Recommended Screenwriters
Writing Ironic Screenplay Scenes
- September 15, 2010
- Posted by: HalCroasmun
- Category: Articles
Some of the greatest writers use irony to create more interesting characters, scenes, and even plots. In some writing circles, it is considered to be one of the marks of a genius.
Let’s take a look at a scene that did a great job of using irony and see what we can learn.
First a dictionary definition.
IRONY: a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.
Essentially, we’re experiencing two opposites when irony is present. Below is a scene from “3:10 to Yuma” that has plenty of irony. Our the protagonist is Dan who has been hired to take the railroad’s worst outlaw — Wade — to the train bound for prison.
Dan is a farmer who had to take this job in order to save his farm. Wade’s crew of outlaws are after the group and will kill each of them to get Wade back. Dan is clearly the good guy and Wade is the bad guy.
Let’s see how the scene plays out.
From “3:10 to Yuma,” written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas.
EXT. CAMP #1, CATTLE TRAIL — NIGHT
It’s the group’s campfire. Wade’s lying awake, staring up at the stars. Dan’s got the watch. His rifle on the outlaw…
…the rest of the men are already asleep around the fire.WADE
Hey, Dan. How much they paying you?
DAN
What makes you think they’re paying me?
WADE
You’re not a lawman. Don’t work for Butterfield’s railroad.
You must be in some kind of debt.(no reply)
I imagine that’s the sort of thing puts pressure on a marriage.
DAN
What would you know about marriage?
WADE
Enough not to get married.
NOTE: Right off the bat, we see the “attack / counter-attack” that is a big part of great dialogue. These two are jabbing at each other…and that makes more interesting conversation.
DAN
Guess we can’t all be thieves, can we?
WADE
It’s man’s nature to take what he wants.
DAN
Well, I make an honest living.
WADE
Haven’t you heard the news? Honesty surrendered.
NOTE: The setup is in place for this scene. Dan has stated that he is the honest one. This is Dan’s VALUE that is about to be challenged.
DAN
Shut up and go to sleep.
WADE
Does Alice know how bad it is?
DAN
I said go to sleep.
WADE
(realizing)
She doesn’t, does she?
DAN
It doesn’t matter.
WADE
Lying to your wife ain’t exactly “honest,” though, is it?
DAN
And you’re the pinnacle of truth?
WADE
I’m an outlaw, Dan…I don’t feel bad about it. I don’t apologize for it.
And I sure don’t lie about it. And if I had a wife like Alice…
NOTE: Now, we have irony. The “honest guy” is the one who is telling lies to his wife. The outlaw is the one who tells the truth about who he is. Opposite of what you would think.
Wade has lured Dan into a situation where Dan was forced to admit his own dishonesty. This is going to have a serious impact on Dan because family and honesty are two of Dan’s most important values.
So this isn’t just a conversation. Wade is doing violence on Dan’s value system. We’re learning about the character of both Wade and Dan in this interaction.
From a writing perspective, the writer has set up the value to be challenged and then taken it to its opposite. Let’s see where they take it from there.
Dan’s quietly starting to burn up now…
WADE
…I’d treat her a whole lot better than you do. I’d feed
her better. Buy her pretty dresses. I wouldn’t make her
work so hard, Dan…(pause)
…yeah, I’d bet Alice was a real pretty girl before you married her.
…And Dan just explodes, his RIFLE in Wade’s face.
DANShut up about my wife. You say just one more word
and I’ll cut you down right here.
NOTE: And now, the full payoff of the scene. Wade has unnerved Dan and caused him to visibly act like an outlaw.
Earlier, we had the irony of “honest” Dan lying to his wife. Now, the irony shows up in action — the good guy is physically behaving like a bad guy.
DOC POTTER (O.S.)
Mister Evans.
Dan glances aside at Doc Potter……he’s staring hard at Dan from under his blanket. After a few moments, Dan lowers his rifle. Wade grins. Deputy Tucker has been watching.
NOTE: There it is! “Wade grins.” That means that what just happened is to Wade’s liking. He accomplished something he wanted…or needed to accomplish in order to escape.
The third bit of irony here is that the prisoner is controlling the guards. Here, we’ve seen him undermine one of his guards.
Throughout the rest of the script, Wade will control the majority of what happens to his captors — while he is a prisoner.
DEPUTY TUCKER
It’s my watch.
Dan finds a place to lie down as far from Wade as he can get, and we see McElroy quietly uncock his SHOTGUN. Butterfield snores away throughout.
==================
IRONY PAYS OFF
We have seen irony from three different directions – irony shown through dialogue, irony shown through action, and irony shown as part of the plot.
And all three have given us insight into the characters.
Irony is a great tool to master. Used well, it can be a great way to make your writing more exciting and more unique – topics covered deeply in our upcoming Fresh & Edgy Screenwriting Class. Check it out if you want to improve the WOW factor of your script.