Daily Dialogue — August 16, 2016

“I’m Kate, um, I’m… an alcoholic. Haha. I’m sorry I don’t mean to laugh, um, just those words are… weird. Um… I mean I guess I… yeah, I don’t know if I’m an alcoholic really. I just drink, I drink a lot. And, um… I’ve always drank a lot, everyone I know drinks a lot. So I never really thought it was a problem. But lately, it kind of seems like it is, so. I mean I just want to be able to have a beer, without it turning into twenty, or… wetting the bed. It just sort of seems like every time I drink something awful happens and then… all of the things that used to be funny are… not really funny anymore. And um, things have gone from embarrassing to scary. So… so yeah I’m kind of… kind of scared.”

— Smashed (2008), written by Susan Burke, James Ponsoldt

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Alcoholism.

Trivia: Aaron Paul and Mary Elizabeth Winstead claimed that they went on one real binge drinking night during filming, which was video recorded, so they could see in playback how they would interact while drunk.

Dialogue On Dialogue: The alcoholic’s confession. Tough to write. This monologue is a good touchstone. Has a beginning-middle-end arc. At the beginning, Kate is unsure why she’s even at the meeting, why she’s talking. Then a turning point: “But lately…” Middle: She processes her desire to have “a beer” while acknowledging the dire consequences of her actions. End: She reaches down to the honest base of what’s going on — she’s scared. In one minute’s time on screen, the character conveys a version of her alcoholic life story… and she does it with an awkward honesty which makes the scene feel real.