Script Analysis: “Nightcrawler” — Scene By Scene Breakdown

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read.

Today: A scene-by-scene breakdown of the movie script Nightcrawler.

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. It is precisely what it sounds like: A list of all the scenes in the script accompanied by a brief description of the events that transpire.

For purposes of this exercise, I have a slightly different take on scene. Here I am looking not just for individual scenes per se, but a scene or set of scenes that comprise one event or a continuous piece of action. Admittedly this is subjective and there is no right or wrong, the point is simply to break down the script into a series of parts which you then can use dig into the script’s structure and themes.

The value of this exercise:

* We pare down the story to its most constituent parts: Scenes.

* By doing this, we consciously explore the structure of the narrative.

* A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story.

You may download the script for Nightcrawler here.

Written by Dan Gilroy.

This is a non-standard script. No scene headings, descriptions streamlined into the fabric of the piece. The scenes fade into one another, creating for the reader, a sense of inevitability that’s crafted by the protagonist. Time is collapsed, the vibrant energy of Los Angeles (and Louis Bloom) front and center.

Nightcrawler

Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

By DJ Summitt

GoIntoTheStory.com

P. 1–2: Introduce the vibrant city of Los Angeles and its suburbs, vibrant, thriving, mysterious, maybe dangerous. This story couldn’t happen in Denver. Introduce Louis Bloom, “primal id,” who’s stealing a section of fence. When approached by a security guard he stalls with questions until he sees he works for a private security firm. He notices the guard’s expensive watch. He attacks him, escaping with the watch and the section of fence.

P. 3–4: Lou sells the stolen scrap to a junkyard. He tries to negotiate but is shut down at every offer. He asks for a job, but only upon being told by the owner “I’m not hiring a fucking thief” does Lou realize he’s negotiating from a place of weakness.

P. 4–6: Lou calls up a prostitute. She’s a nurse, cheating on her husband, she’s dirty. Lou doesn’t seem interested in sex, though. The only ins and outs he is interested in is those relating to the economics and career climate in the nursing industry.

P. 7–9: Lou, driving down the freeway at 3am (why?), stops at a terrible car accident. Cops are pulling a victim from a burning car. Moments later two men from “MAYHEM VIDEO” arrive, leap from their van, film the drama, and return to their van to speed away in to the darkness in pursuit of the next gory scene. Lou has found his calling. Before they leave he’s able to mentally catalog their tools. After asking a few questions on the basics of the business he gets turned down for a job by Joe Loder.

P. 9–12: Lou, in his small but perfectly manicured home scans the TV stations for last night’s footage from the accident. Healthcare walkouts, lottery winners, suspicious bags at LAX. Then KSML Morning News. He sees the footage, spiced up with sensationalist voice over from the anchor.

P. 12–13: In Venice a man locks up an expensive bicycle. Lou moves in, quickly stealing it and taking it to a pawn shop. He tries selling the bike for thousands of dollars with outlandish claims about winning the Tour de Mexico. The shop owner doesn’t budge. Lou asks for store credit to buy a camcorder and a police scanner.

P. 14–17: Lou is lost. He knows no codes. 5–17, 6–12, 10–16. Finally the word “fighting” with an address. Off he goes. He clumsily navigates the crime scenes, backs down when threatened with obstruction of justice. On his third attempt, in the confusion, he breaks through the police line getting a shot that only Louis bloom would get. Tight shot, final breaths. He shuts down the scene then hears another stringer selling the footage over the phone.

P. 17–22: Lou takes his footage to KSML. Introduce Nina, the hard worn beauty that is KSML’s night director. His lack of experience shows but she likes his work, he tries to negotiate but her experience and sharkiness steamrolls him.

P. 22–23: Lou gets $1,000. Nina asks for first look on all his work. Nina describes what they want but continually stops short of saying “bloody” or “gory” until Lou presses her. KSML is a beautiful woman, running down the street with her throat cut.

P. 24–25: Lou, home, alone, inches from the screen, watching his work. He downloads the KSML package on to his laptop. He starts learning police codes.

