Reel and Roll Awards (6): Best Adapted/Original Screenplay 2017

Ten great adapted screenplays that weren't nominated for an Oscar:

10. All the Money in the World 

Surprisingly strong screenplay for a thriller of its sort. It follows the usual patterns and tropes, but actually finds something quite intriguing in its exploration of the Getty family, the plight of the desperate mother, and the surprising humanity granted to one of the kidnappers.

9. It 

Not a fan of the third act developments and some of the humour doesn't quite work, but on the whole this is really strong adaptation of the Stephen King novel (the first half, at least). Creates the palatable sense of chemistry among the young characters pretty well, which is its strongest asset.

8. Lady Macbeth

In many ways a Victorian Romance turned completely on its head, and while I do think it ends either too soon or drags on a bit, the central story of the young innocent English maiden growing in deviousness and cunning is brilliant writing, as it creates such an intriguing deconstruction of this usual sort of character.

7. Stronger

Minus points for the painful caricatures of the BAHSTAN family, but otherwise this is a great screenplay that delves into its hero'es traumas while never excusing his faults, and creates a moving dynamic with his girlfriend that's handled in an atypical and emotionally potent fashion, and really flourishes in the quieter moments, like Jeff Bauman meeting the man who rescued him.

6. Trainspotting 2

One of the many 'lengthy gap of time' sequels this year, and while the screenplay doesn't excel like the very best, it's very good work nothentheless in forming a natural continuation of Renton and his firends, and I particularly liked what they did with the characters of Spud and Begbie. Minus a few points for some pointless side characters and subplots that distract from the more compelling central stories and themes.

5. Thor Ragnarok 

 

There's not as much plot to speak of in comparison to the previous Thor films, and all the better for it, and though the screenplay wasn't written by Taika Waititi you could've fooled me by how chock full of his humorous tendencies it is. Of course, a lot of it might've been improv, but the dialogue is so frequently hilarious, entertaining and builds character so well, particular in Thor/Hulk's interactions, that the script must have been a hoot to read.

4. Paddington 2 

This is just a great example of how to write stuff that's both family-friendly and has depth. This is the best sort of family film screenplay, as it keeps the laughs coming in whether it's through Paddington's oh-so-pleasant deliveries, Knuckles McGinty's pseudo-hardened criminal banter, Phoenix Buchanan's failed Shakespearean actor's soliloquies, or the general family dynamic of the Browns that's just as kookily fun as ever. There's also a real depth and genuine sense of heartfelt optimism to every plot development that's just so feelgood and endearing, and makes the film one of the most enjoyable experiences of the year.

3. Last Flag Flying

Features some of my favourite writing of the year, and if not for some overly vague brushing over the war details, the changing of a character's name, and the ending which I'm still somewhat torn about, this excels as a buddy drama of the best sort. As per usual Linklater the conversations between the characters are organic as can be. You always laugh with, and not at the characters, and the direction which he and Darryl Ponicsan take this banter in turns out to be fairly affecting. It's at its best when it's just characters shooting the breeze but invests you in their more serious interactions too, and overall I loved the script, even if I had a few reservations with a few lines here or there.

2. The Death of Stalin 

Credits to Ianucci and co. for not just going 'let's have 'em Soviet Union officials swear like sailors, act like idiots, and get it over with', now having said that aspect of the writing is exceedingly entertaining, whether its Zhukov trolling Kruschev or the complete and utter obliviousness of Malenkov, but the darker aspects of the plot, like Beria's utter deviousness in carrying out his plans and the constant threat of death looming over the characters' heads, is utilized for pitch-perfect black comedy effect. I may not love the film as some do, but it is a great screenplay, and a re-watch could do it wonders.

1. Blade Runner 2049 

Not a flawless screenplay I'd say, for reasons I doubt I'll find people in agreement with. I do think this is one film that, which I admire, I personally find it overlong, and some of that has to do with the screenplay. While I appreciate that the Jared Leto scenes are necessary to the whole buildup of the plot and the 'what is humanity' theme at its centre, they really just felt excessive to me. Also not a fan of how rapidly the rebel replicants are introduced in the third act. Plus, while I liked the integration of Deckard back into the plot, I do think it slightly takes away from the plot which I'd been most invested in up till that point, Agent K's journey and how the plot bounces off of him. It's in the central story of what it means to be a human being, and the pseudo-neo-noir-mystery which becomes an altogether more personal mission, that turns out to be less personal than K had hoped, is a brilliant bait-and-switch that is told compellingly, and thus despite all its faults I consider this to be a great screenplay.

