he would like some company to go to the theatres to watch ‘I Was A Male War Bride’, he offers to take her. She refuses at first saying she doesn’t want to encourage him to skip work anymore but agrees when she hears the film stars her favorite actor.

P 66. Williams and Margaret are in the theatre in the midst of the film. Margaret is enjoying it along with the rest of the audience. Williams laughs at first, but soon is deep in thought and off in another world. Margaret notices this.

P 66–68. The pair are now at the amusement park arcade that Sutherland has shown Williams. Margaret walks up to Williams and tells him she has to leave because it’s getting late. Williams, still trying to win the crane game, agrees but asks her to give the crane game a shot first. Williams explains how the game works and tells her to go for the rabbit as everyone wants it. She tries and manages to get the rabbit.

P 68–69. Williams is now walking Margaret home. She is going at a good pace to get home quickly. Suddenly, pain seizes his abdomen again. He eventually stops but Margaret doesn’t know until he speaks. He asks her if he can use just a little bit more of her time and go for one drink as he is not ready to go home yet. She agrees.

P 69–74. They are seated at a large table in a pub. A group of younger folks are there enjoying their night. From their seat it’s quiet, neither speak. Margaret winds up the toy rabbit and sets it off hopping across the table, catches it, and does it again but this time it stops halfway. This is when Margaret questions what people will think of them together. They may think that he is infatuated with her. For the first time Williams let’s his true thoughts free. He has a hard time at first but tells her all about his cancer diagnosis and that he only has seven months of life left.

He explains that he had been trying to live a little the last few weeks but didn’t know how. When he seen her, he believed that she could show him how to live as she looked so lively herself. Margaret tells him that she is just a normal person with her fair share of worries and resentments. She then asks him why he hasn’t told his son. He responds by saying that he thinks the world of him and that he has his own life to lead now, his own concerns, and that’s as it should be.

He goes on to tell Margaret a bit about his past, saying that as a child, all he wanted to become was a gentleman. He seen them all the time at the train station with their suits, hats, and briefcases, and one day wanted to be one. He also tells her that he wasn’t always “Mr. Zombie” that when his wife was alive and his son little, he was a different person. “…when my Maker calls me, I wish at least for him to find me… living.”. He admits to Margaret that he has tried his best to get that guy back and when he tells her he even went to the seaside something clicks. He asks Margaret to forgive him for taking up so much of her time and insists they get her to her bus and back home. They both walk out of the bar, Williams holding the rabbit.

P 75–77. Williams finally returns to the office, much to the surprise of everyone there. He asks about the women’s petition that has still been pushed back. Rusbridger finds it in his stack. Williams instructs him to wrap it up well because it’s a wet day outside. He introduces himself to the new hire Mrs. Johnstones, asks her to hold down the fort, and tells the rest of them to follow him.

P 77. The group is at the front doors to the building. All are dressed in coats and hats and have umbrellas at the ready. Williams informs the others of the roads they are going to take to get to their destination as they walk outside in the pouring rain.

P 77–78. Williams has now passed away. His family, friends, and everyone from his office are holding a funeral for him in a church. Margaret and Peter, a few pews apart, make eye contact and smile at one another. Soon after, she makes eye contact again and nods towards the entrance. Peter looks to see Sir James walking in accompanied by two officials. Quite a few people stare daggers at him.

P 78–80. Middleton, Pete, and Hart are huddled together in a conversation. Sir James walks up to them and gives his condolences. He asks Middleton to come to his office Monday morning as the three women are stirring up a storm of complaints. He asks the others if he can count on them in the case of him needing protection. Peter spots Margaret who has just been speaking with the women and walks off after her.

P 80–82. Peter catches up with her. They greet one another then smile. There’s clearly a spark between these two. Peter mentions that he seen her talking with the ladies. She says they were very distraught as they were fond of Williams. Peter claims they have a point to be, Williams didn’t even get a mention at a grand opening. He goes to ask her a question, but they are interrupted by Michael. He hands Peter an envelope from Williams which is marked private and confidential. Michael then asks to speak with Margaret privately. She agrees to.

P 82–84. They move to an empty room. Margaret gives her condolences and tells Michael that she wanted to introduce herself earlier, but Michael looked too busy. He asks her a serious question. He wants to know if his father ever told her that he was ill. Margaret doesn’t know what to say but doesn’t have to say anything, Michael understands from her look alone. He tears up and says that if his father had told him then, that he wouldn’t have left him like he did. In all that cold.

P 84–85. The morning commutes. Peter is sitting in a compartment with his co-workers. He takes out the envelope he was given by Michael and reads the letter inside it. It’s from Williams, he wants to bring Peter’s attention to the issues about the maintenance schedule for the new playground at Chester Street. He also tells him that a proper timetable for maintenance has been filed complete with the proper documents. Rusbridger notices the letter and asks Peter about it. Peter says it was nothing and he’ll read it another time as he places it back in his pocket.

P 85. The train enters the station that William’s always greeted them at. The guys reflect of how they never were able to figure out how he got the right spot all the time and how pleasant it was to be greeted by him every morning.

P 85–87. The train leaves the station. Peter returns to reading the letter from Wiliams who explains the need to take proper care of the playground equipment. The other guys talk about who deserved and didn’t deserve the credit for the playground. Peter tells them that it seemed like Williams changed a lot in the end. The guys all agree and believe it was the playground that did it.