P. 25–28: Lou meets a young vagrant, Rick, at a diner. He interviews him for an unnamed position at his company. Lou takes on the Dale Carnegie persona, he spouts all sort of self-help guru speak. Rick can’t see through it, to him he sees hope, a plan, and $30/night

P. 29: Rick’s first call. He white knuckle spots the directions which he botches. Cut to

P. 30–31: They arrive on the crime scene late. The body is gone. Rick says he was terrified but Lou resolves this with more Dale Carnegie self-help speak. Earlier Lou mentioned that he was raised in the self-esteem movement but he’s clearly a product of the self-improvement movement gone awry.

P. 31–32: Another diner. They’re getting dinner. Rick is broke and asks to be fronted his night’s salary. Lou doesn’t answer. When Rick doesn’t order food Lou acquiesces. He wants Rick to not just listen to the words he says but to understand him, read between the lines. Lou wants to mold Rick to be like him.

P. 32–34: Off to a new crime scene. Rick’s directions are better. Lou is completely detached, emotionally. He’s asking for multiple takes. He tries to direct the situation like Nina directs the edit. There’s no information to be had. Spotting an opened door Lou goes inside the home. He films the victims, a couple, through a window. He also rearranges photos on the refrigerator for optimal dramatic impact. He steals a piece of mail to get the names of the couple.

P. 34–35: Introduce Frank, the editor. Lou, Frank, and Nina pour over the video. Nina loves it but Frank is appalled. He’s an old school adherent to journalistic principles. He’s a moral compass at the wrong station. Nina bares her teeth and emasculates Frank. Lou’s impressed to see her out of the cage. He tells her, in inspirational self-help jargon, that TV news is something he loves and is good at.

P. 35–39: Lou watches KSML. The footage is tawdry, exploitative, cheap, bloody. He downloads the footage, cataloging every story. In time lapse the stories add up, each more sensational than the last. He’s been busy.

P. 40: Business has been good for Lou. He drives a new sports car. Lou compliments Rick before admonishing him for spilling gas. In conversation Lou indicates that he even sees a simple greeting as a display of weakness. His entire interaction with the world is a game of dominance, with him being the alpha. There’s a new call! Cut to

P. 41–42: A terrible accident. Two fatalities. He’s there before the cops. Lou moves the bodies to make a better, more dramatic shot. Again, directing the tragedy like Nina directs the story. Joe Loder arrives with the cops, too late.

P. 42–43: Back at KSML Nina compliments Lou on his success. She notices blood all over him but is benefiting too much to care. He asks her out. She politely declines in an effort to not ruin the relationship. Lou presses, asking “what if you ruin the relationship by refusing?” He has ice water in his veins.

P. 43–45: Outside the station Joe Loder pulls up, offers Lou a job on his new van. He’s clearly trying to decrease competition. He overestimates Lou, throwing TV engineering jargon at him in, perhaps, an attempt to intimidate him. Lou rejects the job offer. He works for no one. He’s the master of his fate, he is the captain of his soul.

P. 45–49: Mexican restaurant date night. It turns out Nina didn’t want to risk ruining the relationship by refusing the date. He puts her at ease, lauding her accomplishments in her career. He then moves in for the kill. He proposes that she become his significant other, girlfriend is too intimate of a word. He is negotiating the terms of their “romance” and “friendship.” Lou does not understand the first thing about relationships. Nina is appalled but she’s in too deep and Lou has done his homework. She needs footage and he’s the best in the business, her career is on the line. Every protestation she has, he has a response. He has an angle on everything.

P. 50–52: Lou and Rick, back on the streets. Rick’s confidence is growing but he lacks Lou’s maniacal attention to detail as evidenced by his failure to read the traffic memo Lou sent him as prep work for work. Rick asks for a raise but is quickly shut down. Lou cites Rick’s lack of other job opportunities for lowering his bargaining position.

P. 52–53: They arrive at a call, a plane crash, too late. But who was there? Joe Loder got the footage while his second van was filming another call. “Welcome to your future, bra.”

P. 53–54: At KSML things are looking dire for Lou. It’s sweeps week and Loder has been getting all the best footage. Lou has not plane crash, just a stabbing. Nina isn’t as nice anymore. Now that she’s giving more than money for his services she wants blood and she wants it now.

