Films › Screenwriting
Network
Directed by Sidney Lumet, 1976
Paddy Chayefsky wrote monologues of a length no contemporary studio would permit, and they hold because each one has a dramatic objective. Satire is calibrated so precisely that most of its predictions have arrived. Character voices are individually distinct on the page, which is the hardest thing in dialogue writing. Lumet stages the speeches simply and lets the writing carry. Owen Roizman's cinematography stays largely unadorned, using flat network-television lighting in the newsroom scenes so the visual style never distracts from the language. Lumet reportedly rehearsed the cast like a stage production before shooting, which is why the long speeches sustain energy without visual embellishment. Screenwriters should study how each monologue is structured as an argument with a beginning, escalation and turn, never simply a rant given room to run. The film's structure gives each major character their own extended set-piece speech, a writing choice that distributes dramatic weight evenly rather than centring the film on a single voice.
What to watch for
Watch the Beale broadcasts and the Jensen boardroom speech as constructed arguments, not rants.
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