I can't find the screenplay anywhere, but I just watched Mud this wknd so this scene is fresh on my mind... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJmJXjd_HQM Ellis had been rather subdued and trusting throughout the story until seeing the dissolution of his parents' marriage, having his own heart broken by a girl he loved and who he thought loved him back (or, at the very least, liked), and being the unwitting bearer of bad news on behalf of Mud to Juniper (Mud's 'love') when he finally breaks down as everything collapses around him. He's had it! He's hurt and frustrated... and rightfully so. Seems a sort of right of passage as the jaded innocence of adolescence fades away.

Also, pretty much ANY scene from Buried w/ Ryan Reynolds would be good for being overcome with emotion.

re: Mud - he put himself on the line for Mud and it backfired (sort of).

Wow. I wonder how much scene description was involved in the actual script. It happens so often in dramas that the emotional intensity is so much more heightened than it reads on paper. I recently read the script for Dead Poet's Society, then re-watched clips of the movie and saw the same thing happening. I've been wondering, as a screenwriter is it better for you to write in all the emotional beats within the description, or trust that the reader will be able to pick up on the heightened emotions of the characters by the emotional content of the words alone? Or is that a choice each writer just has to make for their specific story? Thoughts anyone?

I wonder this, too. I think you have to be very clever and non-directional in your description as it can encroach on the actor's take on it. Which, as a newbie screenwriter, is frustrating. I will say this re: Buried... perhaps it was the thought of being in the same situation, but I felt the emotion from the written word. I'm sure there are other scripts that I can't think of at the moment that do the same.

The key is to strike a balance. You simply can't telegraph every emotional nuance, so you pick and choose the most important. The single best thing you can do to learn this is read scripts while watching the movie. Do this with 20 movies and you will start to 'get' it, both consciously and subconsciously. Also read through my Script To Screen archive, literally dozens of examples.

Thanks for the comments, Despina and Scott! Yeah, I figured it was one of those "get a feel as you delve into it" sort of things. I've recently begun my "read scripts while watching the movie" habit of craft study and I can't tell you how much I've already learned from this! I'll make sure to read through the Script to Screen archive as well. Thanks so much for this blog, Scott. It's such an amazing resource.