Day 5 – Resolution Scene

[Vincent Ovalle]

In the middle of the desert the mc (Morgan’s character), the defective (Brad’s character), and the prisoner (Keven’s character) are about to playout the climax . The mc walked closer to a mysterious box and opened and saw lots of blood.He ran in panic to the detective to warn don’t come near the box, and interrupted a stand- off at gunpoint between the detective and prisoner. The prisoner confessed that he entered his house and tried to perform a enactment that failed and ended in the taking of his wife’s head. With the warnings of the box and the confession the detective became distraught and repeated chants of denial He ignored his surroundings in deep thought.Still at gun point the prisoner murmured to himself as he observed the mc and the detective and in his final taunts revealed he killed the wife and a baby. This put the detective over the top ,and he killed and then emptied the gun on his head. To end in what some might call a satisfying ending.

The conclusion ended in irony with what the prisoner did to his family the detective ended the film with .In what some might say is a satisfying ending. The final line of dialogue is what triggered the detective over the top. Although it was pay- back it also showed the new status quo with the detective must now enter the court system and stand trial. The verdict will define what label he will have.

When writing screenplay you can insert irony, biblical references to make it a good read.

[Anis Taylor]

I chose Se7en because of the climatic ending.

It starts with the detective opening the box, which is always a good insert because boxes are full of surprises. Morgan Freeman opens the box and is aware of something that his partner is not aware of. The point of the box was to trigger Brad Pitt. The dialogue in the resolution is very straight and direct and covers all the main points that brings the movie to a resolution.

Whether the audience likes the resolution of not is a different story. But the resolution is straight and direct. The prisoner murdered the detectives wife which is the completion of his goal of accomplishing the seven deadly scene.

When I think of the resolution to my script, I think of completion in a way that provides a climatic plot twist, or full resolution that the audience could see coming.

I prefer to write in a way that the audience does not see coming, and watching se7en is a great example of a resolution to the story. I think the Unusual Suspect is also a good example of a good resolution/ending as well.

[Courtney Hill]

I choose Se7en. I’ve never seen this movie, and I’ll have to change that!

This scene consists of actions and mind games. The prisoner taunts the cop, at the same time, Morgan Freeman’s character has an urgency to get to the scene. He lets the audience know the prisoner has the upper hand. Brad Pitt’s character has internal conflict of avenging his wife or following the rules of his job. The scene is satisfying if you want the prisoner dead. It’s conflictual because that’s what the prisoner wanted. I believe that is the intention of this scene; for the “right” ending to be ambiguous.

[Renee Miller]

The resolution scene in Se7en is brilliant. There are so many max interest techniques included in it. You have a clear scene arc that is riveting. I think the best part of this scene is Kevin Spacey’s character dialog. He clearly tells you what he’s done without really telling Pitt’s character that he killed his wife. I loved the line ‘I envy your simple life detective’ or something along those lines. This is one of the few movies that I have seen where the antagonist ultimately wins. Not only was he able to complete his quest to complete the seven deadly sins through elaborate murders, but he was also able to get a man who swore to protect and serve his community to kill him in cold blood.

In this movie, evil won.

[Anna Burroughs-Merrill]

I chose “Se7en” because I never liked the final scene in “American Beauty.”

Basic Scene Components:

• The serial killer agrees to take the detectives to the bodies of his other victims. He takes them to remote high-tension power lines, to a box.
• Somerset opens the box, and then recoils in horror. He tells the police helicopter to pull back, no matter what happens.
• Meanwhile the serial killer tells Mills that he admired his life, tried to “play husband” to his wife, but it didn’t work out, so he took her pretty head.
• Mills recoils in disbelief, horror and grief.
• Somerset runs towards Mills, shouting….
• The serial killer rubs salt in the wound by revealing his wife was pregnant, so he took two lives.
• Somerset places himself between Mills and the serial killer, says if he kills him, the serial killer will win.
• The serial killer continues to rub salt in the wound until Mills shoots him in the head, thereby completing the serial killers Seven Deadly Sins theme of “wrath.”

Scene Arc: We move from thinking the police have solved the case, to the police becoming the case.

Situation: will Mills kill the serial killer, thereby completing his seventh deadly sin of “wrath?”

Conflict: the police want to solve the crime and serve justice, but in the end, justice is served in a way (an execution) which turns the police into the killers.

Moving the Story Forward: this is a horrifying end to a horrifying thriller.

Entertainment Value: Twist the knife, oh! Twist the knife, oh!

Setups and Payoffs: by killing the serial killer, Mills completes the seventh deadly sin.

How does this bring the movie to a conclusion? By shooting the serial killer in the head, instead of trusting the judicial system to bring “justice” to the killer, Mills completes the villain’s sick plan to enact a seventh deadly sin.

How this shows the new status-quo: the police are now the killers.

How it is a satisfying ending: you want to see Mills shoot the killer in the head for what he has done.

