Emotion Machines - UP!

Since I’ve delved into reading books on Screenwriting the best description of the craft I’ve found is “emotion machines”. I forget which book, or books, that described screenplays as “emotion machines” but it makes total sense. There’s a technical craft that can generate intense emotions in the viewer – even without the use of words.

I’m a blubberer in movies. I can cry about almost anything while watching a film. The magician Penn Jillette best described this experience with a quote from Bob Dylan: “It frightens me, the awful truth of just how sweet life can be.” So when discussing what generates emotions best I wanted to look for a clear and universal example, one that even the most emotionally resolute would be shaken by.

That’s when I thought of UP!

The opening 15 minutes that introduces the main character from his early  childhood through to his entire relationship with his wife is so moving and heartbreaking that I defy anyone who watches it not to at least feel their tear ducts welling up a bit.

The clip above isn’t perfect, it doesn’t have any of the scenes with them as children but I think still works.

I really want to know how this came across on the screenplay. Was it written in a way that worked on such an emotional level or was that something achieved by the director and artists alone.

Luckily I was able to find the script here. The first thing that struck me was how similar the opening is to the film. It’s all printed there, almost word for word, as it appears on screen.

I’ve only read the opening of the script, but so far it’s very adult. It trusts the reader to understand what the little descriptions it provies is trying to convey. For example, the scene where Carl & Ellie find out they can’t have children is so well set up and works brilliantly despite the minimalist descriptions of events. Here's the four scenes, with only a few sentences between them, that get across such complex ideas as hope and disappointment around having children.

EXT. RURAL HILLSIDE - DAY

Again at their picnic spot, they watch clouds. Ellie sees an elephant with wings. Carl gives it a try and points out a BABY. Ellie lights up, excited. She sees ALL the clouds as babies! Carl is stunned... but smiles.

INT. CARL AND ELLIE’S HOUSE, BABY ROOM - DAY

Ellie finishes painting a wall mural of a stork carrying a bundle in its beak. Carl hangs a mobile above the crib.

INT. DOCTOR’S OFFICE - AFTERNOON

Carl touches Ellie’s shoulder as the doctor explains. Ellie drops her head in her hands.

EXT. CARL AND ELLIE’S HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - AFTERNOON

Carl looks out the window. Ellie sits alone under a tree, the wind in her hair.

I particularly loved the description of the scene in the Doctor's office. I'm not sure how I would have written that same moment. I'd have probably added lots of touches and little details to make sure I was conveying that he's a specialist in talking about fertility and he has bad news. The writers of UP! didn't worry about it. They kept the moment clean and pure and it works all the better for it. 

I also love the moment where you see the 'Paradise Falls' penny jar, their savings for their big adventure, repeatedly get ransacked by unexpected costs. This is, again, a very complex series of emotions the writers try to convey and it is, again, handled very simply, with trust that the audience will "get it". 

A SERIES OF SHOTS

The jar slowly fills as Carl and Ellie toss in spare change.

Their car blows a tire.

The two stand by the jar, reluctant. Carl BREAKS the jar.

New tire.

Carl in the hospital with a broken leg.

Breaking jar.

A storm rages. A tree falls, crushing the roof.

Breaking jar.

Reading UP! is one of those experiences that reminds me how far I have to go as a writer. It's just an enjoyable read, once you're into it you mostly forget that you're reading a screenplay. Anyone who reads this blog and is interested in seeing how you write an "emotion machine" please read UP!.