The Sinner

Synopsis :

Set in Global Economic Crisis Era (2007-08), Victor, an unemployed man goes for an interview for a mysterious job. He faces Karen, a recruiting officer who is so dominating that his questions lead to an unexpected revelation of Victor's dark past.    

Legends:

Narrator (Victor (2015))

Victor (2008)

Karen

Scene 1:

EXT | Children’s Park

(A man is sitting over a bench.)

Narrator: To love is not a sin. Me, you, we don't choose our feelings.There are instances in your life which bring out the inner wild animal and then you're okay with it because that little wild animal becomes a part of you and it deserves to be sympathized with and you two can keep your little secrets. Until someone disturbs the inner decorum.They identify your animal, sympathize with it more than you do, nourish it, make it their pet and then show it what it is and show you what you are. And you are left shattered, lonely. But does the animal inside you really die?

Scene:2

INT | Victor's House

(Victor is drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper lying on the table next to him)

Narrator: 2008.Global Economic Crisis.I had graduated in April last year and I had been unemployed for one year and seven months.I had kept looking for jobs, Newspaper Ads. No success. It was 15th of February, 2008. I came across this ad in the newspaper.

Recruiter: Mystic Co.

"Looking for HONEST Employees. Excellent pay. Light Job."

Job Profile : ---

Time: 09:00 AM

Venue: B-32, Mystic Co. ,Victoria Street, Bangalore-47

Victor:

Holy Fuck!

(Cuts the newspaper ad)

Narrator: 2008. Handful of jobs and too many takers. The competition had grown so fierce that hiring itself was a task. That's where they came in, the recruiters. These companies acted as recruiters and guaranteed to pick up the best from the lot. Mystic Co. was one such firm. You wouldn't know who would actually hire you until you clear the recruiter firm's job interview. The more they grilled the aspirants the better was their market value and heftier the sum they collected from their clients, that is, the companies which actually hired us. Middlemen! Bastards! These sons of bitches were the only ones who were doing well even during the Crisis.

(Pauses)

And Mystic Co. was one the best recruiters in the market. There were too many rumors on the streets about their grilling methods. I knew this would be tough.

Scene:3

INT | Dark Room

(Victor looks nervous. A man walks and sits over next to him.)

Narrator: Next thing I remember I was sitting in this room with this heavy guy.Everything else, Dark. Pitch Black. This guy introduces himself as the Chief Recruiter. I don't recall his name though.

K:

Karen (inaudible) Chief Recruiter.

(shakes hands)

Honesty is the highest form of intimacy.

At this firm we accept anything but dishonesty. And you are?

Victor:

Victor Jose.

K:

Again?

Victor:

Victor Jose.

K:

Say again.

Victor:

Victor Jose.

K: (shouts)

Say it again Victor. At this firm we accept anything but dishonesty and you are?

Victor:

Victor Jose. I will be honest Sir.

K:

Well, Okay Victor.We will see. Welcome to Mystic Co. Now let me tell you one thing. You tell a lie, you're outta here. Do you get what I am saying?

Victor:

I do. Yes sir.

K:

Louder.

Victor:

Yes sir.

K:

Okay, Victor then we shall begin with the interview. Not a lie, Okay Victor?

Victor: (Thinks and nods)

K:

What is that?

Victor:

(Loud enough, laughs) Yes Sir.

K:

Is this funny to you? Am I funny Victor?

Victor:

(Nervous) No Sir.

K:

You're not supposed to laugh Victor. You're not supposed to laugh you pigfuck (louder). Say it again.

Victor:

I 'll be honest and I won't laugh.

K: (stares, crooked smile)

Narrator: By this point of time I had known it won't be easy to face the rest of the Interview. I had heard stories and I could see which way it was leading.

K:

Okay Victor.

(stops. Looks at the papers.)

So tell me Victor what is the most important thing for you right now?

Victor: This job.

K: You sure?

Victor: Very sure sir.

K: Say it again.

Victor: Yes sir.

K: Say it again.

Victor:

This job is the most important thing for me right now.

K:

So, you won't back out?

Victor:

Back out of what?

K: (shouts)

This job interview

Victor:

NO Sir.

