Writing Dialogue

I’ve started writing my next screenplay. So I’d like to devote a post to some reflections I’ve had on dialogue. Playwrighting and screenwriting are two means of creative expression which present the majority of their plot and action through dialogue. At the level of the manuscript, at least, the writer lacks the psychological interiority writing a novel might provide – the only insight into character is through the words they speak. Moreover, the writer cannot rely on narration as a means of progressing the plot – plot in plays and movies is dialogue driven.

Therefore, writing good dialogue is essential to writing a memorable script. Yet doing so is easier said than done, because writing dialogue is the ultimate balancing act. The writer must oscillate between the poles of contradictory demands. On one hand, each character needs to sound unique, but on the other, every character’s dialogue must reflect the overarching style of the film. Characters must sound natural, but all the boring details of real life conversations must be truncated and stylized. I’d like to study some iconic examples, new and old, of impressive writing which meets the challenge posed by dialogue.

I have revisited Shakespeare, despite his archaic language, because his technique still presents valuable lessons. Looking at the opening lines from the three witches:

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;

This dialogue at once establishes the witches as twisted, perverse characters, present a compelling metaphor – the contamination of boiling water with adulterants. Moreover, the use of a tight meter develops a distinct rhythm to their speech while also establishing a pace for the overall story.

Paul Schrader’s Taxi Driver is often cited as one of the best uses of voice over, and a rare case of extreme interiority into the protagonist’s tortured mind. ItThe stark contrast between DeNiro’s repetitive speech patterns diary-like monologues and his staccato, incomprehensible attempts to strike conversations with other characters which develop an interpersonal chasm and sense of isolation which capture the mood of the film and create an iconoclastic and memorable character.

Recent independent film sensation Whiplash gained critical appeal for its passionate and compelling protagonist and his perpetual conflict with an unusual cruel and unforgiving mentor. Protagonist Andrew’s anti-social, obsessive banter about legendary success pits against the demeaning, volatile verbal assault from an unrelenting Professor Fletcher.