P 87–88. A flashback to when Williams led the guys on a walk. They have reached their destination and are taking shelter from the rain underneath a bridge. The ladies accompany them as well. All watch Williams as he gazes over a large bomb site from the war. Stagnant water floods the whole area. Suddenly, Williams walks out into the open area, water becoming very deep. One of the ladies goes with him and holds an umbrella over him.

P 88–89. Hart tells the others how serious Williams became about the playground. A flashback of him accompanying Williams to the planning department. Talbot emerges from a room holding a folder for the playground. He tells Williams to leave it with them and he’ll send to back over when it’s done, but Williams isn’t having any of it. He tells Talbot that he will sit and wait for them to be done and tells Hart to return to their office. Talbot, realizing that Williams is serious, walks off fuming.

P 89–91. Flashback of Peter and Williams carrying boxes of files into the office of the parks department. Williams asks the clerks there if they can give the playground priority and deal with it first. They agree.

Back on the train, Peter tells the guys how Williams then went to everyone there, shook their hands, and thanked them. Hart tells them that a year ago Williams would’ve never done something like that. Middleton claims to have witnessed something even more remarkable.

P 91–94. Flashback of Middleton and Williams inside Sir James’ office trying to get this playground finalized. Unfortunately, James doesn’t go along with it as there are more important matters to deal with. They move to leave. Middleton reaches the door when he realizes that Williams has turned around and went back to James. He begs James to reconsider or at least leave the application open for one more week.

On the train the guys all agree that even though they all helped, Williams was the one that really pushed it through. They all wonder if Williams was aware of how much time he had left. Hart believes that he did know.

P 94–95. In a flashback Williams, Hart, and the ladies walk out of an office looking dejected. Williams stops them all for a moment to have a word. He assures them that there is a way to get that playground in and not to be discouraged. Mrs. Smith asks how Williams kept his cool back in the office. Williams tells her that he doesn’t have the time to get angry.

After hearing this they all agree that Williams must have known and question if they themselves would be as committed as he was if they were in his shoes. Peter doesn’t think that many people, including themselves, would go to the lengths that Williams has. Rusbridger says that if Williams knew and was in pain that he did an awfully good job of keeping it to himself.

P 95–97. A flashback of construction finally being started on the playground. Peter and Williams are there amongst the construction crew. Williams is holding and consulting a large sheet when suddenly he drops it and begins to wobble. Peter helps him to the edge of the site where local women give him a mug of water. He accepts it and sits down in a neighboring yard to watch the work be done on the playground.

Back on the train. Peter is telling the other guys this incident. Middleton tells them all that Williams has certainly set an example for them before they all look out the window deep in their own thoughts. Peter attempts to read more of William’s letter but is interrupted by Middleton who proposes they all take a pledge to never again shy away from their responsibilities. Middleton also says that for as long as he remains in charge of the department that they will get things done to stay true to Williams’ memory.

P 97–98. A series of shots showing Peter and Margaret spending more time together. They go to the movies then the arcade where Margaret has won another rabbit. The last shot is of both seated at a park bench eating fish and chips. Margaret now has two rabbits next to her.

P 98–99. It’s now June. Middleton has taken Williams’ place in the office. Singh comes in with a file and says the education department insists it’s for them. Middleton ends up shoving into the middle of his stack of files saying they can keep it here for now. This irritates Peter who slams his pen down and shouts. Everyone stares at him, and he wants to say something more, but just ends up looking down at his work. All others return to their own work as well. Peter retrieves the letter from Williams and continues reading.

P 99–101. Peter is at a phone box. He calls Margaret to ask if it wouldn’t bother her if he was a bit late and that he was going “over there”. He feels she disapproves of him going. Margaret explains she is just a little upset about remembering what happened there but tells him to not be long. We hear voiceovers of Williams reading his letter aloud. He is concerned that Peter is vulnerable to a certain disillusionment.

P 101–105. Peter walks down streets passing homes and children playing outside. He walks until he reaches a short rail fence. He looks over it and what was a flooding bomb site has now been transformed into a large playground complete with all the equipment a child can ask for.

All the while the voiceover of Williams keeps going. Williams tells Peter that for now the playground will be enjoyed by the local children, but there will be a time it will fall into disrepair and be forgotten or be replaced with something better and that’s just the way of life. He goes on to counsel Peter, telling him that if he ever loses his way or if he starts becoming another Mr. Zombie to remember the playground and the satisfaction it gave when it was completed.

An officer walks up to Peter, curious. Peter tells him where he worked and that he had a hand in making the playground a thing. The officer tells him the community has a lot to thank him for. Peter claims it was mostly Williams and asks the officer if he had met him as Williams was often at the playground before he passed. The officer says he never met him and the closest he came to meeting him was when he heard someone singing in the playground one night.

P 105–106. A quick flashback of a cold winter’s night. Williams is at the playground on one of the swings singing away. The officer walks up to the railing of the playground but doesn’t say anything. In a voiceover he explains to Peter that he recognized him and knew Williams wasn’t up to no good.

P 106–108. Back with Peter and the officer. The officer is clearly distraught over the events of that night. He tells Peter it was negligent of him and that he should’ve tried to get Williams out of the snow and cold. Peter explains that Williams had a terminal illness and the best place for him to pass was right there in the playground. They say their farewells and Peter walks off. The officer stays and watches as children come out from their homes and rush over to the playground.

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.

Kudos to Andrew Lightfoot for the scene-by-scene breakdown.

To see dozens more screenplay scene-by-scene breakdowns, go here.