Unveiling Hidden Secrets: A Scene-by-Scene Deep Dive into “Big Eyes” That Will Change How You See the Film Forever

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: Big Eyes (2012). You may download the script here.

Big Eyes
Scene-by-scene breakdown
By Rachel Sheridan
GoIntoTheStory.com

P. 1: Montage focusing on the popularity of the artist, Keane: A Keane Big Eye waif painting being mass-produced, headlines boasting of Keane’s wealth, various images of everyday America with Keane’s waif paintings in the background.

P. 1: The year 1958, Pleasant Valley Sunday suburbia, identical houses, moms playing in the yard with kids. Title card: Ten Years Earlier.

P. 2: Margaret Ulbrich is rushing around the house, packing a suitcase for her and her 8-year-old daughter, Jane. Margaret grabs her art supplies and all her paintings from the wall, but leaves a picture of her and her husband on their wedding day. Margaret and Jane bolt.

P. 2: Margaret and Jane speed down the interstate.

P. 2: Inside the car, Margaret’s expressions reveal worry and possible regret for leaving.

P. 2: Back to 1958, Margaret and Jane sit in a car outside a furniture store where…