For my thoughts on the nominees for Best Original Screenplay (*). I should note that while I'd originally ranked The Disaster Artist over Logan, the more I think about it the former didn't quite make use of the source material as it could've, the finished product is still exceedingly entertaining, but what Logan did in its creation of such a fascinating family dynamic between its characters, and the building upon and enhancement of what came beforehand in the X-Men universe, is even more remarkable, plus the faults I found with it have, over time and more thought, meant less and less to me.

1. Logan*
2. Blade Runner 2049
3. The Disaster Artist* 
4. The Death of Stalin
5. Last Flag Flying
6. Paddington 2
7. Thor Ragnarok 
8. Call Me By Your Name*
9. Trainspotting 2
10. Stronger
11. Lady Macbeth
12. It 
13. All the Money in the World 
14. Gerald's Game 
15. Mudbound*
16. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
17. Molly's Game* 
18. Hostiles
19. Wonder Woman
20. Their Finest
21. Spider-Man Homecoming
22. Wonder 
23. The Lost City of Z
24. Murder on the Orient Express
25. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 
26. Beauty and the Beast 
27. Justice League 
28. Ghost in the Shell
29. The Snowman 
30. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
31. The Circle 

Ten great original screenplays that weren't nominated for an Oscar: 

10. Wind River 

This screenplay has diminished a bit in my esteem over time, and honestly I would probably have discussed Good Time instead, but I wanted to talk a bit about Taylor Sheridan's work here. Sheridan's always been a bit hit-and-miss as a writer, not in terms of scripts on the whole but within them. Sicario has some overly symbolic ideas and dialogue running around, Hell or High Water some unneeded caricatures and on-the-nose dialogue, this time round I actually thought the main problem was with the plotting which wasn't an issue with the previous films. The story just doesn't really go anywhere in the end and makes the 'journey' of the characters somewhat muted, plus the way the central 'mystery' is wrapped up is somewhat unfulfiling. What does work though is, once again, the fascinating central character, and his unique approach to ideas of revenge and grief. And some of the dialogue is brilliant, especially that final scene between Jeremy Renner and Gil Birmingham.

9. Battle of the Sexes 

Some have regarded this screenplay as overly 'preachy', I'd disagree. It's not the most fresh or original take on this sort of conflict before, but I found that it sketched its two principal characters and their separate motivations for the titular event very well both in the public eye, and in the more personal spectrum of their lives. It even grants more than a bit of depth to its side characters. Plus, it has some great indivdual scenes as written, like Billy Jean King's showdown with a sexist sport broadcaster, and Bobby Riggs' heartbreaking opening up to his wife.

8. Free Fire 

I only wish the film directing choices could have matched the Ben Wheatley script, because it really is quite a cracking script. Filled with great one-liners, delivered impeccably by the cast of course, but seemingly all written for them specifically in mind, and for a film that doesn't really find a way to wrap things up in a particularly satisfying fashion, it's still a pretty satisfying film given how enjoyable a ride it is for the most part, and the crisp dialogue is a big part of it as characters throw acidic insult after acidic insult at one another. I will say though, that the initial scenes of the characters busting each other's balls are the best-written scenes of the film. 

7. A Taxi Driver

I have some issues with the film's third act, and actually some of the opening, but I will say that the screenplay remains pretty consistently strong throughout even when some of the directing choices are a bit questionable. It does a great job in naturally transitioning the titular taxi driver's journey from lackadaisical fool to unwitting bystander to a man witnessing terrible atrocities, and creates a very affecting relationship between him and the German reporter he's tasked with escorting around Gwangdu. There are a few issues, I don't think every joke hits the mark, and I kind of dislike the simplification of the film's slightly underdeveloped climax, but on the whole this is fantastic stuff. 

6. Detroit

Great work on the whole from Mark Boal, even though I have a few issues with his writing in the final act where some aspects of the court case just isn't given enough detail. The opening two acts, though, are masterful in his characterization of every principal character who ends up at the motel, particuarly the singer with dreams and the police officer with a twisted philosophy. Though much of the priase must go to Kathryn Bigelow's direction, Boal's screenplay amplifies it through the coarse, biting dialogue and characterization of the victims and perpetrators of the atrocities. He does a lot to help fill in the gaps for an incident where the real facts are not entirely known, without feeling fictitious, and manages to create interesting themes for his characters to represent without them feeling paper-thin symbols.

5. I, Tonya 

Another great screenplay, this one very much in that fourth-wall breaking Wolf of Wall Street, Goodfellas vein, but it's a superb example of it. From Lavona Golden's increasingly barbed and vile insults, the atypical romance at its centre, or every single line of dialogue that spouts out of the too dumb Shawn Eckhardt's mouth, it's one of the most entertaining screenplays of the year, that also finds a great deal of nuance in its characters.