P. 54–55: Lou finds the Mayhem Video van in an alley. He slides under it, holding a wrench. Bolts squeak. He darts away.

P. 55–56: Lou is driving even more insanely than normal, slightly less composed. He’s berating Rick but rick isn’t taking it as much as he used to. Rick asks why they’re skipping a rape in Griffith Park for a van crash.

P. 56–57: The Mayhem Video van is wrapped around a telephone pole. Joe Loder is a mess. Rick is distraught but Lou films on. “Don’t film that, he’s one of us.” Lou replies, staring in to Loder’s mangled face “Not anymore, he’s a sale.” Checkmate.

P. 57–59: The personality divide between Lou and Rick is deepening. Rick hates the rich, Lou wants to be them. There’s no good calls tonight. They’ve chased a fire in the valley but upon arrival there were no flames. Then HOME INVASION 5 BLOCKS AWAY.

P.60: They arrive at the scene before the cops. Before the crime is even finished. Lou hides in the bushes, filming everything. Gunshots! Two men leave in a dark colored car.

P. 61–63: Lou enters the home, a blood bath has ensued. He film’s every detail. One body. Two bodies. A dying man grabs his ankle. Mutters his last words: “Costilla.” Lou doesn’t call for help. He tries to interview the man until it’s clear he’s the third body. Four bodies. He gets to a nursery, slowly walking forward to reveal an empty crib. He wraps up, finding Rick in the foyer. They bolt back to town.

P. 63–64: On the way to KSML, Lou still tries to woo Rick to his way of thinking. He asks Rick to step outside for a moment. He edits out the men leaving the scene of the crime and the dying man’s words.

P. 65–71: At KSML Lou’s reception is frosty. Nina is sick of his bullshit. He counters with the footage from the home invasion which he shows to Nina, Frank, and a young producer. Frank is, understandably and unsurprisingly horrified. Nina gets approval from legal to show it with pixelated faces. Nina lowballs Lou on the price of the footage but he’s learned, he’s been waiting for this moment. His negotiating is on point. He gets $25,000 after an impassioned speech that is catering to Nina’s id. “What if this isn’t over, those men are on the run.” He throws in the Joe Loder accident video for free. Joe’s not even a sale anymore.

P. 71–76: Lou’s home invasion footage airs. The anchors, directed by Nina, hypersensationalize it. They build the drama which culminates in the crib shot. They reinforce that this is an ongoing crime. The KSML formula at work. Lou’s company gets on-screen credit. The anchors know him. He may be a freelancer but he’s an integral part of their team now. Their ratings are sky high. KSML is Louis Bloom. The cops want to talk to the man who shot the video. Lou is receptive.

P. 77–79: At home Lou follows the story, the on-going developments. Detective Fronteiri knocks on his door. She’s leery of and disgusted by Lou. She’s not sure he’s involved but despises what he does. He says he saw two men but could make out not details and filmed nothing of them. He hands her a drive containing the footage.

P. 80: Lou watches the unedited footage, freeze framing the license plate which is in full-view and legible. One of the men’s face is also clear. He googles “License Plate Search.”

P. 81–82: Lou tells Rick about the license plate. Rick wants to go to the cops but Lou informs him they will, at the most dramatic moment. He then gives Rick his performance review, complete with raise and promotion.

P. 83–85: They arrive at the home of the shooter. They begin a watch. Rick wants reward and tries to negotiate. Lou’s self-help has given him confidence but hasn’t infiltrated him in the way Lou had hoped. Lou counters but Rick holds firm. Lou gives up rather easily.

P. 86–92: They follow the car to a fast food restaurant. Lou calls 911 against Rick’s wishes. Rick wants to wait until there are fewer people around. Lou is cold, sedate. The cops show up. Lou stays in the car filming, insists Rick move to get a second angle. Things are quiet at first. Then one of the gunmen shoots a cop, shots fired everywhere. Hail of bullets striking cops, gunmen, bystanders. One gunmen is dead. A car chase ensues. Lou and a terrified Rick follow closely.