K:

Okay Victor. Then we shall start with the series of questions we have here. Just answer honestly. You know how much we love honesty Victor. Don't you?

Victor:

Yes Sir.

(Pause)

K:

Are you a good listener?

Victor: (thinks, tilts his head)

Yes, Sir.

K:

Are you thoughtful of your remarks?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Do you consider yourself fit for the job?

Victor:

Yes Sir.

K:

Both mentally and physically?

Victor:

Yes Sir.

K:

Are you sick Victor?

Victor: (Laughs)

No Sir.

K:

You look like a physically fit person Victor. Are you S-I-C-K sick Victor, mentally?

Victor:

No, Sir. I wonder what makes you say that?

K:(Explodes)

You Pigfuck! It is my job to ask and yours to answer. Don't act smart.

Just answer what you're asked or get the fuck outta here. Understand?

Victor:

Yes Sir.

K:

Are you mentally fit?

Victor:

Yes Sir.

K:

Is your life a struggle?

Victor:

No.

K:

Is your life a struggle?

Victor:  

No.

K:

Is your life a struggle?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Do you find it easy to be fair?

Victor(Thinks, tilts his head):

Umm... No.

K:

Are you a good team-worker?

Victor:

Yes, Sir.

K:

How do you know?

Victor:  

Sir, I was a part of...

K: (Ignores, Interrupts midway)

Do you find interest in your co-workers?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Do you find interest in your co-workers?

Victor:  

Yes.

K:

Sexually?

Victor:(Strongly)

No.

K: Are you concerned with the impression you make?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Okay. Thanks. You may leave.

Victor:

What? That's it? I had heard stories. Do I have the job?

K:

No. That's it for you. You think too hard. You interrupt. You are ambivalent.You're concerned more about your image.More than honesty.

Victor:

No, No, No... I really  need this job. You gotta ask me more questions. I am ready. Come on, please.

K:

Okay. Could you answer the next series of questions without blinking your eyes? Without Fear?

Without reluctance?

Victor:

Yes.Yes.Yes..

K:

Answer as quickly as you can.

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Okay. Starting now, you're not to blink.If you blink we go back to start.

Victor: ( Blinks )

K:

Infringement. You blinked.

Victor: (Tries very hard to open both we eyes. Uses his hands to open the eyes wide.)

(Pause)

K:

Are you mentally fit?

Victor:

Yes

K:

Do you show interests in your co-workers?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Sexually?

Victor:

Depends.

K:

Depends on what?

Victor:

Man or woman.

K:

Do you like men?

Victor:

No.

K:

Do you like children?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Sexually?

Victor:

(Blinks, breathes heavily)

K:

Infringement. You blinked.

Victor: (shouts)

Fuck!

(Slaps himself three times)

K:

Back to the start. This is your last chance Victor.

Victor: (Breaths heavily. Then uses his hands again to keep his eyes wide open.)

K:

Are you mentally fit?

Victor:(looks numb and confident)

No.

K:

Do you like men?

Victor:(looks numb and confident)

No.

K:

Do you like children?

Victor:(looks numb and confident)

Yes.

K:

Sexually?

Victor:(looks numb and confident)

Yes.

K:

Are you lying?

Victor:

No.

K:

Have you had sex with anyone inside your family?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Who?

Victor:

My cousin Jasmine.

K:

Are you lying?

Victor:

No.

K:

Are you a liar?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

How old were you?

Victor:

19.

K:

How old was she?

Victor:

11.

K:

How many times have you had sex with Jasmine?

Victor:

Once.

K:

Where is your dad?

Victor:

I don't know.We don't talk.

K:

Is that because of that incident?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Where is your mother?

Victor: (Doesn't blink. Stares. Says nothing.)

K:

Where is your mother?

Victor:

Loony Bin.

K:

Is she a mental patient?

Victor:

Yes.

K:

Is she psychotic?

Victor:(shouts)

Yes.

K:

Do you still talk to Jasmine?

Victor:(shouts)

No.

K:

Why not?

Victor:(shouts)

Because my uncle won't let me.

K:

Have you tried to kidnap her?

Victor:(shouts)

No.

K:

Will you kidnap her?

Victor:

I may.

