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ambiguity, confusion, mystery, THE FLORIDA PROJECT, TOTAL RECALL -

ON AMBIGUITY

ON AMBIGUITY

Ambiguity in storytelling is rewarding but tricky. It’s rewarding because, when handled well, we can draw the audience into the narrative. If engaged, they wonder what’s going on and why. Like the characters, the audience actively thinks about the story, examining “clues” (literal or figurative) and making guesses. Mystery as either a storytelling device or a genre is driven completely by ambiguity. Without ambiguity, there is no mystery; we know “whodunnit.” However, ambiguity can also be tricky, because it involves some work to correctly pull off. I have read a lot of spec scripts that engage in only a single...

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BASIC INSTINCT, BLADE RUNNER, inevitable surprise, plot twist, SEVEN, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE SIXTH SENSE, TOTAL RECALL -

CRAFTING THE TWIST ENDING

CRAFTING THE TWIST ENDING

A plot twist at the end is always fun. And when it comes to the thriller genre, a twist ending is almost a requirement. However, I have read a lot of thriller scripts that lack the end twist. Or: the writer is aware of the need for a twist, but simply dumps it on the page without crafting the story toward it; the twist is just a thing that happens, empty non sequitur. Instead of “Ah-ha!” it’s “Er… huh?” The best way to get a twist ending to land is to craft it around what is called “inevitable surprise.” That...

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