"But talking about it (freedom) and bein' it, that's two different things. I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But if they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em.
-Jack Nicholson as George Hanson in Easy Rider"

Bravura filmmaking requires bravura writing. Powerful performances require powerful dialogue in every unforgettable film.

Consider an amazing performance by actor Bruno Ganz, portraying Hitler in a movie called Downfall. Told from the perspective of a young female secretary hired personally by Adolf Hitler, the film is absolutely brilliant. But although nominated for ONE Oscar, the movie was seen by comparatively few people.

Hitler biographer, Sir Ian Kershaw wrote: "Of all the screen depictions of the Fuhrer, even by famous actors such as Alec Guinness or Anthony Hopkins, this is the only one which to me is compelling. Part of this is the voice. Ganz has Hitler's voice to near perfection. It is chillingly authentic."

Was the portrayal of Hitler by Bruno Ganz too perfect? Too Perfect. Sounds strange to say that about a very real villain, right, a very real monster? But by Hollywood standards was Hitler not villainous enough? Were the Germans not villainous enough? Indeed, some of the doomed Germans came across as rather heroic. Certain bigshot Hollywood movie people may have looked askance at these nuances. And if certain media folks and media film critics were swayed too, the movie is doomed. No gold plated prizes, no splashly promos, no endless accolades by TV talking heads.

Hitler was a very real character, some say a madman, and the actor gave an incredible performance. The Joker was a caricature, a fictional villain, and yet most viewers seemed to agree with the voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. To them, the performance by Heath Ledger was Oscar-worthy while Bruno Ganz was not even worthy of a nomination. Judging purely by box office receipts, moviegoers seem to prefer their heroes and villains to be entirely fictional and based on cartoon characters.

Which begs the question: When was the last time you heard any powerful dialogue in a popular movie? Ever? Truthfully, when have you ever heard any Hollywood hero give an unforgettable speech, or a Tinseltown villain say anything truly revealing about the inequalities, the corruption or the iniquities of every day life?

Can They really Say That in a Movie?

Suppose we go back twenty years or so. Here's what Warren Beatty, as Senator Bulworth, said on the same subject, of the Media, of Hollywood and the powerbrokers there.

"The funny thing is how lousy most of your stuff is. You know, you make violent films, you make dirty films, you make family films, but just most of them are not very good, are they? Funny that so many smart people can work so hard on them, and spend all that money on them, and what do you think it is? It must be the money. It turns everything to crap!"

Would any other scriptwriter / filmmaker dare to write that bit of dialogue today? I doubt it. Not if they wanted to make another movie. Warren Beatty didn't make too many movies after his outrageous role in Bulworth, did he? Indeed, nearly twenty years passed before Beatty was given a prominent place at the Oscar ceremonies, with that bungled and memorable trophy presentation. Senator Bulworth would have been proud.

Not too long ago I wrote an amusing essay for the internet on this same subject of truth-telling. Called Before Trump, Sen Bulworth Spoke Truth To Power, the column exams our vaunted freedom of speech. But what can you or I really say, before we get censored these days? Well, that essay went viral, at least on the internet. The so-called elite media would never ever allow such an essay for public consumption.

Most viewers were probably shocked and surprised that a pair of unknown actors managed to pen a script called Good Will Hunting that contained some pretty edgy dialogue. VERY edgy dialogue, actually. The script, and the movie that resulted, went on to win Oscars 20 years ago and was harshly critical of the the powerbrokers in Washington DC long before anyone heard of Edward Snowden. The protagonist of that movie, played by a relatively unknown actor named Matt Damon, is called Will and he's a troubled but brilliant math savant. Combative and mostly silent to his shrink, Will finally unloads to his therapist, brilliantly portrayed by Robin Williams.

What follows is one of the greatest, longest movie monologues in cinema history. I can imagine how the writers, director, producers and actors went back and forth, whether to cut this extremely long, powerful spiel down to a pithy rant. Would you? Most of us probably would have shortened it by half, at least, or toned down the sarcasm and accusations. Here is Will speaking:

"Why shouldn't I work for the N.S.A.? That's a tough one, but I'll take a shot. Say I'm working at the N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of the rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels were hiding and fifteen hundred people I never met, never had no problem with, get killed.

Now the politicians are sayin,' "Oh, send in the Marines to secure the area" 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kids over there, getting' shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number got called, 'cause they were pullin' a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Southie takin' shrapnel in the ass. And he comes back to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks.

Meanwhile, he realizes the only reason he was over there in the first place was so we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And, of course, the oil companies used the skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices. A cute little ancillary benefit for them, but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. And they're takin' their sweet time bringin' the oil back, of course, and maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and fuckin' play slalom with icebergs, and it ain't too long 'til he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic.

So now my buddy's out of work and he can't afford to drive, so he's got to walk to the fuckin' job interviews, which sucks 'cause the shrapnel in his ass is given him chronic hemorrhoids. And meantime he's starvin', 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat, the only blue plate special they're servin' is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what did I think? I'm holding out for somethin' better. I figure fuck it, while I'm at it why not just shoot my buddy, take his job, give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected president."

As you can see, that took a lot of guts NOT to cut. Every scriptwriter is probably tempted to tone down some lines. But why? To get a PG rating? To pander to movie critics and reviewers? To make movie characters more likeable? To cater to the personal tastes of powerful producers who might be watching?

Some of the dialogue in my movie Caution to the Wind is inflammatory for a purpose. I wanted to define the characters within my story and their subsequent actions. They talk like real people do, sometimes funny, sometimes angry, sometimes with a great deal of hostility. Like everyday people. They talk like me, and I'll bet, they talk like you.

No scriptwriter should ever apologize for dialogue that hits home, even if it makes someone in the audience uncomfortable. Isn't that what some brave newsman said he wanted to achieve? To comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable? The more we learn about real people, the more shadowy they become. They become more complex, both good and evil. I can probably name a dozen, dead famous Hollywood celebrities that were far more complex and shadowy than any fake movie character, hero or villain, ever created by a scriptwriter.

Should we writers and filmmakers shy away from powerful dialogue, cut every line and self-censure every character? No fucking way. Without bold writing, there can be no bold acting. Bullets and bombs do not make bravura filmmaking. They certainly do not substitute for bravura characters. Inspired genius creates it instead. Speaking truth to power may be box office death and damnation by media critics today. But what memorable dialogue did you ever hear in a popular superhero movie? What powerful or inspiring speech have you ever heard in a so-called Action / Adventure movie?

Anything? Ever?

Douglas Alan Herman wrote Throwing Caution to The Wind, about his experience writing and directing a feature film on a budget. The book is available on Amazon.

Throwing Caution to The Wind