Delivering character: the serial killer is cold, emotionless, logical and absolutely chilling; while Mills grief-stricken reaction is totally believable; and the look on Somerset’s face when he opens that box and sees the victim is somebody he knows and realizes the villain’s final plan breaks through his mask of impartiality as a detective.

Delivering Dialogue, Especially the Last Line of the Movie:

• “Come to me, Wrath,” said Doe.
• “If you kill him, he will win,” said Somerset.
• Mills shoots Doe in the head…

[Shannon Collier]

Se7ven

I spend this entire last scene shouting at the screen, hoping that’s it’s going to end another way, but I know it can’t, because this ending is perfect. We’re helpless as we watch it unfold, hoping David won’t do what we all would do in that situation, even William knows he’s going to do it. The satisfaction that would come from killing him, but hating to do it knowing he’s been a pawn in his plan all along is written so well in Pitt’s actions – raising the gun, fighting it, raising it again; you can see the angel and devil on his shoulders – the proverbial battle of good vs evil happening inside him.

Scene Arc – David has Doe in a field, they have successfully captured him. William unboxes David’s wife’s head while Doe explains to David its contents. William, knowing the effect this will have on David, runs to him to intervene, but Doe has revealed everything leaving David reeling. Doe guides David to complete his plan, revealing the 7th sin.

Situation – They’ve captured Doe before he can commit any more murders. David is with Doe, at gunpoint, while William is at a distance with a mysterious box.

Conflict – Most significant conflict here is inner conflict – David so desperately tries to fight it, but evil wins. Other conflicts are David vs Doe and David vs. William, which are the external representation of the battle taking place inside David.

Moving Story Fwd & Conclusion – This scene really pulls the rug out from under the story. It looks to be wrapped up with a happy ending, but then this scene happens and the story veers off on a very different path. Once on that path, it’s easy to predict how it’s going to end, leaving us yelling at the screen, then wrapping it all up very neatly with a bow. It’s awful, horrific, and oddly satisfying. The story ends here, but we know where it goes. So tragic!

New Status-quo – We think the cops have the upper hand, but this scene flips it all on its head, Doe is the only winner in the end.

Delivering Character

– Doe: reveals his level of psychosis, his cunningness, his complete disregard for life, the passion behind his choices.

– David: We know his cocky, hotheaded personality will get him into trouble at some point and Doe uses this to his advantage, truly challenging David’s nature, and ultimately caving in to it.

– William: We’ve seen his level headedness throughout and it once again shines through as the voice of reason. But deep down, he knows how this is going to end.

Interesting Dialogue

William’s line “There’s blood” fills us in on what’s in the box, it’s going to be bad. His next lines are completely muffled by his distance, blocking his chances at warning David. Clearly though, we hear Doe’s lines, softly spoken delivering deadly blows. Throughout Doe’s monologue, we hear David interject with this disbelief and grief. Doe’s casual use of his words and calm demeanour manipulate the situation and ensure David goes through with it. He could have been more secretive or mysterious, saying something like “What do you think’s in the box?”, but he’s just so blatant and straightforward, “I took a souvenir, her pretty head”. There’s no questions about what’s in the box or what Doe’s motives are.

[Rice Rice]

The final scene of Se7en starts with a mystery and progresses dramatically until the reveal at the end of the scene. Added to the entertainment value is how the audience is never shown what is in the box, but learns its contents through the dialogue and actions of the characters.

By foregoing treating the audience to the anticipated shock value of seeing the gruesome contents of the box, the scene maintains a heightened sense of drama.

Included in the scene, is the expected killing of the antagonist that evokes conflicted emotions in the audience: satisfaction that the antagonist was killed and sadness that the protagonist will have to suffer the legal consequences.

While rewriting my resolution scene, I realized that my ending was too much of a “feel good” situation with no drama that would rivet the audience. I adjusted the scene to introduce a surprise element that would leave the audience both shocked and satisfied.

[Susan Willard]

Objective of the Resolution Scene:<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”> To create a resolution scene that gives us that surprising, yet inevitable ending.

Basic scene components:

• The Box Scene of Se7en bring the scene arc to an end – to the new status-quo.

• This scene takes the life of John Doe and our movie to a close, while putting our two detectives into a new life that will be completely different, out of their control.

• The conflict in “The Box” scene plays out a series of events creating a conflicting unexpected mental challenge that is too much for Detective David Miller to deal with.

• The Box Scene moves the movie to its conclusion.

• The entertainment value is in the well written scene, with the twist that is unexpected. All the characters are true to themselves, and true to the story.

• The setup of the criminal, John Doe, killing people for the sin they commit, is fulfilled in the ending of The Box scene. Detective David Miller had to punish John Doe for his sin knowing that the judicial system would punish Detective Miller for his sin of anger/wrath for killing John Doe.

• Conclusion: Once Detective David Mills shoots John Doe, the serial killer, the movie has concluded. Detective Mills has set in motion the future of all their lives: John Doe is dead, Detective David Mills will be arrested and tried, and Detective Lt. William Somerset’s career is over.

