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Day 15 Assignments
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Eric Humble’s Height of Emotion
What I learned doing this assignment is: that to make a line of dialogue truly impactful, the scene around it has to be built up to the emotional high that gives it that impact. I never fully considered viewing the dialogue in a scene in this way. These lines are not the best, but I’m sure once I write the script I’ll find stronger moments through which I can use this process to elevate the highest emotions.
Discovers Victor’s body
Essence of the deep meaning: Raf not only realizes his assumption that Victor is behind all this is wrong, but accepts that Victor was always the better man.
Height of the emotion: Raf rants, in denial… until the tragedy of it sinks in and he
looks at his old rival’s corpse with tears streaking his face.
Line:
-Even now, you’re trying to save me.
-I tip my hat to you, chef.
-You always were the better man. And I always knew it, even if I pretended not to.
-my compliments, chef.
-Alright, then, chef —how do I save the world?
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Confronts Natalia about her relationship with Victor, discovers Victor is her lover
Essence of the deep meaning: She’s lost her lover and soul mate and can’t keep it hidden any longer.
Height of the emotion: Raf cooks the dish using the ingredients from the list, assuming they’re the tainted ones. He locks himself, Natalia, and Leiber (whom he has taken hostage at gunpoint) in the pantry and interrogates her about what the list means – what is she up to with Victor?! She resists until he brings out the dish he’s cooked, expecting her to admit it’s poisoned. Instead, she breaks down. He demands to know where Victor is. She retorts: he’s gone! Raf demands to know where. She doesn’t know. Then how does she know he’s gone? She points to the dish.
Line: You just told me. The aroma. To you, it’s rich, earthy, with an edge of tang. To me, it’s Morse code for “forget me.” It’s a Proustian moment. I smell this, and I’m back in upstate New York, four years ago, at a farmer’s market, alone in this country. Until I look up – and there’s Victor. He looks in my bag and sees these exact ingredients. I tell him I have no recipe, no plan for them. He invents the dish for me. It’s a marriage vow. Never to be cooked again unless it’s goodbye. (She takes a bite.) This is what losing your soul tastes like.
Raf sees that the Russian President has killed the aide when the other aides are carrying out the body
Essence of the deep meaning: Raf feels shame that he allowed the man to be killed.
Height of the emotion: Raf sees the bodyguards escorting the aide out and notices the aide’s feet dragging and head hanging limp. He’s dead. Raf calls out for the bodyguards to let him go – rushes toward them… when another bodyguard comes up from behind and drops Raf to his knees. He watches as the other guards hustle the body toward the door.
Line:
-That’s my customer.
-I owe that man an aperitif.
-Take him home. He misses the srliki.
-All we did was talk!
Natalia stirs up the cookstaff to push back against Leiber’s rigid schedule
Essence of the deep meaning: Leiber is driving the kitchen to serve the next course in a wildly unreasonable timeframe in order to get the dessert (and antidote) served on time. Natalia stages an uprising despite Raf’s concern that they can’t push back against authority.
Height of the emotion: Natalia takes off her apron.
Line:
-We’re artists, not servants.
-The chef said no.
-I answer to the chef.
Raf sees that the cook he set up is a hero in his country when the Moldovan President stops into the kitchen to pay his respects.
Essence of the deep meaning: Raf realizes that greatness is in ordinary people, not necessarily “important” people.
Height of the emotion: Leiber is about to find the false evidence Raf has planted. Meanwhile, the President of Moldova is complimenting him.
Line:
-Heroes aren’t found at the apex. They’re at the foot of the mountain.
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Eric Humble Builds Meaning With Dialogue
What I learned doing this assignment is: That power can be built around an otherwise ordinary or bland line of dialogue by using it in different ways throughout the script, changing the meaning and ultimately building to the most meaningful use of the line. This was a fascinating assignment, reminiscent of a technique I learned from David Mamet’s “Three Uses of the Knife,” which I haven’t really explored in many years. As with the previous assignment, I don’t know that these are the strongest lines – but as I write the script, I can’t wait to employ both strategies to really build power around the best dialogue so that it has maximum impact.
Line 1: Compliments to the chef.
BEGINNING OF ARC: Raf tries one of Victor’s recipes, thinking it won’t be palatable. But he enjoys it—and says “Compliments to the chef.”
MIDDLE OF ARC: Raf uncovers the plot to poison someone during dinner. The plan is clever and all signs point to Victor as the culprit. Derisively: “Compliments to the chef.”
END OF ARC: Raf discovers Victor’s body, realizes he’s not only not the guilty party but has been a genuine hero. “My compliments, chef.”
Line 2: They’re VIPs. They’re untouchable.
BEGINNING OF ARC: Raf instructs Joseph not to stand up to the demands of the rich clientele. “They’re VIPs. VIPs are untouchable.”
MIDDLE OF ARC: Leiber demands the next course be served ahead of schedule—the talks have stalled. Raf knows it won’t be ready in time, but Natalia is pushing him to fight back. “They’re VIPs. They’re untouchable.”
END OF ARC: Raf petitions POTUS to give the refugees asylum before the NATO head of security arrests them. “They’re VIPs. They’re untouchable.”
Line 3: Use your voice.
BEGINNING OF ARC: Raf disparages his girlfriend as she’s organizing a protest outside a gun manufacturing plant. He changes the subject to the upcoming job–where he speaks passionately about world cuisine. She tells him: “You have a voice. It’d be nice to hear you use it once in awhile.”
MIDDLE OF ARC: Raf disparages Natalia for her political stance, wanting to change the world for the better. He doesn’t believe this can be done. Natalia tells him she understood why he did what he did to shove her out of a crucial job that advanced his career. She might have done the same if she were in his shoes. That’s not why she left him for Victor. She left him because “You cook, but not to express yourself. You make moves, but only to change your world, not the world. You have thoughts, but you keep them trapped in here (points to his head) and here (points to his heart). I can only be with someone who puts voice to his convictions.”
END OF ARC: The Russian President tries to order him out when Raf takes over negotiations, and Raf snaps at him: “Shut up. Since I’m the only one with anything worthwhile to say, the only voice that gets to speak right now is mine.”
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