Given my second favouite thing to do is watch movies (my first being writing, of course) to be told that watching movies can help me understand the writing concept of ‘show & tell’ is very good news. I actually tried it tonight. But rather than watch with the volume up, I muted the DVD. (I know the dialogue anyway!)
You see, I struggle with writing those sensual/love scenes. I just can’t seem to find the words while sitting at the keyboard. What I discovered was the movie talked to me even more without sound so I grabbed my old dictaphone and started describing what I was seeing on screen.
It worked.
I still need to practice. (It will be a real hardship watching that scene in Unfaithful between Olivier Martinez and Diane Lane over and over again!!)
Come to think of it, there’s stacks of potential silent sensations – there’s The Notebook’s boat on the lake in the rain scene, the pool house scene with Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black, and then there’s Meryl Streep and Clint Eastward for the entire Bridges of Madison County. You probably have your own favouites.
Worth a try.