Great Scene: “Up”
Carl gets the house to the top of Paradise Falls, but it’s a Pyrrhic victory.
Today: The 2009 movie Up, screenplay by Bob Peterson and Pete Docter, story by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson and Thomas McCarthy. IMDB plot summary:
To avoid being taken away to a nursing home, an old widower tries to fly his home to Paradise Falls, South America, along with a Boy Scout who accidentally lifted off with him.
Carl has achieved his Want: To transport the house he and Ellie shared to Paradise Falls. Here is the script version of the scene:
Here is the movie version of the scene:
Normally, if you mention the words “great scene” and the movie Up in one sentence, people will immediately chime in with this:
Yes, that is stellar storytelling, but the mini-story of Carl and Ellie’s married life is a setup for the scene I have spotlighted above. Carl has made it. He’s fulfilled his promise to Ellie. He has achieved his Conscious Goal.
However, it is a Pyrrhic victory, filled with emptiness, a reality visualized by the shots chosen in the scene. No sound. Lots of space. And the lonely presence of Ellie’s chair.
Then the picture book. It is a little story itself told in three parts:
Beginning: Carl flips through photos of he and Ellie as children.
Emotion: Sadness his wife is not here to experience her dream realized.
Turn: Carl discovers new photos.
Middle: Carl examines photos of his marriage through their adult years.
Emotion: Surprise tinged with sadness.
Turn: “Thanks for the adventure — now go have a new one! Love, Ellie”
End: Carl holds Russell’s merit badge, looks at Ellie’s chair… crosses his heart.
Emotion: Resolve to go have a new adventure.
Such a fantastic scene because in effect — from beyond the grave — Ellie has given Carl her blessing to be with a new member of the ‘family’: Russell. Functionally, he is a surrogate for Ellie and now when Carl crosses his heart, he is making a new pledge, a new Want: To retrieve Russell. Which sets up the rest of Act Three.
I adore this movie. How about you?
To read all of the entries in the Great Scene archive, go here.
