Story and Self-Identity

A scene from A Quiet Place asks a question posed in every story.

In a brief respite from the monster’s violence, Evelyn and Lee confront the pain of the past as it exists in the present… and their conversation lays the groundwork for the future.

Let’s face it: In a fundamental way, screenwriting is scene-writing, so the more we learn about this aspect of the craft, the better.

Today: The 2018 smash hit horror film A Quiet Place, screenplay by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck and John Krasinski, story by Bryan Woods & Scott Beck.

Setup: Evelyn has successfully given birth to a baby boy while Lee and the children have distracted the monster with fireworks. Finding themselves in a safe place, husband and wife have the first — and only — extended conversation in the entire movie.

Here is the scene in the movie:

Notice how time plays through the scene:

Beginning (Present): Evelyn learning that the plan for safely birthing the baby worked. She, Lee, and the baby are safe, but the other children are not.

Middle (Past): There is an interesting pivot when Evelyn turns from the Present (“It’s a boy”) to the Past, remembering another boy (Beau) who was lost to the monsters. The regret she feels weighs on her to this day.

End (Future): Then she makes another pivot posed by the question — “Who are we if we can’t protect them?” And she elicits a promise from Lee that he will protect the other children.

Evelyn’s line — “He was so heavy…” — evokes memories of another scene in which a female Protagonist recalls with regret their inability to save someone: Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs. In her case, a lamb she ran away with to keep from getting slaughtered.

Each scene is made that much more compelling as the creatures the women tried to save, how “heavy” the baby and lamb were, is a metaphor for the guilt Evelyn and Clarice feel, the weight of their failure in the Past pressing down on them in the Present.

Author Anne Beattie has said, “People forget years and remember moments.” I believe this. It is one of the chief reasons movies can be such a powerful form of storytelling. A great scene is almost invariably about a memorable moment. This scene from A Quiet Place as well as the one from The Silence of the Lambs put a spotlight on this point in that they create a memorable moment in the Present in which key characters reflect on a memorable moment from their Past…

And the question of self-identity.