{"id":6982,"date":"2016-06-06T15:02:32","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T14:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/\/?p=6982"},"modified":"2016-06-06T15:02:32","modified_gmt":"2016-06-06T14:02:32","slug":"isolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/isolation\/","title":{"rendered":"Isolation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"P74StHP5\"

Mental health professionals agree: isolation is bad for your emotional well-being. But dramatic isolation is very good for your screenplays. Pick a movie, any movie \u2013 old or new, comedy or drama. Its structure is almost certainly comprised of a process of dramatic isolation.<\/p>\n

Dramatic isolation can be expressed in many forms. Physical isolation can be central to a movie\u2019s design, as in the recent Oscar contenders \u201cThe Revenant\u201d and \u201cThe Martian.\u201d Often more than one sort of isolation is at work in a movie, although the different forms are often interwoven in the service of theme.<\/p>\n

For example, when Sandra Bullock finds herself alone in \u201cGravity,\u201d her sudden physical isolation takes on special poignancy when we learn that she has also isolated herself emotionally when her daughter died some years previously. Thus her superhuman efforts to return to Earth reflect her drive to recommit to a fuller, healed Self.<\/p>\n

Similarly, James Franco\u2019s character in the true story \u201c127 Hours\u201d spends his time trapped alone in a crevice ruminating on the cost of the emotional and spiritual isolation in which he has lived his life. The poignant coda of \u201c127\u201d hours reveals how Franco\u2019s real-life counterpart, Aron Ralston, did choose to pursue a more emotionally-fulfilled life.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most fundamental use of isolation is simply to scare the hell out of audiences. \u201cThe Shining,\u201d \u201cAlien,\u201d \u201cThe Evil Dead,\u201d \u201cCabin In the Woods,\u201d \u201cParanormal Activity,\u201d \u201cThe Babadook,\u201d \u201cThe Witch,\u201d – and pretty much every slasher movie ever made – all rely on the isolation of their victims to create suspense, dread and, ultimately, terror.<\/p>\n

Isolation as a structural tool is not unique to movies.<\/p>\n

The works of William Shakespeare abound with its use. As Romeo and Juliet fall more deeply in love, we can only appreciate the life-and-death stakes as, one-by-one, they lose their relationships with their friends and families. MacBeth, Lear, Hamlet, Richard III \u2013 each of these legendary characters, in their own ways, finds themselves increasingly alone before meeting their fates.<\/p>\n

Even movies crowded with characters can create \u2013 are required to create \u2013 an atmosphere of emotional isolation to successfully convey their stories. The journalists of \u201cSpotlight\u201d have no intimate experience of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, but even so their relentless pursuit of the story threatens them with increasingly painful consequences that are expressed by isolation. Thus the relationship between Rachel McAdams\u2019 character and her grandmother comes under intense pressure. Michael Keaton\u2019s character risks the loss of lifelong friends in the Boston establishment.<\/p>\n

Many of cinema\u2019s greatest masterpieces don\u2019t merely hinge on this dynamic process of isolation \u2013 they are \u201cabout\u201d isolation. This subtext has a profound influence on how the story is told \u2013 on what scenes are about, even the structural purpose of secondary characters.<\/p>\n

Why is Kay in \u201cThe Godfather,\u201d if not to mark for us Michael Corleone\u2019s slide into spiritual isolation and emotional oblivion? Indeed, when the 3-film saga of \u201cThe Godfather\u201d is viewed as a single narrative, we can trace isolation as its most central theme.<\/p>\n

In Part One, Michael becomes the Don \u2013 literally shutting the door on his wife Kay, who represents a life away from the Corleones. In Part Two, Michael\u2019s determination to protect his family leads him \u2013 ironically \u2013 to destroy it. In Part Three, Michael\u2019s purpose is to repair his fractured relationship with Kay and their children once and for all \u2013 thus ending the isolation he chose in Part One. This simply-articulated goal of Michael\u2019s becomes the seed from which all subsequent creative decisions grow.<\/p>\n

This design is not limited to dramas. \u201cBridesmaids\u201d certainly made lavish use of its R-rating. But all the fun was rooted in a very simple, well-designed structure that saw Annie (Kristen Wiig) lose her job, her apartment, her good-guy boyfriend, and \u2013 most crucially for this story \u2013 her best friend.<\/p>\n

And the list goes on. Jailed for murder, Gustav H. loses his privileged life at \u201cThe Grand Budapest Hotel\u201d and must fight to regain it (and his innocence). The hapless actors of \u201cTropic Thunder\u201d find themselves in a very real jungle fighting a very real war. \u201cInside Out\u201d kicks into high gear when its hero, Riley, runs away from home \u2013 beginning a process that threatens her memories and her emotions.<\/p>\n

The uses of isolation as a dramatic strategy, as a construct, are limited only to the writer\u2019s imagination. But its purpose is always the same \u2013 to create (or aggravate) stress and therefore ratchet up tension \u2013 and hence increase engagement – for the writer\u2019s desired audience.<\/p>\n

MICHAEL COLLEARY is a screenwriter and producer. His produced credits include \u201cLara Croft: Tomb Raider\u201d and \u201cFace\/Off,\u201d which the New York Times named as among \u201cthe 1000 Best Movies Ever Made.\u201d He received his MFA in screenwriting from the prestigious UCLA film school, where he is now a frequent lecturer and instructor. In addition to teaching UCLA\u2019s famed \u201c434\u201d screenplay workshop, Michael also consults with aspiring writers for the acclaimed CineStory Foundation, and has mentored veterans via the Writers Guild Foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsolation\u201d appears here as a preview chapter of Michael\u2019s up-coming book, \u201cScreenplay DNA.\u201d You can find Michael at MichaelColleary.com, follow him on Twitter, Facebook and\/or opt-in to his Hollywood Insider newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Isolation is part of the DNA of great movies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,47,78],"tags":[1343,25,26,27,28,30,31,951,1344,32,1345,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,1346,773,41,42],"class_list":["post-6982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movies-character-development-screenwriting-screenplay-script-blog","category-random-thoughts-pop-culture-political-movie-television-blog","category-writing-tips-tricks-advice-help-script-screenplay-screenwriting-blog","tag-bridesmaids","tag-character","tag-characters","tag-emotional-toolbox","tag-etb","tag-film","tag-films","tag-guest-post","tag-inside-out","tag-laurie-hutzler","tag-michael-colleary","tag-movies","tag-nine-character-types","tag-screenplay","tag-screenplays","tag-screenwriting","tag-script","tag-scripts","tag-scriptwriting","tag-spotlight","tag-the-godfather","tag-tv","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-300x225.jpg",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-768x576.jpg",768,576,true],"large":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"ttshowcase_normal":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",125,94,false],"ttshowcase_small":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",75,56,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",960,720,false],"Image Size 500x500":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n.jpg",500,375,false],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-300x400.jpg",300,400,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-600x450.jpg",600,450,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/30710870_10211699141895539_4496568718662303744_n-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Laurie Hutzler","author_link":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/author\/admin\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Isolation is part of the DNA of great movies","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6982"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etbscreenwriting.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}