...because I'm still convinced that every story, and certainly every dramatic story, whether a play (regardless of how many acts comprise it), or a screenplay, has a theme, a series of rising actions that lead to its climax and that within the climax that theme is most profoundly expressed. Or, as an old-time Hollywood screenwriter* once told me, "Whenever I'm in trouble, don't know how to continue, I leave my desk, go out in the hall, start pacing, and ask myself, 'why am I telling you this story?'"
I think that I Know This Much is True is one of the rare productions in which great care was taken with its dramatic structure, casting and direction. I don't know the novel that Wally Lamb wrote, so I don't know if the drama faithfully told its story, but the series, as dramatized by Derek Cianfrance, was careful and deliberate about the story it wanted to tell. In addition, Mr. Cianfrance is a director who understands visual syntax, a rarity among current film directors and discussed here on 2/22/19, Visual Syntax, the Role of the Director.
I've chosen a few scenes that repeat topics I've already addressed on this blog; that bear repeating because of how necessary I think they are, and how rarely we see them performed or executed.
Taken out of sequence because it's part of the resolution, the scene below is an example of active listening, the processing of the ideas/images that one's partner is trying to convey. Kathryn Hahn accomplished, and she consistently does so in other scenes and other performances, the concentration needed that goes beyond hearing what is said by one's partner. Please read my discussion of this aspect of technique regarding Michelle Williams.
I think that I Know This Much is True is one of the rare productions in which great care was taken with its dramatic structure, casting and direction. I don't know the novel that Wally Lamb wrote, so I don't know if the drama faithfully told its story, but the series, as dramatized by Derek Cianfrance, was careful and deliberate about the story it wanted to tell. In addition, Mr. Cianfrance is a director who understands visual syntax, a rarity among current film directors and discussed here on 2/22/19, Visual Syntax, the Role of the Director.
I've chosen a few scenes that repeat topics I've already addressed on this blog; that bear repeating because of how necessary I think they are, and how rarely we see them performed or executed.
Taken out of sequence because it's part of the resolution, the scene below is an example of active listening, the processing of the ideas/images that one's partner is trying to convey. Kathryn Hahn accomplished, and she consistently does so in other scenes and other performances, the concentration needed that goes beyond hearing what is said by one's partner. Please read my discussion of this aspect of technique regarding Michelle Williams.
The scene below is an excellent example of the rising action that leads to the climax; the actor's sharp focus on the character's need (objective, action), clarity of images, progression.
Lastly, the climax:
