Script Analysis: “Still Alice” — 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 script for the movie Still Alice.

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 Still Alice (2014) here.

Still Alice

Scene by Scene Breakdown

Written by Audrey McKenzie

GoIntotheStory.com

IMDb plot summary: A linguistics professor and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Written and directed by: Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland. Based on the novel by Lisa Genova.

1–2: ALICE HOWLAND celebrates her birthday in an upscale New York restaurant with her husband, JOHN, daughter ANNA, and son-in-law CHARLIE. Alice’s son, TOM, an ER doctor arrives late without her gift which he has forgotten. Alice easily forgives and asks after his girlfriend. Tom reveals that they’ve broken up eliciting a snarky comment from his sister Anna. Now, only one chair at the table remains empty.

3–4a: Tom and John are soon engrossed in discussion about the ER, excluding Alice. Anna asks Alice if she’s heard from LYDIA. Alice tells them she had an important audition. Charlie offers that it could be Lydia’s big break. Alice is dubious. His comment draws another cutting remark from Anna, to which Charlie responds that Anna and Lydia must have been something growing up. There’s an awkward moment when Alice inappropriately replies, “No, my sister and I were very close, actually.” The moment passes and John makes a toast to Alice, saying that she is the most beautiful and intelligent woman he’s ever known.

4b-6a: In LA, at UCLA university campus ALICE is a guest speaker and introduced to a room full of ACADEMICS, as a Professor of Linguistics and author of a textbook entitled “Neurons to Nouns”. Her speech is flawless until the moment that she pauses because she can’t recall a word. She distracts the audience with a quip. Then moves on, again flawlessly.

6b–7a: Later as she is being driven away, she’s still troubled by the word that wouldn’t come. Finally, she has it, “Lexicon”. Satisfied, she opens her iPhone and plays a WORDS WITH FRIENDS game and gets a high score.

7b-8a: Before she leaves LA, Alice makes an unexpected visit to Lydia. Lydia is defensive. Alice sees a picture of Lydia and two guys goofing around. Alice asks who they are. Lydia tells her they’re her roommates, DOUG and MALCOLM. Lydia mentions that they work menial jobs to which Alice makes a snide comment about working actors, and Lydia reacts with a tight-lipped smile.

8b- Later, Alice and Lydia are in an LA restaurant. Alice asks whether Lydia is involved with either of her roommates. Lydia says, Doug is gay. And as for Malcolm, she’d had a thing with him but it’s over. She adds that Malcolm got her in with Open Space, the best theater company. Lydia mentions that it would have been great if Alice could have seen “No Exit”, a play she was in. Alice replies that her father said she was really good. Then Lydia drops a bomb that her father was putting money into theater the company. Alice is surprised to hear it.

9–10a: Alice is unhappy that her husband is putting money into the theater company and Lydia explains that the members have a responsibility to raise equity. This annoys Alice who sees it as Lydia’s acting career being funded by her father. Alice brings up the touchy subject of college being a better option. It’s an argument they’ve had many times and ends with Lydia using the fact they helped their other children with school and it’s the same thing. Alice doesn’t see it that way, saying that they were going to school for real jobs. Lydia isn’t budging. She’s happy. Alice relents and chooses not to argue.

10b: Alice’s phone dings. She glances at it but doesn’t answer. Lydia asks if she’s going to get it but Alice says it’s just a Words With Friends game she plays with Anna. Lydia’s body language says she’s feeling left out. Alice assures her she doesn’t want to play with Anna. “She’s a demon”. Lydia says she’s not surprised.

11a — Back in New York, Alice returns from LA to an empty house. She calls for John. No answer. She looks for a note on the memory board in the kitchen; there isn’t one. She texts John, “Where R U?”

11b: Alice, dressed in running gear takes a run around her neighborhood and through the Columbia campus. Suddenly, Alice doesn’t recognize where she is. She shows signs of distress and panic. Then Alice forces herself to focus. Moments later, she is relieved to recognize a building.

