Movie Analysis: “Creed” — Dialogue

Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of watching movies:

To be a good screenwriter, you need to have a broad exposure to the world of film. Every movie you see is a potential reference point for your writing, everything from story concepts you generate to characters you develop to scenes you construct. Moreover people who work in the movie business constantly reference existing movies when discussing stories you write; it’s a shorthand way of getting across what they mean or envision.

But most importantly, you need to watch movies in order to ‘get’ how movie stories work. If you immerse yourself in the world of film, it’s like a Gestalt experience where you begin to grasp intuitively scene composition, story structure, character functions, dialogue and subtext, transitions and pacing, and so on.

Let me add this: It’s important to see movies as they get released so that you stay on top of the business. Decisions get made in Hollywood in large part depending upon how movies perform, so watching movies as they come out puts you in the same head space as reps, producers, execs, and buyers.

This week’s movie: Creed, screenplay c-written by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington, story by Ryan Coogler, based on characters by Sylvester Stallone.

Our schedule for discussion this week:

Monday: General Comments
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways

For those of you who have not seen the movie, do not click MORE as we will be trafficking in major spoilers. If you have seen Creed, I invite you to join me in breaking down and analyzing the movie.

Here are a couple of memorable sides of dialogue from the movie Creed. The first is when Rocky begins training Donnie. He positions him in front of a floor to ceiling mirror and points at Donnie’s face in the reflection. Then Rocky says, “That’s the toughest opponent you’re ever going to have to face.” On the surface, rather typical advice from a coach to an athlete, focusing on the mental aspect of the sport. But this line has a double meaning as Rocky, whether he knows it or not, is pointing toward the penultimate moment in the story, one I’ve mentioned in previous posts. I can’t find the exact photo online, but to put you in the frame of mind, here is a shot in Creed’s corner during the fight:

The moment is when Donnie makes his ‘confession’ to Rocky, giving voice to a pain and fear which he’s been fighting his entire life: Wondering if his father abandoned him because he [Donnie] wasn’t worthy of his father’s love. Everything that has happened in the story has led to those few second, Donnie overcome all of the defense mechanisms he’s built up to keep from ‘going there’. In effect, those are his “toughest opponent”.

The second side of dialogue is a line which is called back — going from memory — at least 5 times: “One step at a time. One punch at a time. One round at a time.”

Great writing advice. Great life advice.

What dialogue struck you in Creed?