P. 92–98: Lou and Rick filming the high speed chase in first person. Explosions, crashes, then everything stops. The gunmen is crawling from the wreckage. Rick and Lou approach, Lou hiding the gunman from Rick. The gunman sees them. He raises his gun to Lou. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Lou dives at the las second. Three bullets blast through Rick’s chest. Cops immediately open fire from the opposite direction killing the gunman. Lou’s camera film on. Missing nothing. Rick, dying, accuses Lou of seeing the gunman. “I can’t jeopardize the company’s success to retain an untrustworthy employee.” With Rick dead Lo takes his camera to KSML.

P. 98–99: Lou is KSML. Everyone knows him. He’s part of the culture. He may not own the station but he’s the boss. Nina loves the footage. She gets that Rick was his partner. She won’t let herself think beyond that. Nina doesn’t even negotiate, Lou names the price now.

P. 100–103: Detective Fronteiri shows up minutes from air time. She demands the tape but Nina refuses. They arrest Lou. Frank has found information that the home invasion was never a home invasion. Nina ignores it saying it detracts from the story. Frank accuses her of sounding like Lou. Nina defends him, citing Lou as an inspiration, his ideology couldn’t infiltrate rick but it has infiltrated Nina. The story airs.

P. 103–106: Fronteiri interrogates Lou. He has an answer for everything. Not an emotionally convincing answer but a legally sound answer. He says if he had orchestrated this event that it would be “unprofessional.” She knows the truth but more importantly he knows she can’t prove it. He’s free to go.

P. 106–107: Lou has two vans now. He’s in a parking lot training the next generation of Ricks in that perverse Dale Carnegie way that only Lou can.

Writing Exercise: I encourage you to read the script, but short of that, if you’ve seen the movie, go through this scene-by-scene breakdown. What stands out to you about it from a structural standpoint?

Major kudos to DJ Summit for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.

If you’d like a PDF of the Nightcrawler scene-by-scene breakdown, go here.

I am looking for volunteers to read a script and provide a scene-by-scene breakdown for it to be used as part of our weekly series. What do you get? Beyond your name being noted here, my thanks, and some creative juju, hopefully you will learn something about story structure and develop another skill set which is super helpful in learning and practicing the craft.

The latest volunteers:

12 Years a Slave — Georgevine Moss
Beasts of No Nation — Jacob Holmes-Brown
Big Eyes — Rachel Sheridan
Bridge of Spies — Scott Guinn
Carol — Jillienne Bee
Celeste and Jesse Forever — Ryan Canty
Diary of a Teenage Girl — Cynthia
Ex Machina — Nick Norman-Butler
Frozen — Doc Kane
Gone Girl — Ashley Lara
Inside Out — Katha
Legend — Olivia
Leviathan — Piotr Ryczko
Locke — Megaen Kelly
Macbeth — Trung
Man Up — Kristy Brooks
Monsters University — Liz Correal
Mud — Kevin
Nightcrawler — DJ Summitt
Pawn Sacrifice — Michael Waters
Steve Jobs — Angie Soliman
Straight Outta Compton — Timm Higgins
The Big Short — Richard KomanThe End of the Tour — Steve Fabian
The Iron Lady — Leslie
The Way Way Back — The Deuce
Trainwreck — Joni Brainerd
Wreck It Ralph — Kenny Crowe

Thanks, all!

To see examples of scene-by-scene breakdowns, go here. Part of the goal is to create a library of breakdowns for writers to have at their disposal for research and learning.

You may see the scripts we can use for the series — free and legal — by going here.

To date, we have analyzed 55 movie scripts, a great resource for screenwriters. To see those analyses, go here.

Thanks to any of you who will rise to the occasion and take on a scene-by-scene breakdown.

And for those of you who have volunteered, please send me your scene-by-scene breakdown as soon as possible!

Circling back to where we started, reading scripts is hugely important. Analyzing them even more so. If you want to work in Hollywood as a writer, you need to develop your critical analytical skills. This is one way to do that.

So seize this opportunity and join in the conversation!

I hope to see you in comments about this week’s script: Nightcrawler.