Daily Dialogue — September 25, 2015

Charlie [on the phone]: Candice, I killed Aunt Helen, didn’t I? She died getting my birthday present, so I guess I killed her, right? I tried to stop thinking that, but I can’t. She keeps driving away and dying and I can’t stop her. Am I crazy, Candace?

Candace motions to one of her friends.

Candace: Call the police and send them to my house! [back to the phone] No, Charlie, listen to me. Mom and Dad are going to be home with Chris any second.
Charlie: What if I wanted her to die, Candace?

— The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), screenplay by Stephen Chbosky, based on his novel

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Depression.

Trivia: John Hughes originally bought the film rights with the intention to write and direct. He intended to make the film as more of a dark comedy with Shia LaBeouf set to play Charlie, Kirsten Dunst slated to play Sam and Patrick Fugit cast as Patrick. Hughes sudden death stalled the project, as he’d not completed a script before his passing. This allowed the film to be revived as an independent movie with novelist Stephen Chbosky returning to script and direct.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This scene exists in the tradition of other movies in which a character trapped in depression recalls events in the past which serve as the root cause of their condition including Ordinary People, Rachel Getting Married, Nuts, and Good Will Hunting.