Unraveling the Time Loop: A Scene-by-Scene Deep Dive into ‘Palm Springs’ That Reveals Hidden 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: Palm Springs (2020). You may download the screenplay here.

Screenplay by Andy Siara, story by Andy Siara.

Plot summary: When carefree Nyles and reluctant maid of honor Sarah have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, things get complicated as they are unable to escape the venue, themselves, or each other.

Palm Springs
Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Michael Korican
GoIntoTheStory.com

P. 1–13: We see a large tortoise with three scars in a desert; the ground rumbles and an earthquake splits it, revealing orange beams from below. [Note that in the movie, the tortoise is a goat.] [In the movie, NYLES wakes up and attempts to make love to his girlfriend MISTY. She’s in a rush and can’t find her grandmother’s ring. He asks her, “Will you kill me?” She asks him not to bring their drama to Tala and Abe’s wedding.] Under a full moon NYLES walks down a desert road to a resort with a sign reading, “Tala and Abe’s Wedding, November 9.” [In the movie, we see the sign in the daytime. Nyles floats in a swimming pool and says, “Today, tomorrow, yesterday, it’s all the…