What questions should you be asking yourself in regards to...

DIALOGUE

Dialogue can put you to sleep (when there’s too much exposition, for instance) or it can make you laugh or cry...

• Does it sound the way people really talk?
• Is it consistent?
• Do people stay “in character?”
• Do all the characters sound the same?
• Is the dialogue appropriate to the period of the films?
• If it’s supposed to be a comedy, is it funny?” (You’d be surprised how many comedy scripts aren’t funny.)
• Does the dialogue “track well”; that is, does one speech flow naturally into the next?
• Is the script too “stagey” or too “talky”, relying too much on dialogue and not enough visuals? What should you consider when looking at the setting/milieu...

THE SETTING/MILIEU

Oftentimes the setting or milieu in which a story takes place lends a kind of focus and of itself provides an important element which can contribute to a movie’s appeal. Think of movies like THE RIGHT STUFF, SERGEANT BENJAMIN, MEATBALLS, AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, and many others like it where the setting is almost like a significant character in the script. It defines the parameters of the story and sometimes its very uniqueness is a plus in itself.