4. The Florida Project 

A simple but in many ways brilliant screenplay. Again, I don't know how much of the film was improv, but regardless the way the plot is constructed, and the way the characters' depths are gradually revealed over the film, is great. The problematic mother-daughter relationship is created with such a lack of judgement, and such an affection even for the harshest moments of it, and every one of their interactions with one another just reveals so much about both characters. I particularly love one sequence of scenes which seem like Moonee just having fun, turning into quite the horrible revelation. Then there's the character of Bobby who's just one of the best supporting characters in a while, and used perfectly by the film in a way that feels organic to the realistic tone of the film. There's also the young girl's relationship with her friends, which feel like just that, a realistic friendship. There are laughs and tears throughout and the screenplay hits the mark at every point, and I love every moment of it, even the ending yes.

3. Okja 

Another wonderful take on a screenwriting trope, here the family adventure film and the 'goodies v.s. baddies' plot. I loved how earnestly it takes on the rescue mission aspect of the film, as you entirely believe in the relationship between young Mija and her superpig through limited dialogue, just by the way the whole plot converges around them. The wacky satirical aspects of it are extremely well-done, particularly in showing the coarse and vulgar atmosphere behind the curtain of the Mirando corporation's image, and finds complexity in showing how the ALF, while well-intentioned, may also be doing harm in their own way. Almost every character is given time to shine with memorable lines or developments, and on the whole this is just a great story, great dialogue, great characters, in the most traditionally excellent way. 

2. Lucky 

I'll need to hold back a bit on this since so much of the screenplay relates to one individual's characterization and arc which will be explored soon, hopefully. Anyway, this is a great example of the 'quirky indie' script that puts many other films of this sort to shame. It's a fantastic dramedy that's never funny one scene and sad the next, but a combination of the both throughout, whether it's a man grieving over his escaped tortoise, a beautiful and eloquent monologue about one's war experiences, hilarious interplay with a doctor about a lollipop, frustrations about a crossword puzzle, and the highlight being the recurring theme about what death means and how one copes with it, that's equal parts entertaining, haunting and in the end, somehow inspirational. It's one of the best screenplays, and honestly the only thing holding me back from putting it higher is how 'simple' it kind of is, but that's kind of testament to its brilliance.

1. Phantom Thread 

I'm sorry to keep straying away from talking too much about Phantom Thread's story, but honestly, most of what I want to say can be found in my review of Daniel Day-Lewis', Lesley Manville's, and (soon) Vicky Krieps' performances. The screenplay hones in around the relationship between these three characters in a sort of more cordial version of Rebecca mixed Powell and Pressburger, and on a thematic level it excels in pretty much every regard. It's one of the most remarkable screenplays in recent memory in just how much ground it covers through the relationship between three characters, and with some absolutely cracking individual lines like Cyril's biting insults, and the arguments between Alma and Reynolds which hinge so much on naturalstic repetition of lines, immature insults. Plus, the use of swearing here is fantastic, in a time where throwing in the f-bomb is rarely given much thought to, the strategic use of it here is amazing, 'didn't I tell you to fuck off?' *laughs nervously in British-ness*, brilliant.

For my thoughts on the nominees for Best Original Screenplay (*) . My top 3 are interchangeable at any point, but I'll put in the one which has had the most lasting impression on me, but all three are among the best-written films of this decade, and though I love the screenplays to Logan, Blade Runner 2049 and The Disaster Artist, this is undeniably the far stronger category. 

Best Original Screenplay

1. Get Out*
2. Phantom Thread
3. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*
4. Lucky
5. Lady Bird*
6. Okja
7. The Florida Project 
8. I, Tonya 
9. Detroit 
10. A Taxi Driver 
11. The Big Sick*
12. Free Fire
13. Battle of the Sexes 
14. Wind River  
15. Good Time
16. Foxtrot 
17. Maudie
18. Mindhorn
19. Logan Lucky
20. Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
21. The Lego Batman Movie
22. God's Own Country 
23. The Last Jedi
24. Darkest Hour  
25. The Shape of Water*
26. Loveless 
27. Columbus 
28. Dunkirk  
29. A Fantastic Woman 
30. Ingrid Goes West 
31. The Other Side of Hope
32. American Made
33. Colossal  
34. Gifted
35. John Wick Chapter 2
36. Personal Shopper 
37. Fast & Furious 8 
38. Despicable Me 3 
39. The Promise
40. War for the Planet of the Apes 
41. Baby Driver 
42. Alien Covenant
43. A Ghost Story 
44. Baywatch 
45. The Killing of a Sacred Deer 
46. Atomic Blonde 
47. Roman J. Israel, Esq. 
48. Kong: Skull Island
49. The Greatest Showman  
50. The Hitman's Bodyguard 
51. The Discovery 
52. Split
53. Kingsman: The Golden Circle 
54. Mother! 
55. Transformers: The Last Knight
56. The Book of Henry