12–13: Alice returns home. John is there, he wonders where she’s been. He moves to hug her but Alice is prickly. John asks her how her lecture went in UCLA, she doesn’t elaborate much, she’s distracted but says it was good. Then John asks about Lydia and wants to know if they argued. Alice responds that they spent the evening trying not to, then she wants to know why he didn’t tell her about bank-rolling her theater company. He says he thought he did. She’s annoyed and says he didn’t. To Alice’s further annoyance, John tells her he has to go back to the lab and wants her to walk over with him. When she refuses, he is concerned. Alice says she’s just exhausted.

14–15: Alice visits DR. BENJAMIN. As she answers his questions her confidence begins to erode. She tells him about forgetting words and names and getting lost. He questions her about medications and whether she’s been over-stressed or depressed and whether she’s had a head injury.

Then he gives her a name and address that he says he will ask her for later. Alice repeats it perfectly. He wants her to spell water forward and backward which she does with no problem. Finally, he shows her pictures and asks her to name the objects. She does this effortlessly.

16–17a: The doctor asks her about her family. Alice reveals that her mother and sister died in a car accident and her estranged father died of cirrhosis; he was an alcoholic. He also wants to know what her father was like toward the end of his illness. Alice, uncomfortable with the subject, says he was incoherent and incontinent and that they didn’t see a lot of each other.

17b-18a: Dr. Benjamin asks Alice to tell him the name and address he gave her earlier in the session. She struggles to remember but recalls the name, John Black. She says she forgot the address. Dr. Benjamin repeats it. Alice makes an excuse for this that she was distracted talking about her family and wants a do-over but the doctor says there’s no need now. He tells her he wants to do an MRI. Alice wants to know why because she thinks she has a brain tumor. He says he’s looking for lesions or signs of a stroke. He recommends that she get a lot of exercise and drink lots of water. Alice absorbs all of this. The doctor ends by asking her to bring someone with her next time.

18b: It’s Christmastime and Alice is in her kitchen making Christmas dinner. When a timer buzzes, she walks toward a memory board on the far wall murmuring the words stethoscope, millennium and hedgehog to herself. She lifts a dish cloth that she’s covered the board with and confirms that the words she’s remembered are the same. She erases those words and writes different ones. Tom comes in with a new girlfriend, JENNY. He introduces Alice to Jenny. Tom and Jenny leave the kitchen.

19: Alice gathers ingredients for to make a dessert. She opens a carton of eggs and stares at them. She can’t remember how many eggs. The timer goes off again, she murmurs the words cathode, pomegranate, and trellis on her way to the memory board, checks that they’re correct and erases these words as Lydia arrives.

20–21: Lydia and Alice make conversation about her flight. Lydia spots the ingredients on the counter and is excited that her mother is making bread pudding. Anna and Charlie enter the kitchen in expensive clothes in contrast to Lydia’s thrift shop outfit. Anna hugs her mother and asks her if she’s seen the latest Words with Friends. It’s impressive. Alice says no, she hasn’t had time. Alice is distracted, looking at the ingredients on the counter while Anna and Lydia make polite conversation. Alice shoos everyone out so she can surreptitiously check her phone for a bread pudding recipe.

22–23a: Everyone except Alice is seated in the dining room. Anna talks about her and Charlie’s decision to go to an In Vitro clinic. John pipes in that he’s heard good things about the clinic. Tom says he can’t believe Anna is going to be a mom. Alice brings in the first course, soup. Alice notices Jenny sitting next to Tom and she introduces herself as if she’s never seen her before. Jenny is a bit startled, Lydia glances over at Jenny. They cover with talk about wine and Alice is unaware of what’s happened.

23b-24a: Alice sits nervously in Dr. Benjamin’s office while he reviews her file. He tells her that her memory impairment is out of proportion to her age and there’s a decline in her mental function. He wants to do a PET scan to pick up things at the molecular level. He breaks it to her that he suspects Alzheimer’s. Alice takes in what he’s said. He reminds her that he’d asked her to bring someone with her but she says she didn’t think it was necessary. He tells her that next time she needs to bring someone.

