Get to “I Love You” – Part 4
The “Get to ‘I love you'” principle works for tragic endings too. Even if the lovers are torn apart by fate or necessity, if we as storytellers can leave them with a moment where they declare their love, even if it’s silent or doomed … we’ve got something good.
The classic in this category is the ending of Casablanca, when Bogey puts Ingrid on the plane to Lisbon, giving up his shot at this love-of-his-life for the higher calling of freeing her (and her Resistance leader husband, played by Paul Henreid) to carry on their heroic work.
INGRID
But what about us?BOGEY
We’ll always have Paris.
In other words, “I love you.”
Another great moment of this type is the final scene of the first Godfather. This one is all visual. No dialogue.
The moment takes place in the Don’s house in New Jersey. In the background, we see the new don, Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino), receiving the obeisance of his capos, who kiss his ring and address him as “Godfather” for the first time. In the foreground is Michael’s wife Kay, played by Diane Keaton, folding household laundry, willfully oblivious of the moment that is playing out behind her. One of the capos slowly closes the door to Michael’s office, shutting out Kay forever.
This is “I love you” in its most heartbreaking and emotionally powerful forms.
No wonder AFI has Casablanca at #2 on its all-time list and The Godfather at #3. (Citizen Kane edged them both out.)
DO THE WORK
Steve shows you the predictable Resistance points that every writer hits in a work-in-progress and then shows you how to deal with each one of these sticking points. This book shows you how to keep going with your work.
THE AUTHENTIC SWING
A short book about the writing of a first novel: for Steve, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Having failed with three earlier attempts at novels, here's how Steve finally succeeded.
NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T
Steve shares his "lessons learned" from the trenches of the five different writing careers—advertising, screenwriting, fiction, nonfiction, and self-help. This is tradecraft. An MFA in Writing in 197 pages.
TURNING PRO
Amateurs have amateur habits. Pros have pro habits. When we turn pro, we give up the comfortable life but we find our power. Steve answers the question, "How do we overcome Resistance?"
I have a somewhat rocky love affair with the war of my art. I can’t stand the battlefield sometimes. I don’t want to write my book or do basic chores. I just want to lay around and daydream. But that hurts even worse. The old passion eventually drives me back into the arms of the keyboard. I begin writing my book again and all is well.
You are NOT alone, Clarence. I’ve spent the last week questioning why I even try to sing and write music. I won’t even listen to music for a few days, then I get terribly grumpy and down. The intrinsic value for my well-being is too high. I just have to figure out who I am writing for and why? Inner child? Bullies from school? Prove myself? I really don’t know what the answer is for me. It’s a nag. An itch…
“I just have to figure out who I am writing for and why?”
Same, Kate!
If being a creator was easy then,… you all know the rest of the saying. It’s not easy. But I can’t live with myself if I don’t write and paint. The family can’t bear me either. Keep showing up. maybe someday all will be clear.
Write it to the great sky, nobody in particular, all in general 😉
The Way We Were..especially the song
You beat me to it with The Way We Were, Rick.
When Hubble sees KKKKatie across the street at the Plaza in NYC and asks about their daughter. Oof, all these years later and it holds up. The lump in my throat proves it.
I agree. So, the triad is this: ‘Citizen Kane’, ‘Casablanca’ and ‘The Godfather’. And so, we remember other equally sensational endings. Great lesson, Steve.
Neil Simon’s Plays- all of them, especially as revealed in his book “Rewrites”. A lifetime of “I Love you”.
A good writer should understand that love never completely ends. If a character is obviously getting on with life, seemingly never even thinking about the past, “Smack!” show him a certain sound, a song, a carousel tune to throw him to the mat. Maybe the scent of of Jasmine or cotton candy. Anything to make him bleed. Don’t let him forget Paris.
Jody
Well said, Jody! Got my attention, and reinforced my commitment to a story that I have yet to write.
I love this thread! I’m very appreciative of the clear exemples, especially with video clips. Two days ago, I was watching The Matrix – Resurrections, and after the “All is Lost Moment” close to the ending, Trinity says to her husband: “Stop calling me that, I hate that name; my name is Trinity”. It appeared to me that this was a way to say “I love you” to Neo. Thanks again, Mr. Pressfield! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEcKDk0qqmg
Great post, I never picked up on the metaphor of that last scene in the Godfather. Running the family business eventually swallows Michael and he kills one of his own brothers over it.
When our daughter was in college she studied for a year in Morocco – lived in Rabat. My wife and I flew to visit her. We were in Casablanca catching a plane for Rabat when dense fog rolled in. Near midnight, we walked on the tarmac to the plane and I said, “This is just like Casablanca, I’m Bogart, you are Ingrid Bergman.” We got on the plane and took off but had to return to the airport, the fog was too dangerous to land in Rabat. At the airport in Casablanca they decided to put us on a bus. The found a bus driver and we all piled on with luggage in the aisles. Then the bus driver got on – his eyes all glassy. My wife said she’s not going – the driver was drunk she thought. We got off and stood there as the bus idled trying to decide what to do. I told my wife we have to get on that bus. We have no place to stay and no way to get to Rabat. She didn’t want to. Finally, I said (as Bogart) “If we don’t get on that bus, we’ll regret it. Maybe not today, but someday…” She said to the driver, “You can’t drive, you’re drunk.” Driver said, “No, maam, not drunk, they woke me up and I will be okay to drive you. Please board.” And we did.
The tragic ending that stops my breath is the final chase scene in The Last of the Mohicans. From Major Duncan Heyward’s (Steve Waddington) sacrifice to the death of Magua (Wes Studi). The song, The Gael, makes few words necessary.
Literally shutting out Kay is loving her? I don’t agree, especially when the other example was letting Ingrid have her freedom.
Thank you so much dear Steve.
More than anything, thank you for referring to that AFI list. When I opened it, desire flowed inside my chest. I want so much to see all those movies. Alone at first, my Self and them. What have I lost.
I’m lucky, the end of my book (I’ve written the end, I only need to feel that last gap to the end, where an Elephant must be but I see no Elephants, I almost see no ants too) is a such “Get to I Love You” scene of a possibly micro-epical dimension.
Wish my best to you and Diana and all friends <3
P.s. just saw a beautifully shaped/created film on Netflix: “Leave the world behind”. It touched me emotionally, something that rarely happens, it was quite good really.
Damn me, besides the Mystery that was well crafted in it (you can always know that there is the end of the world going on out there), and the unusual but harmonious Directing that was like vertigo, there was a third in my opinion element, and I recognised it only because you let me know: the Relations between all characters. The writer obviously took the tool that you teached, and he made corellations between ALL characters, and not only character 1 with 2, but also 1 with 3, 2 with 3, 2 with 4 etc. Damn! It made things so much easy to craft. Damn.
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I’ll definitely be sharing this with my colleagues.
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I love this. I am heartbroken and emotionally smashy road