Analysis of some Oscar winning scripts and their similarity in quality

In this blog, I would be presenting some of my viewpoints on the story elements which are present in the movies which won Oscars for best original screenplays such as Manchester by the sea, Her, Eternal Sunshine and Spotless Mind, Almost famous, King's speech, Little Miss Sunshine and Juno

OPENING SCENE :

It is said that the main feature which a good movie or script would have is the opening scene of the movie which could get you the whole movie packed subtly into one scene. Let's look at the Academy award-winning scripts and their opening scenes.

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

The opening scene of this film starts with a shot of a vast sea and then moves to the boat where Uncle Lee and Patrick (kid) are having a very jovial conversation. As the ship was shown with its name "Clauda Marie" initially but the people who were having conversation were taken from a distance as long shot. As audience couldn't see their faces during conversation

In fact, the main conflict was also metaphorically stated through dialogues at the above opening scene.

Little Miss Sunshine

Above opening scene of Little Miss Sunshine is considered to be a brilliant work so far. As without any dialogue, the total story is told within this scene. The shot starts with Olive hoover's specs and a glare of the program on Tv which is not so clear at the start but then it becomes clear. But As it is a glare it is far from her eyes and that is a beauty pageant competition and the winner is shown in the competition. The story of the movie is totally about unfulfilled dreams.


Eternal Sunshine and Spotless Mind

Above scene of eternal sunshine and spotless mind looks very normal start of the day initially but when we have a visit after watching the total film. We could recognize that this scene has told the story in a very subtle way through this scene. As there is a shot of two hanging birds of different color sitting under the same shelter which determines the story of how two entirely different characters could live together only with the help of love. When Joel opens his eyes there is a sound of a vehicle passing away symbolizing his memory in the story.


Like in the above examples there are other exemplary movies also which gives away the story in a very first scene not in a forced way but in a very subtle way such as writing the titles with pencil and starting with showing rockstar photos in Almost famous

                                                      (Almost Famous)

Extreme close up of Theodore while reading and posting a love letter in the movie Her.

or the first unsuccessful speech of the king in King's speech

There is also a hidden relationship between the opening and the last scene of film in these films like
In KING'S SPEECH, the opening scene is an unsuccessful scene and the closing scene is the successful lengthy speech which is delivered by him. The two scenes also determine the character arc totally. Some films are directly communicating like in king's speech and some have a very metaphorical way to convey their closing scene. As writing these scenes may or may not be intentional by the scriptwriter or director but I think when people spend a significant amount of time with the story and script, they tend to come up with such opening as well as closing scene.

Theme of these movies and Characters contributing to the theme

From the learned and gathered knowledge about cinema, For instance, if we take the whole                "story" as the human body I consider Theme as the heart. A theme of the movie will ensure that the story is more effective and the characters would be supporting or against the theme which would make it more adorable. Theme hereby I consider the basic idea in which the whole story is built. Most stories are not written keeping a theme in mind and I consider that's the best way to do it because stories cannot be made mechanically or through formulas but when we edit the story for its second or third draft these things become useful to polish the story and raise standards. 

Some examples of Theme and Character relation in the movie

Little Miss Sunshine won the academy award for best screenplay 2006.

Screenplay by Michael Arndt

"Theme binds the story together" 

Little Miss Sunshine is the best example for that 

The basic idea or the theme of the movie Little Miss Sunshine is "Dreams and their Fulfillment/ Unfulfillment"

Characters in the movie

1. Olive Hoover

She is the central character driving the story forward towards a beauty contest where Olive is being selected called Little Miss Sunshine. She now has a dream to win the contest.
But she doesn't sacrifice any of her favorites such as ice cream or food and prepares herself with the help of her grandfather. She has a small tummy which looks cute but odd when she participates the competition at the end.

2. Dwayne Hoover

He is very much committed towards his dream to be a pilot. He understands every member of his family as a failure and doesn't want to be one among them and stays aloof but deep inside his heart, he loves them. He sacrifices speaking and does regular exercise for getting selected. But gets to know while the journey that he has a disability which is a hindrance to becoming a pilot and understands that he would not become a pilot in his lifetime.

3.Frank Ginsburg

Frank's character is shown to have already attempted suicide due to his failure in a love relationship and is discharged from hospital and taken to Hoover family by Sheryl Hoover. He is the character who had experienced deeply"dreams being unfulfilled" at the commencement of the film.

4. Edwin Hoover

Edwin Hoover is the grandfather of Olive  Hoover and also her coach for beauty pageant contest. He is an outspoken old man who experiences his family as dysfunctional one. But loves his grandchildren very much. He is also a motivation to Olive whenever she feels down. He doesn't have a dream for himself but with his experience of life advice Dwayne to enjoy life. He feels it more important to enjoy life than pursuing dream

5.Sheryl Hoover

She is a stressed woman who constantly tries to bring her family together but ends in a fight with Richard Hoover(her second husband) who is a motivational speaker and couldn't help the family financially. She wants unity and happiness in the family more than pursuing any dream and therefore tries to be a support system for everyone's dream

6. Richard Hoover

He is a motivational speaker who is totally for pursuing dreams and believes in some concepts strongly and tries to impose the same in his family. He believes strongly that if you enter a competition then it should be for solely winning and only accepts winners in his family which gives Olive's dream a compulsive nature to win. As by the end of the movie he  understands and takes failure in a positive way.

Hence every good story and its character has a direct relationship with the central theme of the movie. This binds the total story together.