24b-25a: In the kitchen that night, Alice distractedly scrubs at a pot while John talks about his research. John asks her if they’re both in town on the 17th because some friends want to visit. Alice, still distracted says she can’t remember. John finally notices her distraction and makes a remark about her scrubbing.

25b-27a: Later, Alice takes a sleeping pill before bed but she lays awake for hours. Finally, she wakes John and tells him that something is wrong with her and she’s scared. John is in disbelief. She tells him about getting lost and about the forgetting of words and that she thinks she has Alzheimers. John says that’s bullshit and wants to dismiss it. Alice gets angry because he isn’t taking her seriously. She breaks down and sobs. He comforts her and for the first time he is concerned.

27b: In the kitchen the next morning, it’s life as usual. They talk about their normal routines but the issue still hangs in the air between them.

28–29a: Alice and John sit in Dr. Benjamin’s office as he explains his diagnosis of early onset Alzheimers disease. John asks about a genetic test. The doctor says he was going to suggest that. Alice is stunned at the news. She wants to know if it will affect her children. The doctor tells her that if they are carrying the gene the odds of them developing the disease is 100%. Outwardly, Alice is calm but her eyes betray her emotions.

29b-30a: Outside the doctor’s office, John and Alice discuss when to tell the kids. At the elevators John is angry. He takes it out on the elevator.

30b-32a: Alice and John gather their children to tell them the news about Alice, and that they should be tested to see if they are carrying the gene. They are all shocked. Tom is in disbelief but John assures him it’s been confirmed. Lydia says she did notice things at Christmas like Alice not recognizing Tom’s girlfriend. Anna tries to shush her. Tom wants to know what medications she’s taking and if they can slow the process. John jumps in and won’t let Alice talk, saying that they can alleviate the symptoms but not prevent the disease.

Alice angrily interrupts him. She tells the children about the genetic factor. John tells them that they believe Alice inherited it from her father and that there’s a test they can take to find out. Anna cries. Lydia sits in quiet contemplation. Alice is overcome with guilt, cries and says she’s sorry.

32b: In the bathroom the next morning, Alice is pulling out the pills she has to take for the day. John glances in, looks away; he can’t stand to watch her. He passes by.

32c: Alice is in a lecture hall about to lecture in front of a group of STUDENTS. She has her computer powered up but can’t remember what the lecture is. She covers by asking the students who can tell her what the syllabus says for that day. Someone gives her the word “Phonology” and she is able to continue.

33: Alice walks across the Columbia campus. She gets a call. It’s Anna. She’s had the genetic test and she’s positive. But she says she’s glad she had the test and that they can test the embryos to ensure the baby will be okay. Alice apologizes and wants to comfort her but Anna says no need for her to come, she’s with Charlie.

34a: Alice is in the kitchen. She goes to the refrigerator where she’s surprised to find a bottle of shampoo on a shelf inside.

34b-36a: In the office of ERIC WELLMAN at Columbia University, Alice listens as he reads student comments about her classes. They are all negative, and complain that the lectures are muddled and erratic. Alice apologizes and tells Eric about her diagnosis at first downplaying it, then telling him about the early onset Alzheimers. She says she’s in the early stages and can handle the classes, but he explains that he has to inform the faculty and department. As Alice takes in the news, he apologizes.

36b: Alice once again in running gear runs on the streets of New York. She is distracted by a family coming out of a yogurt shop. She stops in, orders and sits placidly eating her yogurt.

37–39a: Later, she arrives home to find John angry and wondering where she was. He said he’d tried to call her but she didn’t have her phone. He’s upset because she ruined their dinner plans with the Chair of his department. Alice flippantly responds that she has Alzheimers; she forgot. For a moment he’s at a loss for words.

John says they have to keep the important things in their lives going. Alice is sorry but she says she doesn’t know how she would have been at a dinner party, forgetting names and unable to answer simple questions. John comments that she’s doing great recently, but Alice doesn’t buy it. She gets emotional and says she wishes she had cancer so she wouldn’t feel like such a social — . She wants to say something like outcast but can’t remember the word.

