Category Archives: Dialogue

#screenwriting, Character, Dexter, Dialogue, Dialogue, Structure, Theme, TV

Dissecting Dexter.

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For those of you who missed my series of posts on Dexter, here is an easy access list.

The posts dissect one episode to see how theme is represented.

It checks dialogue tricks and techniques.

We see that the Climax is the longest scene, built up to with a series of shorter scenes.

We learn how much screen time Dexter has.

We see how many scenes have 2 characters, 3 characters, how many are ensemble.

We discover a 3 act structure, and much, much more.

Here are the posts. I hope you learn as much from them as I have.

1. Episode Breakdown: Scene by Scene.

2. Structure and Scene Length.

3. Characters in Scenes.

4. Interesting Script Facts.

5. Dexter’s Screen Time.

6. Titles and Meanings.

7. Old Cliches Die Hard.

8.a) Dialogue: Angel Batista.

8.b) Dialogue: Joey Quinn.

8.c) Dialogue: Debra Morgan.

9. Dialogue Technique: Answering Questions with Questions.

10. The Climax

 

 

 

 

#screenwriting, Dialogue, Dialogue

DEXTER part 8a: Dialogue – Angel Batista

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Angel Batista is dreaming of retiring and opening a restaurant on the beach. Joey is feeling guilty about the dirty money he took from the Koshka Brotherhood.

NB it’s not pure altruism from Joey; earlier in the episode Batista ‘suggested’ he may be the one who stole the evidence against the Koshkas, which of course he was.

INT. MIAMI METRO POLICE – NIGHT

All is quiet in the office. Joey writes a check for $10,000 and hands it to Batista.

BATISTA

What’s this?

JOEY

It’s for your restaurant.

BATISTA

It’s ten grand.

JOEY

You know I got that inheritance a while back. I’ve been looking for the right place to invest.

BATISTA

I can’t take this. What are you crazy?

JOEY

Come on, are you too good for my fucking money?

BATISTA

No. This is way too generous.

JOEY

Bullshit. It’s family money. You’re family to me.

BATISTA

Quinn…

JOEY

Look, you’re stuck with it. I’m not taking it back. I do expect a few free meals, though.

BATISTA

This is a loan you asshole. I’m gonna pay you back.

So, let’s take the last line of Batista and see what we can glean. What does it tell us about Batista’s character?

First of all, considering the context, that earlier in the scene Batista put his professional relationship before his ‘friendship’ with Joey, Batista falls easily for Joey’s snake-like charm.

For $10,000, Batista is ready to accept Joey as ‘family’ – a man, who, a few scenes ago he was ready to lock away and ruin forever.

With Batista, money talks.

But is he greedy? Or simply so desperate for his restaurant, to retire from the stress of police life, that he is willing to ignore the evidence staring him in the face – that this money is dirty.

Does Batista really believe this 10 grand is from Joey’s inheritance? If he does, does it make him naive, or gullible? Or is he just blind to the truth, unable to see what is in front of him?

John Lennon said, “Living is Easy with Eyes Closed.”

I would say here Batista is living with his eyes closed. Where he showed discernment earlier when he confronted Joey over the missing evidence, here he is either lacking discernment or willing to turn a blind eye. If he is lacking discernment that makes him kind of wavering, easily tricked. Is Batista, this hard-nosed, authoritarian, super-ambitious cop so easily susceptible to Joey’s charm? Is he really that gullible? On a positive note, his refusal to take the money as a gift shows Batista is fiercely proud and independent.

So, for me this dialogue suggests Angel Batista is:

Gullible, independent, and proud.

Would you agree?

#screenwriting, Dialogue, Dialogue

DEXTER part 8b: Dialogue – Joey Quinn

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In JOEY QUINN the writers of Dexter have created a fascinating, multi-layered and deeply flawed character.

Remember, we’re analyzing Season 7 Episode 7.

Let’s take a look at Joey’s storyline.

Joey has fallen in love with Nadia, a sex-trafficked strip joint dancer under the power of Ukrainian mob the Koshka Brotherhood.

In order to earn Nadia’s freedom, Joey has put his career on the line, by doing a deal.

INT. GEORGE’S OFFICE – NIGHT

Joey enters.

JOEY

I did what you wanted. The evidence is gone. I want Nadia’s passport. She’s done with you and your whole fucking shitty organization… and so am I.

GEORGE

We’ve been working so well together. Why kill a good thing?

JOEY

Who do you think you’re fucking with? You think I’m some fucking asshole? One of your little fucking bad men? You know how badly I could fuck you up?

Calling the Koshka Brotherhood a ‘shitty organization’ isn’t very eloquent or smart. I get the feeling Joey doesn’t think  about what he’s going to say before he says it.  He’s not the type to go through his confrontations in front of the mirror beforehand. He’s rash, impulsive, all-guns-blazing. I would say his words here reveal him to be reckless.

‘You know how badly I could fuck you up?’ comes across as false bravado; he has no power to ‘fuck them up’ – if he did he wouldn’t have stolen evidence for them, risking his career and imprisonment. Therefore I would say that his macho talk here is masking a deep insecurity.

Yet, the fact he is prepared to put his neck on the line to save Nadia from her traffickers endears us to him. It’s a sign of his compassion.

To sum up then, I would say Joey’s dialogue reveals him to be reckless, insecure yet compassionate.

What do you think?

#screenwriting, Dialogue, Dialogue

DEXTER part 8c: Dialogue – Debra Morgan

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I’m going to choose one line of dialogue from each character which, for me, defines the person.

Debra first.

For me, a character-defining line of dialogue comes when she’s meeting Sal Price, the True Crime writer investigating Hannah McKay, at a restaurant. Although their relationship is professional, and they’re working  a case, this is a date, so Sal throws a perfectly normal ‘date’ question at Deb, who responds with a perfectly abnormal answer.

SAL
What kind of music do you like?

DEB
A jail house door slamming shut, that’s my idea of music.

Brilliant!

What does this tell us about Deb?

That she’s obsessed with her work – she is ALWAYS thinking about catching bad guys and locking them up! And because she’s obsessed with her job we might also say that she’s fiercely ambitious. What else does this line of dialogue say about her? It’s a cool answer, right? It’s a unique, acerbic sense of humor, but still funny.

So, we could say this line of dialogue defines three of Deb’s character traits: she’s work-obsessed, ambitious, and funny.

Do you agree ?

What about your characters? What one-liners define their personality?

Can you think of any more character-defining dialogue from other movie /TV  characters?

#screenwriting, Dialogue

DEXTER part 7: Old Cliches Die Hard.

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Let’s face it, no professional writer should be using cliches, unless it’s for good reason, like a character trait or dialogue tic, especially when you’re writing for a Showtime hit like DEXTER.

So why, 2 minutes into the episode is true crime writer and Deb’s new love interest Sal Price saying the age-old maxim:

‘Old habits die hard’ ?

Because it’s brilliant foreshadowing, in 2 ways –

a)  the habit he’s referring to is going to be the poisonous chalice he sips from later

and

b) he literally does ‘die hard’

Without spoiling too much, watch the episode and see this ingenious set-up.

Season 7 Episode 7. Scene breakdown available here.