Conflicting & Contradictory Emotions

Question

On occasion I've been given the note before that actors have a hard time with portraying Conflicting & Contradictory Emotions (but in life, it happens all the time).
Is this a valid note? Do they have this problem? Or is it okay to write something like:
"She's pleased to hear it, but tries not to show it. "

"Anybody can direct. There are only 11 good writers." ? Mel Brooks

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]On occasion I've been given the note before that actors have a hard time with portraying Conflicting & Contradictory Emotions ... Or is it okay to write something like: "She's pleased to hear it, but tries not to show it. "[/nq]
I don't see any problem with it because it helps to show us the character's reaction even though, technically, your description can't be seen. I'm trying to think how it could be written "within the rules" and everything I come up with seems clunkier and less descriptive.

RonB
"There's a story there...somewhere"

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]"She's pleased to hear it, but tries not to show it. "[/nq]
[nq:1]I don't see any problem with it because it helps to show us the character's reaction even though, ... think how it could be written "within the rules" and everything I come up with seems clunkier and less descriptive.[/nq]
Here's my take on the "rule" that you should only describe what can be observed on the screen:
Stick to the rule for the first act.
But as things progress and the reader gets to know the character, you can get away with a few little rule-breakers, so long as they're in character and consistent with the plot.
It makes for an easier read and it saves space.

"Anybody can direct. There are only 11 good writers." ? Mel Brooks

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]On occasion I've been given the note before that actors have a hard time with portraying Conflicting & Contradictory Emotions ... Or is it okay to write something like: "She's pleased to hear it, but tries not to show it. "[/nq]
That seems very odd to me, because I find some of the most interesting scenes to be ones where a character is put in a position where we know, because of something that's been set up previously, that they must be feeling one way, but they are compelled by circumstances, or even by their nature, to behave in a different way.

The naturally pugnacious guy who's put in a position where he has to hold his temper and behave himself that's a much more interesting scene, both to write and to watch (and I have to presume, to act) than one in which someone is simply angry and behaves angrily.

Or, just off the top of my head from the recent movie, Miss Potter, (okay, spoilers for those who haven't seen it) Beatrix Potter and Ewan MacGregor are in love but her family doesn't approve he's not in their "class" and so want them to wait a year to get married and they agree and they haven't mentioned anything about this to anyone in his family. As far as they know, the relationship between the two is strictly a business one he's just the fellow who handles her books.
And while she's out at the country he becomes seriously ill and by the time she gets back to London he's died and has already been buried and she goes to the family home but nobody except his sister knows anything about their relationship.
As a result, as far as everyone there is concerned, she's simply someone who's known Ewan as a business associate who's come to pay her respects. They don't realize that they loved each other and she certainly isn't about to say anything.
And so she's forced to sort of play the part of a casual visitor to the mourning family while her heart is broken.
That makes the situation so much more emotionally powerful not only that she's lost the love of her life, but that she's compelled, by the social requirements of her society, to play this public part and it's only when she's alone that she's able to express her grief.

I think that actors have problems when the emotions they are expected to express are muddled or unclear.
But when they are clear you are feeling this, but the scene requires that you show this I think actors completely understand it, and I think audiences also understand it and respond to it just as well.
NMS

Usenet · Answer

Actors do it all the time. Think of any good movie or TV show from the last 10 years, and you'll probably be able to think of a scene where an actor does this.
In the new version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," Nichole Kidman's character does this for about a third of the film. She's totally freaked but tries not to show it in front of the aliens.

In "Gladiator," the emporer's sister tries not to show him her fear when he tries to make out with her. In "Battlestar Galactica," Cara Thrace tries to hide her murderous hatred from her cylon husband before she kills him again.
Actors are always having to portray that their character is trying not to show his or her fear, surprise, ****, whatever. Just like we do in real life.
Lois

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Here's my take on the "rule" that you should only describe what can be observed on the screen: Stick to ... long as they're in character and consistent with the plot. It makes for an easier read and it saves space.[/nq]
Sounds like solid advice. Thanks.

