Here we will look at monologues from different angles, using some of the best examples from film and television - breaking down why and how they work.īefore we examine those examples, let's talk a little bit about the different types of monologues and what they can accomplish within a screenplay. They can be the midpoint moment that catapults the protagonist in a different direction - teaching them what they need to know to overcome the conflict at hand. You want to choose a single one and find the perfect place within your story to present it. The great monologues in film and television offer engaging, compelling, and thought-provoking moments that define the characters and the themes of the story.ĭo you want to have multiple monologues in each act of your script? No.
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Some of the greatest movie moments have come in the form of monologues.proving that it's less about whether or not they are in your script and more about how well you write them - and why you're writing them in the first place. Because of this, script readers almost immediately shut down when they see long blocks of dialogue from a single character at one single moment within a script.īut cinematic history tells us a rather different story. Since the screenwriting boom of the nineties, gurus and pundits have advised novice screenwriters to trim everything they possibly can within their screenplay - forcing the monologue to be taboo in the company of fast-paced and concept-driven spec scripts. In screenwriting, the monologue has a bad reputation. How can screenwriters craft cinematic monologues that leave script readers and audiences in tears, horror, or awe?