Daily Dialogue — July 23, 2016

Mrs. Kintner: Chief Brody?
Brody: Yes?

Mrs. Kintner slaps Brody and sobs.

Mrs. Kintner: I just found out, that a girl got killed here last week, and you knew it! You knew there was a shark out there! You knew it was dangerous! But you let people go swimming anyway? You knew all those things! But still my boy is dead now. And there’s nothing you can do about it. My boy is dead. I wanted you to know that.

Mrs. Kintner walks away.

Mayor Vaughn: I’m sorry, Martin. She’s wrong.
Brody: No, she’s not.

— Jaws (1975), screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb, novely by Peter Benchley

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Accusation.

Trivia: Peter Benchley liked how cutting the subplots from the novel allowed for the characters to be fleshed out properly.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Here the accusation really drives home the guilt Brody feels about the death of the Kintner’s son. This sets the plate for the redemption Brody experiences in killing the shark which has tormented the town.