K:

How come you have had sex with her?

Victor:

I love her. She loves me too. I have seen her growing in front of my eyes. I took care of her. I will take care of her. I 'll marry her and we will elope. Somewhere far from this insane world. She is a my little flower. And I deserve to smell my flower. I fed her. I own her. She is so beautiful. I deserve her more than anyone does. She is my soul-mate. We belong to the same family, that's not our fault. I am not a pedophile. She'll be the same to me even if she is a two year old kid or a hundred year old woman. She will be my lover & I will be her lover.

K:(Reaches out to hold his hand.)

Do you really love her?

Victor:(Cries)

Yes.

K:

Do you think she loves you?

Victor:(Cries)

Yes

K:

Does she love you?

Victor:(Cries, blinks)

(Silence prevails for a couple of seconds.)

K:

You're hired. National Crime Bureau.

CUT TO

Scene 1:

EXT | Children’s Park

Narrator: As it turned out, the whole room was wired and the guy was an agent from the  National Crime Bureau, a secret Government Agency which worked under the name Mystic Co.

Jail-term. Seven years. I have served my time. I am free. I tried doing everything I could to find her. Found no trace of her. Jasmine, love of my life. No regrets. There is Ana. She visits this park every evening. It's about time.

(Looks at his watch)

What a beauty! Jasmine comes back to my life every time Ana sits on my lap. Ana! What a beauty!

THE END

SoundTrack

A Perpetual State of Highness

What maybe started as a way to relax and kill time of his not-so-busy schedule took over as a habit. The more he had it, the more room he started giving it and hence more time he had for it. Maybe he always wished for it. And now that he got it, he hated it more than anything, a never ending state of highness, a permanent altered state of consciousness. He could feel his soul standing two inches above him, his hands below his soul's, his head right below his soul's, his soul's kneecaps over his thighs and the soul's heart beating in the air just near his mouth which made his lips make subtle movements in synchronization with the soul's heart sometimes. Ants crawling all over his skin, the sensation of touch came a bit late, the dark became too dark and bright became too bright and the too bright and the too dark fainted him. The voices all echoed, kept on echoing till it reached the brain and the brain could make a sense outta it. Even two puffs of a cigarette got him to reach his maximal. He could find the dizziness in the air. Every time he inhaled, he got higher. His perceptions became so intense that sometimes his heart started to pound and the body sweat without any reason at times. He was beginning to memorize the in-depth details of some events from far in the past that he had never even remembered faintly. Like that t-shirt he used to wear when he was five years old, it had a face of a joker over it which resembled the Joker from The Batman Trilogy, which was created years after the t-shirt was created and yet he thought if the screenplay was written much before or if the artist who created that paint over that t-shirt could see the future because even the mouth of that Joker looked sliced at both the ends as far as he could remember. And it was, he thought, possibly impossible for two different artists to add a detail like that to something. He also thought if it were all just the superimposition of the two independent events that his drug-addicted fucked up brain had created and that the face on the t-shirt was something else or it was just maybe a co-incidence as the naive would say.  

He wanted his sobriety back but there was no way he was gonna get it back easily. He tried to sleep hoping that one day when he would wake up and it would all vanish as a bad dream. But he knew it wasn't a dream. No matter how much he slept, he was always tired. He felt his soul working out all the fucking time. Making Synchronized movements to please his body and his mind as it always did. But now it irritated him and he didn't know what to do. This wasn't supernatural, he thought otherwise he would have felt something taking over him which sometimes he felt but still he wouldn't admit it, not because he didn't believe in the occult but because he could not digest the fact that something was taking over him. He convinced himself that he felt something leaving his body, not taking over it . He knew It wasn't natural either. Anyway he couldn't go for a check-up, he thought because that would unveil his drug history. And also he wouldn't be able to explain what exactly was happening to him so maybe he would be mistaken for growing insane or maybe he actually was. So he just waited and kept waiting for it to go. 

