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Using dialogue is better to illustrate change. (the classic idiom - show don't tell). For me, it can be hard to weave it in naturally without sounding fake or one dimensional. I tend to write out the thoughts of a character which might get to long winded sometimes and sapped the drama out of a scene.

Another I think about is how long do you stretch the arc of character change? (i.e. beg to end, or just the middle third. first third is character set-up and last third is what character does with said inner change.)

Miscellanous - love the pics inserted throughout. great movie. I remembered it coming out when I was in high school - saw it on VHS (haha) because I was slightly too young to see it in the theater since it was an R. ---------------Be Kind. Rewind.

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Love this post. Now I have to rewatch this film.

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Great post, Monica. I recently re-watched this, and it was a revelation to watch the protagonist begin to find his own morality by coming fully aware of how much of it he had lost. It wasn't a terribly clear picture of alcoholism, nor was it particularly realistic in terms of how the trial played out, but the film is so beautifully shot and acted I found myself forgiving a lot. The pinball machine at the beginning set a nice theme, and the details of each scene were layered in such a way that it suggested more than it told.

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