39b-41a: Winter had ended; Spring is in the air. Alice tours the Mount Auburn Nursing Center where she sees tragic cases of OLD FOLKS with varying stages of dementia and Alzheimers. TRACY FREDERICKS, the caretaker who is showing her around explains how the patients sometime become restless and wander, especially at night and they have some of them in chairs with alarms to let the workers know when the patients get out of their chairs. Alice is given an illustration of how she will eventually end up.

41b: Series of scenes: Alice sets up questions for her future self to answer in order to assess the progression of her illness. Then she records a video for her future self with detailed instructions on where to go to find a bottle full of pills that she is to take with water-suicide instructions.

42–43: In her bedroom, Alice is writing a label for the bottle of pills which has written instructions on it. She places it in her drawer and comes across a butterfly pendant.

Back in her home office, Alice finishes the video, drags it to a folder and names it “Butterfly”.

On the iPhone screen, Alice types a message, “When you can no longer answer these questions go to a file on your computer labelled Butterfly.”

43b-44a: Vacationing on Lido Beach, Alice naps in the living room of the beach house. She jerks awake, looks around, disoriented. She spots a bowl of seashells on the table in front of her and notes that there is a memory impaired bracelet on her wrist.

44b-45: Alice and John share a tender moment and reminisce about the past. Alice asks John to take a sabbatical the next year to be with her. John isn’t receptive. Alice reminds him that this might be the last year she’s herself. He’s upset by this and tells her not to say it.

46a: Alice answers the questions she set up for herself earlier on her iPhone and gets them right.

46b-47a: In the morning, Alice asks John when he’s leaving for his conference and when Lydia is coming. She tells John she doesn’t need Lydia to come and babysit her. John reminds her that Lydia is coming to do a play at the Saugatuck. John asks her if they’re still going for a run. Alice answers that she just needs to go grab something to put on.

47b-48a: Alice goes to put on another layer of clothes, chooses something that’s completely out of style for her and becomes distracted by a photo album that has pictures of her mom, dad, and sister. John pops in and seeing her sitting with the photo album asks if they’re still going running. She calls his attention to the photo album, and asks him again when he’s going to the conference and when is Lydia coming. John patiently answers and asks again if they’re going running. Alice says yes, but she has to pee first.

48b: Alice goes into the house to use the bathroom but becomes disoriented and can’t remember where it is. She becomes more frantic until she finally just pees on herself. She’s upset and humiliated and begins to cry. John finds her, and gently helps her to get cleaned up.

49–50a: Lydia has arrived. Alice and Lydia walk on the beach. Lydia notices the butterfly pendant that Alice is wearing. Lydia says she likes it. Alice tells her the story of how her mother gave it to her after Alice’s teacher told her that butterflies don’t live very long.

She’d come home very upset. But her mother comforted her by telling her though they have a short life, they have a beautiful life so she shouldn’t feel bad for them. Alice says that wearing the necklace now reminds her of her mother and sister’s life, and to some extent now, her own. Lydia tries to assure her that she’ll be around for a long time.

Alice agrees unconvincingly adding that there are many things she wants to do like read the classics and spend a year with John with him on sabbatical; see Anna’s baby born and Tom graduate. Alice adds that she’d like to see Lydia go to college-she wants her to have a back-up plan if the acting doesn’t work out. Lydia doesn’t want a back-up plan and tells Alice that she can’t use her situation to get her to do what she wants. Alice replies, “Why not?”

50b: Alice has flashbacks of her mother and sister on the beach.

50c-51a: Alice at the beach house playing Words with Friends and can only come up with a very simple word to play.

51b: John is working on his computer. Alice comes in and interrupts him. She complains that she is tired of reading the same page of Moby Dick over and over again. John suggests that she read one of Lydia’s plays and that it might give her something to talk to Lydia about.

52a: Alice goes into Lydia’s room in search of a play to read and among the stack of plays she finds Lydia’s journal. She opens it and reads it.

52b: Later, Alice is attempting to have a discussion of one of Lydia’s plays but she is finding it difficult to verbalize her thoughts. Lydia prompts her.