This was the third time it happened. It happened every month since December. In December it stayed for five days, in January for six days but now, in February it exhausted him on the third day itself. For an egotist like him, something taking over control of things he possessed without his will was his worst nightmare. He had always loved challenges and he had hated loosing them. He wasn't loosing this time either but this time the struggle was bad because it was a rebellion from what he had thought was his slave. Something he could use and throw away as and when he wanted to, just like the women in his life, for none lasted for even a few months, neither he wanted them to. He tried and gave up anything and everything to get to them and get them but after he got them he traded them back for anything trivial. And he never regretted. It was a struggle for him now because it was his first regret. He was starting to regret the importance he gave to this state which wouldn't go now. He was willing to give it all up now. The women were better, he said to himself. And the voices echoed till it reached for his brain to interpret and say that again and a vicious circle continued till he got exhausted and slept or maybe fainted. 

The Playlist Nostalgia

Playlist Nostalgia: A Musical Trip down the Memory Lane

Hey, you want a trip? A fucking free trip? Guess what, I don't have one. It's just a free advice , but that's enough. You just follow this and you 'll have your own trip down the memory lane, Oops! Such a Cliched phrase! That's not creativity-block, it's just that I am not Hemingway, you see.

So Here's one! Have Fun.

So the magic of playlists is that if these stay, these stay. Like whenever you listen to an old playlist the vivid or haunted images, depending upon your personal experiences, from past start dancing miraculously in front of your eyes, nobody gives a fuck shut or open.
And when this happens, now wait there and take a good deep note of these images, like the Taxman, Oh no! I am not a magician and this is not an insinuation, it's just nostalgia, Your own fucking Ex-World trying to communicate to you. Its like an escapade, to see your past whirling rhythmically to the beats of some old songs you can play as and when you want when the whole world is just ready to pay anything to get a slight glimpse of their future and you, my "Sad guy" as Richard Flanagan would say to those who have nothing but past, are dancing with your past with some old songs nobody gives a shit about but wait neither do you, right, do you? Oh I got you! You're a typical People-conscious-son-of-a-bitch who would cry like a little girl on your mother's chest if at all the world stopped giving fucks about you, yes YOU, because YOU are fucking important, YOU are fucking important!
And I am not Bullshitting and this Playlist Experiment is tried and tested and for a fact is true, no matter how high you are! So Now, you have got to hear my story, not because I am important, but because it may interest YOU and as I said - YOU are important.

I had this playlist when I was about to appear for my board exams:

1.Radio : The Corrs

2.Girlfriend in Coma : The Smiths

3.Bailamos : Enrique Iglesias

4.Norwegian Wood : The Beatles

5.Hey Jude : The Beatles

6.Some Girls are Bigger than the others : The Smiths

So yeah, I used to play these six songs over and over again along with being involved with a couple of more newly-adopted activities like smoking cigarettes, playing card games but with the ultimate aim of staying up and studying the whole night which I eventually kept down to staying up the whole night. And time used to pass just like that, with these songs being played on repeat over and over again & the Decent guy in the next dorm requesting me a couple of times at night to turn down the volume to which I would reply immediately: “Fuck Off”, even though I would turn the volume down before saying that. You can only do such things to a Decent person. The world is filthy and you have to contribute your filth, I did it this way. And if you don't, you may face very soon somebody dumping a load of this filth all over you. If you see now, that too was like a playlist, our conversation, being played on repeat over and over again, every night, without any fail. Yeah, that's the song number Seven. Congratulations, You got a Rainbow Now. 

To Each His Own Cinema- Fight Club

"Three Minutes.This is it- Ground zero"

David Fincher's Fight Club recently completed its 15 years. For me, It is undoubtedly the best movie I have ever watched. It's a satire on the structure of modern society and the growing Lonerism in Our Branded Lives. It's inspirational. It introduces you to the strength of your subconscious.

It's your best companion when you're low and it is philosophical in its own way. And there are so many hidden elements to look for in the movie that I find it fresh every time I watch it. 

We did shoot a 3-minute film !

3 Minutes(To Each His Own Cinema-FightClub)
Below is the screenplay I have written as a tribute to this great cinema.

To Each His Own Cinema- Fight Club

A guy is kneeling with a gun barrel in his throat.

GUY

(Voice-over)

People always ask me if i know them.

ASSAILANT

Three minutes. This is it. Ground zero.Do you have to say few words to mark the occasion?

