Unraveling “Destroyer”: A Scene-by-Scene Dissection That Reveals Hidden Twists and Dark Secrets

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.

Today: Destroyer (2018). You can download a PDF of the script here.

Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi.

IMDb plot summary: A police detective reconnects with people from an undercover assignment in her distant past in order to make peace.

Destroyer
Scene by Scene Breakdown
By Roo Black
GoIntoTheStory.com

Pg. 1–4: We meet Detective Erin Bell, she’s in her car, described as “pretty rough”. A voice on her radio dispatches a possible homicide. Erin shows up at the crime scene at Bowtie Project Park, just after dawn, gets disapproving looks from the cops on the scene, and Detectives Kudra and Gavras dismiss her. Bell examines the victim, a male, face down on the ground, red jacket, a tattoo on his neck, and $100 dollar bills stained with purple dye are under his body and scattered around him. He was shot three times with a pistol left at the scene, a .38 with red tape on the handle. Kudra tells Bell to leave, but she responds with, “What about if I know who did this?” Bell goes back to her car, disturbed and distant, and we hear the sound of a skateboarder trying to…