53: Alice lets it slip that she has read Lydia’s journal by mentioning something about Lydia and Malcolm. Lydia is livid that she would invade her privacy. Alice tries to cover for this by saying she didn’t even realize what she was reading. Lydia isn’t letting her off that easily, leaving the room in a huff.

54–55: The family, with the exception of Lydia are gathered for a meal at the beach house. Alice struggles to follow the lively banter. Out of the blue she tells Anna she wants her to answer her Words With Friends. Anna tells her she hasn’t had time. Lydia comes in and congratulates Anna on the news that she’s having twins. John’s phone goes off; he leaves to take the call.

56–58: The discussion comes back to Alice. The kids want to know how she’s feeling. Alice proudly produces her iPhone and how she’s using it instead of relying on her memory. Alice opens her iPhone calendar and asks Lydia what time her play is. Talk turns to Lydia’s play. Alice interrupts their conversation and asks again what time the play is. Lydia tells her. Anna tells Alice she doesn’t have to schedule it. Alice insists that she wants to. Anna won’t let it go. Lydia snaps at Anna and tells her to let her do it if she wants to. It turns into a spat between the sisters. John comes in and tells them to stop.

59: Lydia and Alice are in the kitchen later when Alice says she has a feeling that they argued about something, and even though she can’t remember what it was, she wants to apologize. Lydia tells her not to worry about it, she’s the one who should apologize.

59b-60a: Lydia asks Alice what it’s like for her (the Alzheimers). Alice says it’s not always the same. On bad days she feels like she can’t find herself and on good days she can almost pass for normal. Alice goes on to say that she’s always been defined by her intellect, her language and articulation and now she can see the words but she can’t reach them — she doesn’t know who she is or what she’s going to lose next. Lydia responds that it sounds horrible. Alice thanks her for asking.

Later, Alice finds Lydia’s journal on her bed. There’s a note from Lydia on top that says, “No secrets.” Alice is deeply moved.

60b-61a: The family have gathered at the Saugatuck Street Theater to watch Lydia act in a play. Alice is calmly attentive. When it’s over, John stands and claps. Alice mimics him and stands as well. On stage, Lydia and the rest of the cast take their bows.

61b: Backstage, the family goes back to congratulate Lydia on her performance. Alice tells Lydia that it was wonderful and that she could empathize with the character and that she really caught the character’s despair and joy.

62a: There’s an awkward moment when Alice makes a comment that shows she doesn’t realize that Lydia is her daughter. Lydia’s joy goes to sorrow but she doesn’t have the heart to correct Alice’s misunderstanding. Anna jumps in and corrects Alice. Alice is momentarily thrown off by the revelation.

62b-64: Alice is in Dr. Benjamin’s office. She’s naming objects and animals on picture cards that the doctor is holding up. She gets them all except one and has trouble remembering the name for it. Finally, she says it’s a duck!

He asks her to spell water, and then spell it backwards. Alice has to stop and think, then use her fingers to help her remember. John looks uncomfortable through the whole process.

Dr. Benjamin ends the session by asking Alice to give him the name (John Black) that he told her earlier. Alice says she feels as though he always tells her but she never remembers it. Dr. Benjamin gives her the name in multiple choice. She guesses and gets it wrong. The doctor then asks her for the address.

John interjects. He wants to know if her rate of deterioration is normal. The doctor gives them the news that with Familial Early Onset Alzheimers in people who have a high level of education, the rate of decline is sharper because they’ve often managed to sustain their mental processes by innovative means which delays diagnosis.

Dr. Benjamin mentions that he read where Alice was going to give a speech to the Dementia Care Conference and that he is looking forward to hearing it. John asks the doctor if he thinks it will be okay for her to do it because he’s going to be away on business. The doctor thinks it’s a great idea. He asks Alice if she’s worried. She pauses to think and replies that no, she doesn’t think so.