• The New Status-Quo: Once Detective David Mills shoots John Doe, both Detective David Mills and Detective Lt. William Somerset start walking away in shock and mental anguish of their minds. Their reality has been completely changed. They can no longer have a life of crime fighting, or normalcy. Their lives will be controlled by others, in the short term, and then try to create a new life as they get through the tough times to come.

• A Satisfying Ending: The one satisfying part of the ending was that the threat of John Doe was gone. No one expected this outcome, so no one was prepared for the way that it ended. But John Doe was eliminated, and that is satisfying to the audience.

• Delivering Character: Each Character doesn’t fail to deliver. Each Character has their mental struggles, and the intertwining of how their struggles interact with their job and purpose, move the story along. The detectives are working together, learning, pushing forward, and the story brings out their faults and weaknesses. John Doe believes he is chosen by God to punish people is playing a mental game that they have had to try to learn and navigate. The information for all the characters delivering rich, riveting personas is in their details of action, reactions, and dialogue.

• The Last Lines of the Movie:

• When John Doe says, “Come to me, Wrath.” He is begging Detective David Mills to kill him, as to punish him for his sins, while also setting into play the punishments for the two detectives.

• The last line said by the main character is said by Detective Lt. William Somerset. He says, “If you kill him, he will win.” This simple statement sums up the entire situation. Detective David Mills does kill John Doe, and John Doe’s death does control the rest of the lives of the two detectives.

• The last line of the entire movie is one of the detective units in the helicopter, as bac-up help for the ground detective says, “Somebody call somebody.” This last line of the entire movie is a perfectly simple statement that demonstrates, not only the confusion and frustration of the helicopter support, but also of the two detectives on the ground, both walking – in separate directions form each other, and away from the dead body of John Doe. This last picture is a metaphor of how both detective’s lives will go from now on.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 11 months ago by  Susan Willard.

[Randy Hines]

For American Beauty, it’s a matter of bringing each character’s arc to a close by resolution. Let’s contrast this with, say, what happens in the first part of the first act. If not for an inciting incident, the world we dip into at the beginning for our characters would just go on as it has previously. Here at the end, their lives are changed forever. Mysteries are revealed. Relationships are solidified or irrevocably torn asunder. Lester Burnham was already dead as the narrator but we’re reliving all the machinations that lead to his death and all the things he learned about life and himself. Even the guy who killed him reaches a reckoning with his hidden/secret orientation and deep-seated anger by lashing out at Lester for forcing him to acknowledge this reckoning but reacts to his advances being spurned by Lester. Killing Lester was HIS resolution. All the other resolutions were tied to flashbacks of a happier time in contrast to their collective/individual worlds, their new normal (without Lester) now going forward.

[Zev Ledman]

Se7en:

We start out in the boondocks where it looks like the detectives are in control, having apprehended the serial murderer, who is on his knees and handcuffed. He poses no danger to the detectives. Doe comes across as a Dr. Hannibal, cold, calculating, and emotionless. Doe has killed the previous 6 people for the deadly sins they committed. But, there’s one last deadly sin that needs to be addressed, wrath. Initially, it looks like he won’t have an opportunity to complete his sick objective. Then, a mysterious package is delivered that will change everything and everyone. When Somerset opens the box, he notices the blood. Upon further examination, he’s shocked to see what it is and looks towards Mills to warn him, but he’s out of ear’s reach. So, we hear Doe explaining what had transpired.

We realize that the detectives are not in control and never were. This is brought out as Doe tells Mills how he visited his wife in the morning after Mills left. He continues to elevate the drama, first by saying he tried unsuccessfully to rape his wife, so he took her head (now we know what was in the box). As Somerset approaches them, he explains that Doe wants Mills to kill him. Mills is conflicted between the responsibility of his job and the horrific crime Doe said he committed, so horrific that Mills questions whether he actually did it. When he demands Somerset tell him the box’s contents, the realization sets in. Doe increases Mill’s anger by saying his wife begged for her life. But, then adds even more anger when he explains how she begged for the child’s life inside of her, which both Mills and Somerset were unaware of. Doe and Somerset now know that Mills will complete the 7th deadly sin for him. We feel all the emotions with Mills and know Doe has to die. But, we also know this action will change their life forever.

Somerset’s last line, “If you kill him, he will win.” is Somerset’s last attempt to change Mills’ actions. But, it’s all futile because of Mills’ rage. He kills Doe, execution style which goes against all his training and ethics fulfilling the seventh deadly sin, wrath.

So many Interest techniques are used in this scene. Surprise – what’s in the box, Major twist- Detectives in control, now Doe is, Hook – what did Doe do? Suspense- we know Doe has done something terrible & want to know what it is. Dilemma- will Mills arrest him or kill him? Reveal- we first think Doe will just be arrested and put on trial, instead, he is killed. All of this adds to the tension and emotion of the story, making us want to watch the final outcome.