Mark Walker at 2013-03-30 09:56:17:

As Scott says there are thousands of possibilities - Blake Snyder doesn't call his 75 minute beat "The whiff of death for nothing"! I was trying to think of something a bit different and started with Sol's death in Soylent Green, but couldn't find a decent clip or copy of the screenplay....a fantastic depiction of what euthanasia could be and beautifully filmed, a very emotional and poignant death at a pivotal point of the film. I then thought about unexpected deaths, and immediately was drawn to Sam Jackson's death in Deep Blue Sea, but had been reading an article about it recently and it felt too "obvious", so thought about Dick Halloran's death in The Shining....so much build up as he fights his way against the weather to make it to the hotel, only to bite the bullet (axe) without any warning. We are watching, thinking he will come to Danny's rescue, only for the rug to be pulled out from under us in a very shocking way....doubly harsh if you had also read the book! But then I thought there is no dialogue in that scene, so maybe pushing it for discussion on daily dialogue! Brazil came to me next, a film I absolutely love, and Sam's final descent into madness....so not a real death, but his mind is gone, as the dialogue tells us, just after we thought that maybe, just possibly, despite all the surreal imagery we have just waded through, he might have made it. But, the one I went with, and from a film that quickly became one of my favourite ever films, is Nina's "death" from Black Swan. I put death in inverted commas as we don't know for certain she is dead, but I am pretty much convinced she is, from the loss of blood, the stare and the "bright lights", I believe that final scene ends with her passing....but that is the beauty of that scene, and the film itself, that it is all open to debate - much like Brazil, just how much of it has taken place inside Nina's fragile mind? Darren Aronofksy, in my opinion, is a genius, and Black Swan really is a stunning film. It also has parallels with The Wrestler, and The Ram's final scenes - although in that film, the death is less clear cut, but we are led to believe it is the end for him. So Black Swan, a death scene from someone who really has suffered for their art and found peace having delivered the much sought after perfect performance and found the acceptance she has also been craving, but at a terrible price. Her final words Sum up the whole film and the theme of perfection running throughout. Think I may have rabbited on long enough now, but clearly death is a topic that could run and run.....anyway, here is the screenplay extract. _____________________________________________ INT. STAGE - LATER Nina dances the final Pas de Deux as the White Swan. Losing blood by the second, everything is woozy and blurry. She can’t do all the steps, but her performance is pained, making it poignant. A spot of red begins to soak through at the center of her costume. The music turns ominous, and VON ROTHBART, the evil sorcerer, comes onto stage. Nina dances away from him, back upstage, towards the cliff. It’s time for her final leap. Her energy fading, she teeters up the stairs of the set. One step at a time... She gets to the top, takes one last look around, at all the eyes watching her. She notices a familiar face in the audience: HER MOTHER. She watches with a profound sadness, tears streaking her cheeks. In the front of Nina’s costume, a dark circle has started to form. Her blood fully seeping through. And Nina leaps... INTO BLACKNESS She falls through an endless void, her eyes closed. She slowly twists around in the air, so that she’s falling backwards. She hears something. Soft and muffled. The faint sound of applause. She lands slowly and comfortably on PADDING. The sound of applause is now loud, uproarious. A group of BALLERINAS surround the mattress, clapping for her, each one dressed as a WHITE SWAN. Leroy pushes through the group to get to her. LEROY Listen to them! They love you! Get up, get up! I always knew you had it in you, little princess. Go take your bow! Nina is too weak to move. Lily pushes her way into the group and GASPS, pointing at Nina’s abdomen. Leroy follows her gaze and discovers the spot of blood, which has grown in size. LEROY (CONT’D) What did you do? NINA I felt it. LEROY Oh my god. NINA ...perfect LEROY Someone, get help. NINA Shhh... Leroy looks back at her. She smiles. NINA (CONT’D) It was perfect. He understands. The APPLAUSE grows more and more faint. Her eyes glaze over and everything goes completely SILENT. Nina lies there motionless, a smile frozen on her face. CUT TO BLACK. ____________________________________________ Final scene on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVO6VGqfWwQ