65: At home, Alice is on Skype with Lydia and she’s going over her speech. Lydia offers suggestions about how Alice could make it a more personal speech about how she feels. Alice grows annoyed and lashes out, saying that Lydia wasn’t listening; that it’s all in the speech.

66a: Lydia is patient and makes an attempt to engage Alice again, asking her to go over it one more time. Alice becomes agitated and refuses because it was hard enough one time due to the fact she has to use a highlighter (Alice calls it a yellow thingy because she can’t recall its name) just to remember what word she used last in order not to re-read the same sentence over again. After Lydia suggests that she could print off another copy, Alice is angry. Lydia apologizes and Alice clicks off Skype and stares at the blank screen of her laptop.

66b-67: The day of the speech, Tom accompanies Alice into the crowded lecture hall. Alice sees Anna and Charlie in the audience. Dr. Benjamin speaks to her and says a few encouraging words. Alice is introduced by LUCIA GUZMAN, coordinator for the Alzheimers association.

68: Alice gives a stirring speech about what it’s like to live with early onset Alzheimers. She talks about learning the art of losing every day. Losing her bearings, losing objects, losing sleep, but mostly losing memories.

At that moment, Alice knocks the papers onto the floor. But she recovers with a joke: “I think I’ll try to forget that just happened.”

69–70a: Alice ends her speech with the wish that her children — the next generation won’t have to face what she’s facing and that there will be a cure. As Anna watches from the audience, the words resonate with her. Tom has tears in his eyes. Finally, she says she tells herself to live in the moment; it’s really all she can do. But one of the things she will try to do is hold onto the memory of speaking there that day, because it’s like her old ambitious self. Still, she knows it too will eventually go. There is resounding applause from the audience.

70b-71: Back in New York, Winter is approaching. In Alice’s house John dresses for work. He’s explaining to Alice about an opportunity he has to head his own team at the Mayo Clinic. It would mean a move to Rochester, Minnesota. He’s selling it as a new adventure for them both but Alice isn’t enthusiastic. She wants to stay where she feels comfortable and be here when Anna has her babies. John is annoyed. He wants to go. He continues to try and sell it.

Alice suggests that he tell them he will start in a year. John explains that it’s not like academia; they don’t give sabbaticals. Alice counters that with all that’s going on with her she doesn’t want to pick up and move. As she’s trying to explain it to him, she’s frustrated because she can’t say what she’s feeling.

John, increasingly annoyed, tells her that he can’t take off work because it’s not feasible, financially. Alice, upset, accuses him of not wanting to be at home with her to watch her decline. He doesn’t deny it and when she looks at him, he looks away.

72a: At home, Alice does her daily questions but answers incorrectly that her daughter’s name is Anne and has trouble remembering the month she was born in.

72b-73a: Alice lies awake in bed. It’s 2 a.m. She gets up and goes downstairs where she begins a frantic search for her iPhone. She becomes increasingly agitated because she says she needs it. John comes down, calms her, and takes her back upstairs.

73b-75a: Alice is in the kitchen quietly working a jigsaw puzzle. John is on the phone in quiet conversation. Anna comes in and says hello. Alice calls her by sister’s name, Anne. Anna corrects her. Alice says, “I thought you were my sister.”

John, speaking to Anna, says, “They’ve made a very generous offer.” John is conflicted. Anna assures him that he’s making the right decision.

Alice wants to know who was on the phone. He tells her it was the Mayo Clinic. “Oh,” Alice says, is someone sick?” After assuring her that everything is fine, he goes to the freezer to get ice and discovers the missing iPhone inside. Alice exclaims that she was just looking for that the night before. John whispers to Anna that it was a month ago.

75b: Alice has a flashback of herself young, playing with her sister and dad.

76a: In the bathroom, for an instant, Alice doesn’t recognize her older self. She takes toothpaste and smears it over her reflection.

76b: In bed, in the morning, Alice has difficulty waking up. John gently prods her awake. He lays out her clothes. Alice doesn’t like the choice but John says he thinks the one he’s picked out is really nice and tenderly helps her dress telling her he has some really good news.

