Why This is Good

One criticism you may run into is that you have a lot of “talking head” scenes. This means that you have a page or more of non-stop straight dialogue-usually just two characters talking back and forth. This is generally considered bad screenwriting, although it is something most new writers do with abandon.

One reason so many attempt this at first is that it is very prevalent in books and stage plays. What works on stage or in a novel usually doesn’t in a screenplay. Films are visual mediums, and so they should utilize the wide array of features available to the filmmaker, not limit themselves to dialogue. In a play, it makes sense to have characters simply sit, or stand, and talk back and forth. This is how plays deliver information and tell the story because they are limited in terms of location. Even the biggest budget Broadway production will only have a few different sets, and so the actors often have to talk about things rather than showing them happening. There is no ability to cut to a scene, a person, or a shot of something to explain it. There are no close-ups to reveal something small or a detail or clue. Facial expressions and emotions are also more exaggerated in stage plays than in films. Actors know the difference is huge, and writers must as well.

Another reason why new screenwriters fall back to the talking head trope is that many writers are excellent at writing dialogue. They have a great ear for how people speak and they have crafted unique, exciting characters with interesting voices and perspectives. The dialogue sounds beautiful, melodic, poetic in their ears and the writer falls in love with their own talent and brazenly displays this talent on page after page of back-and-forth witty, beautifully written dialogue. But, again, since film is a visual medium, dialogue is the most inefficient and un-cinematic way to tell a story on screen. In nearly every case, it is better to show us what is happening than to tell us.

I know you’re about to comment: “But my favorite movie is Pulp Fiction and it is incredibly dialogue-heavy! How can you say that Quentin did something wrong?” The short answer is that you’re not Quentin Tarentino (and if you are and you’re reading this blog, awesome, please tell your friends!). Until you are, you can learn something from the advice of others and you should stick to the rules until you make it big.

The long answer is that Quentin Tarentino has a gift for creating intense dramatic tension. He can use a lot of dialogue and still craft an exciting, visual story. Tarentino never just uses talking heads. His characters are always on the move and doing something. He uses the dialogue to prolong the tension and as an ironic backdrop to the events that are happening. When Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are discussing robbing the diner, we feel anxious because we know that at any moment they’re going to whip out guns and hold up the place. It’s also ironic and funny how sweet and cutesy they are with each other when immediately followed by their extremely violent outburst. When Jules and Vincent are discussing cheeseburgers, it’s tense because we can already tell these two are bad-asses on their way to something nefarious. When they arrive and shoot up the apartment, the fact that they were calmly discussing France only seconds before is not just ironic, but reveals how often they perform violent acts-they are so blasé about it and used to it that it doesn’t bother them a bit and they can go from inane chit-chat to shooting people with ease. In this way, Tarentino is showing us what their characters are like in a far more effective way than if he told us in the action description. Their conversation also sets up the idea that messing with Marsellus Wallace’s wife will get you in a world of hurt, and that fact is what sustains tension throughout all of Vincent and Mia’s discussions.
The same is true of Butch and Fabienne’s conversations. We know Butch is a hardened, tough fighter, but seeing him be so syrupy sweet to Fabienne makes him loveable, offers contrast, and creates tension when we know he has to get his watch before things go terribly wrong. All of these conversations could be talking-head scenes except for the fact that they are used to create irony, contrast and dramatic tension. You’ll also notice how rarely the characters are just sitting and talking. Usually they are on their way somewhere or doing some sort of small action while speaking.

Tarentino uses the same brilliant technique for creating tension in Inglorious Basterds, another extremely dialogue-heavy film. Again here he is using the long-drawn out dialogue to build tension. As Hitchcock explained, having a bomb under the table can make the mundane act of two people having breakfast extremely tense and suspenseful. The audience knows it is there and is anxiously anticipating its explosion. This is exactly why so much back-and-forth dialogue still works in Inglorious Basterds. Once we see the Jews hiding under the floorboards, we worry intensely through what would otherwise be a boring conversation between Hans and LaPadite. When Shoshanna later talks to Frederick, or Hans, we are worried that they will discover she is an escaped Jew, so their dialogue is full of anticipation and fear. In the bar scene when the Basterds go to meet Bridget, we worry the entire time that the Nazis will uncover their plot and realize who they are. This tension sustains the length of the conversation and makes it far from a talking-heads type of scene.

In both When Harry Met Sally and 500 Days of Summer, there is a lot of back-and-forth dialogue between the two principal characters. These films do not seem too talky because they keep the characters moving. The characters never just sit and talk, they are always doing something interesting, in a new place, or walking around. Any movement or action is better than two characters just sitting in a dull setting and speaking to each other. Keep the story visually interesting even through dialogue by injecting movement and action everywhere. In their own way, these two romantic comedies also rely on tension and suspense to keep the conversations intriguing. In When Harry Met Sally, we are constantly wondering if they will get together, so their long conversations are interesting as we are looking for a sign that they do love each other, and we get the feeling they might kiss at any moment. In 500 Days of Summer, we, like Tom, are trying to figure out what went wrong and why they are no longer together, so their conversations are interesting in an analytical sense, we’re tensely awaiting a big blow-up or some sort of conflict that would tell us why they didn’t make it.

Films are visual. Whenever possible you should show what is happening rather than having the characters tell us about it as they would in a stage play or a novel. Avoid talking heads, and use dialogue to create tension by using dramatic irony. Keep the characters moving and give them something to do. Never have an entire page of only dialogue!

Check out my guest blog post on engaging the reader on Debra Eckerling’s website: Write On! Online.