RonB
"There's a story there...somewhere"

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]But when they are clear you are feeling this, but the scene requires that you show this I think actors completely understand it, and I think audiences also understand it and respond to it just as well.[/nq]
Yeah, but there's a hundred reasons why "She's pleased to hear it, but tries not to show it" could be used in a lesser scene, without the deep emotional charge of the one you describe.
To me screenplays are basically shorthand. You can't go into long-drawn out, "what the character thinks or remembers" description, but the above example (to me) seems the most direct route to show a particular emotion.

RonB
"There's a story there...somewhere"

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]On occasion I've been given the note before that actors ... to hear it, but tries not to show it. "[/nq]
[nq:1]I don't see any problem with it because it helps to show us the character's reaction even though, ... think how it could be written "within the rules" and everything I come up with seems clunkier and less descriptive.[/nq]
"While You Were Sleeping". The script called for Lucy to "smile sadly".

Sandra Bullock pulled it off to a tee.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Is this a valid note? Do they have this problem? Or is it okay to write something like: "She's pleased to hear it, but tries not to show it. "[/nq]
I would avoid writing something like that, but not because of the contradiction, but because it's vague and therefore invites poor acting. But it's not really a contradiction, either. The fundamental state is "wants to avoid showing happiness because ..." and the obstacle is "but she's really moved by "
An actor can play it if they can understand it in terms of want and obstacle. eg "She wants him to notice her, but she's terrified that she'll make a fool of herself." Now, again, I wouldn't write that ... but it's a fundamental state which is playable.
There are contradictions which sort of happen in real life, "She wants the cute boy to come over and talk to her, but she also wants to be left alone." Trying to write that sort of thing is a recipe for an unplayable scene. A good actor will drill down into that and find the objective and obstacle and make it playable ... but they may do so in a way that's not what you intended. (And don't count on actors who understand how to do it well).
Therefore, by making the objective and obstacle choices clear, yourself, you'll help keep the scene not only actable, but actable in the way that you want it.
-Ron

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Is this a valid note? Do they have this problem? Or is it okay to write something like: "She's pleased to hear it, but tries not to show it. "[/nq]
Any actor who has trouble with that isn't much of an actor. The key word is "tries". I think the greatest thespian in the land would justifiably balk at
"She's pleased to hear it, but doesn't show it."
but your version is fine.
Bert
www.bertcoules.co.uk

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Is this a valid note? Do they have this problem? ... to hear it, but tries not to show it. "[/nq]
[nq:1]I would avoid writing something like that, but not because of the contradiction, but because it's vague and therefore invites ... choices clear, yourself, you'll help keep the scene not only actable, but actable in the way that you want it.[/nq]
Also, you'd really hope that, once a character is established, the audience/reader knows them well enough that you don't have to narrate their inner life.
Nate
I hear Cory's joining the tour again.
Not a muscle moves in Samantha's face.
Samantha
Yeah? So that whole shoulder problem
is over?
If the writer's done her work, you already know everything about Samantha-in-love-with-Cory-but-hiding-it, or
Cory-has-fallen-into-Samantha's-sinister-trap, and the scene description doesn't need anything more than a little visual beat to accent it.

One of the great things about Jane Austen is how she used the exacting manners of her time to demonstrate people's goodness or wickedness, intelligence or witlessness. The ease with which Elizabeth Bennett can say exactly what she needs to say without revealing anything she doesn't wish to, shows her to always be the smartest person in the room. The collapse of Wickham or Whilloughby's manners under pressure (in P&P and S&S, respectively) shows their unworthiness, even while they attempt to hide it. With Austen, it's all about keeping a lid on it, even if it's a very pretty lid. She'd have been a great screenwriter.
Alan Brooks

A with an Underwood
Isn't it pretty
to think so?
MWSM FAQ: http://www.panix.com/~mwsm/faq.html
Filtering Trolls: http://www.panix.com/~mwsm/trolls.html

Conflicting & Contradictory Emotions

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions