In honor of the Oscars last night, I thought I would write a post about dialogue, specifically in movies. Now, my favorite movie of all time is Pulp Fiction. In my humble opinion, the dialogue in that movie is unbelievable. Something about the interaction between the characters (especially Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta) thoroughly entertains me. For instance, I love the irony of the trivial conversation Jules and Vincent are having about cheeseburgers and foot massages right as they are about to kill three men.....Genius. Anyways, I won't ruin any more of the movie for you guys. Just go watch it and comment back after.
But I digress, let's discuss the dialogue in some of the nominated films this year.
#1. The King's Speech -I am going to be honest, I did not see this one. I'm going to be honest again: I had no desire to see this British period piece about speech impediments. However, The King's Speech took home the award for best picture, and I may just change my mind. Any movie that can win an Oscar despite such boring subject matter must have some superb dialogue.
#2. The Social Network - I did see this one, and I loved it. The dialogue (and the acting) was stellar. I found myself constantly entertained and emotionally invested in the characters. Jesse Eisenberg was fantastic and his lines were extraodinarily clever and biting and witty. I also thought Justin Timberlake did a great job as Sean Parker. The dialogue of the Social Network really engaged me and I caught myself getting pissed off at the characters of Zuckerberg and Parker. That's how I know that the dialogue was successful.
#3. Inception - I have seen Inception twice and neither time did I pay particular attention to the dialogue. However, looking back, I can definitely pick out spots where the dialogue really contributed to the character development and enhanced my viewing experience. The dialogue from Leo DiCaprio's wife in the movie is especially compelling. While it only occurs in brief spurts, the language in her lines really reveals the nature of her troubled and delusional state. The Oscar judges must have felt similarly, seeing as they nominated Inception for Best Original Screenplay.
#4. Inside Job - The final nominated film that I saw was the documentary Inside Job. I watched it for extra credit in my macroeconomics class and ended up liking it a lot. Now because this is a documentary, you may not think there is a lot of dialogue, which is true. However, there are numerous unscripted interviews that require strategic finessing and careful editing to produce the required result. In this case, the goal was to make all the elite bankers and politicians sound guilty and Inside Job definitely succeeded.
Now that I've taken a closer look at a few of these movies, I think the power of dialogue is clear. The things a character says are the best way for a viewer/reader to understand the character and become invested in the story. The language in dialogue is especially powerful because, it comes straight from the character, with no opportunity for miscommunication. In that way dialogue becomes realer than even the most detailed descriptions.
I loved your commentary on different movies and how dialogue affects them! With so many different sensory and artistic elements playing a role in cinema, it is easy to forget what an important role the actual lines have. I especially enjoyed your comments on "The Social Network"-- totally agreed! And I'd be curious to hear your views on "The King's Speech" as well if and when you decide to see it. Do you have any opinions on how dialogue affects radio?-- Kate H
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that dialogue separates the good movies from the great movies. Especially from an Oscars standpoint, the movies with the best dialogue are much more successful than those with amazing effects and scenes but only decent dialogue. I don't know, however, if I would consider Inception a "great" movie on these grounds. None of the characters were very compelling, and I could never really figure out why anyone wanted to go along on the journey and risk their lives for the one character's ability to return home. The character development was pretty weak in that movie (I honestly couldn't name more than two or three of the characters when the movie ended), and I think part of that was due to the dialogue. I agree, however, that the Social Network and Inside Job had important things to say, and I liked those movies a lot. And while I liked Inception, it didn't have as big of an impact on me as these other two.
ReplyDeleteAnd I still need to see the King's Speech also.
Great post, Nick!