76c-77: John and Alice arrive at the hospital. Alice comments that Anna looks terrible and wants to know what’s wrong with her. John tells her that Anna has had her babies.

Alice wants to hold the baby but Charlie is unsure. Anna gives the okay. Alice holds the baby and she’s filled with joy. Anna looks on with a smile laced with sadness.

78–79a: Alice is at home asleep on the sofa as her family talks about her future. Alice starts to wake up as John is talking about taking her with him to Minnesota. Tom says Lydia will flip. Anna responds by saying, she has not right to. If she really cared she wouldn’t be on the other side of the country.

79b-80: In Alice’s kitchen in the evening, she’s talking to Lydia on Skype while making a cup of hot tea. The kettle shrieks. Lydia is telling Alice about her new manager and how he’ll open doors for her. Then Lydia asks where Alice’s caregiver is. To which Alice responds that she’s not there because her daughter’s sick, and it doesn’t matter because she can make a cup of tea by herself. Lydia ends the call after telling Alice that she’s sent her one of her headshots and asking her if she can open and download the file. Alice is offended and says, “Yes!”

81–83: While downloading the headshot, Alice stumbles upon the Butterfly file and plays the video with instructions for suicide she’d recorded for her future self. Alice makes three attempts to follow the instructions but her memory fails her. She takes the laptop with her on the third try and she nearly succeeds, getting as far as pouring out the pills and getting a glass of water to down them with when she’s interrupted by her caregiver arriving. The pills spill and are forgotten.

84–85a: John takes Alice to the yogurt shop. He orders and then asks her what she wants. Alice simply repeats his order, but he reminds her that she likes a different kind and orders for her.

Moments later, as they sit at a table by the window, John points to a building in the distance but she doesn’t recognize it. He reminds her that it’s Columbia where she used to teach and Alice responds that someone told her she was a good teacher. “You were,” John says. “I was really smart,” Alice adds. With sadness, John says, “You were the smartest person I’ve ever known.”

85b-86a: It’s now Spring again and Alice is asleep on the sofa. John carries Lydia’s suitcase to her room-she’s come home. They discuss Lydia’s agent and how he’s not too happy with her move from LA. Lydia shrugs this off and says she’ll audition for parts in New York because it’s where she needs to be. John tells her she’s a better man than he is. Suddenly, John sobs uncontrollably. Lydia pulls him into a hug.

86b: The seasons pass, spring, to summer, then fall. . .

87: It’s a bleak winter’s day and Lydia sits with Alice in a dreary park. Alice is visibly diminished. She picks repeatedly at her sweater until Lydia asks her if she’d like to leave.

When they return home, Alice’s caregiver, Elena meets them at the door but Alice doesn’t seem to recognize her.

88–89: Alice stares into space as Lydia reads a touching speech from a play, “Angels in America.” Alice seems absent but Lydia continues to read with feeling. Suddenly, there’s a flicker of comprehension in Alice’s face. Lydia is encouraged to continue.

Lydia, reading: “And the souls of these departed joined hands, clasped ankles and formed a web-a great net of souls. And the souls were three-atom oxygen molecules of the stuff of ozone, and the outer rim absorbed them, and was repaired. Nothing’s lost forever.

In this world, there is a kind of painful progress, a longing for what we’ve left behind and dreaming ahead. At least I think that’s so.”

Lydia moves to sit beside Alice and asks her if she liked what she read.

Alice nods but it’s unclear if she really did understand. Lydia asks, “What was it about?”

Alice replies, “Love. Love.”

Tears pool in Lydia’s eyes. “Yeah, mom. It was about love.”

Alice smiles at Lydia.

The final scene is a flashback, like a Super 8 movie, a memory of Alice and her sister walking away on a beach long ago.

FADE OUT.

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?

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

Major kudos to Audrey McKenzie for doing today’s breakdown.

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
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 Summit
Pawn Sacrifice — Michael Waters
Steve Jobs — Angie Soliman
Still Alice — Audrey McKenzie
Straight Outta Compton — Timm Higgins
The End of the Tour — Steve F
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 53 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 today’s script: Still Alice.