Unveiling the Hidden Genius of “Enough Said”: A Scene-by-Scene Script Revelation

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: Enough Said (2013). You may download the script here.

Written by Nicole Holofcener.

IMDb plot summary: A divorced woman who decides to pursue the man she’s interested in learns he’s her new friend’s ex-husband.

Enough Said
Scene-by-Scene Breakdown
By Ali Coad
GoIntoTheStory.com

Pages 1–2: EVA visits various massage clients, carrying with her a very large and cumbersome table. One man has horrible breath, another woman talks too loudly, another watches her struggle up a flight of stairs without offering to help.

Pages 2: Eva’s 18-year-old daughter ELLEN watches Eva get ready to go to a party. We learn that Ellen is leaving for college soon.

Page 3: Eva rides with her best friend SARAH and Sarah’s husband WILL to the party.

Sarah talks about firing her cleaner.

Pages 4–7: At the party. Eva meets MARIANNE, a poet; they hit it off.

Later in the evening, Eva also meets ALBERT. They also hit it off. They bond over the fact that they…