GUY wakes up.He uses a towel placed next to him to clean himself up.He looks at the clock. It shows 3 PM.He gets up and starts walking towards the mirror.

GUY

(Voice-over)

For six months, i could not sleep. I could not sleep, could not sleep. With insomnia, nothing is real.

The projector starts on its own.

GUY

(Voice-over)

Everything is far away.

GUY looks at his laptop placed 3 feet away from him.Walks slowly and sits in front of it.

Someone knocks the door. GUY opens the door. He gets a punch right over his eyes. GUY comes back and sits in front of his laptop.

Someone knocks the door. GUY opens the door. He gets a punch right over his eyes. GUY comes back and sits in front of his laptop.

Someone knocks the door. GUY opens the door. He gets a punch right over his eyes. GUY comes back and sits in front of his laptop.

Someone knocks the door. GUY gets a punch right over his eyes.

Someone knocks the door. GUY punches himself right over his eyes.

Someone knocks the door. GUY punches himself right over his eyes.

The movie begins.

ASSAILANT

3 minutes. This is it. Ground zero.

-FIN-

Movie Review: Haider (2014)

"हम हैं कि हम नहीं । "

Haider is an adaptation of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. The plot is based in the beautiful valley of Kashmir which is also the land of dispute between India & Pakistan and has been used to accentuate the philosophy of "to be or not to be". Set against its backdrop is the story of Haider, a young Kashmiri who seeks vengeance against his uncle who is romantically involved with his mother after his father's death and is also Haider's prime suspect in the event of disappearance of his father.

Key Ingredients:

1.  Language and subtle use of Urdu poetry in the dialogues have been used as substantial tools in the movie. The dialogues are written by Vishal Bhardwaj. The writer has made a splendid use of literature in the screenplay. The use of symbolism and metaphors is equally loudable. Some of the dialogues which are very catchy metaphors are:
आँच कम कर लें थोड़ा ।
घर नहीं , पूरा गांव जलवाएंगे आप ।
मैं डॉक्टर की रुह हूँ ।
"हम हैं कि हम नहीं । "
The collation of AFSPA in Kashmir with CHUTZPAH, a word which sounds like Chutyapa (a Hindi cuss word).
The film is full of scenes depicting dark humor. Three old men gleefully digging their own graves and inviting Haider to dig one for himself which is to exemplify that joining militancy in Kashmir is equivalent to death. 

2.The film makes cerebral use of satirical comedy. The signature scene to highlight this is the one in which Rooh tricks a Kashmiri to get into his own house who was refusing to do so.It is a satire on AFSPA and militarization of Kashmir. Also there are two characters who are big fans of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan (Bhai). Their names are also Salman. They behave/act like Salman Khan even in the most intense situations which is Vishal Bhardwaj's dark humor at its best. 

3. Unlike most Bollywood movies in which the characters unrealistically start singing songs in appealing voices with background music from "god-knows-where", in Haider three of the songs have been actually sung by the characters without the background music ( Aao na Haider, Gulon Mein Rang & Do Jahan). Only two songs "Khul Kabhi toh" & "Bismil" have been added to commercial value to the movie. But then the choreography of "Bismil" is another high-point of the movie which needs a special mention. It portrays the aggression in Haider to take his revenge and also is an essential scene of the movie through which everyone comes to know of his real intentions. 
The music is somewhat influenced by the regional folk-music of Kashmir. I felt that background scores were missing in many of the scenes. Adding more scores could have made the movie more interesting and intense.  

4. Another incentive for watching Haider is its cinematography. It is one of the best photographed Bollywood movies. Moreover the beautiful Kashmir Valley gives wonderful opportunities to make it a exhilarating visual experience for the audience.

5. The actors have done a tremendous job. Kay Kay Menon as Khurram, Haider's uncle, is so existent that you are not sure if he is really the one who is involved in his brother's killing till he himself says so. Tabu has "lived" Ghazala in the film. She fancies of Khurram as her body and Haider as her soul and is helpless in their conflict. This is a very rare mainstream bollywood movie in which the actors have actually tried to incorporate the regional accent. Even though the continuity is missing in the same. 

Haider is a scintillating cinema. Though the editing part is very average. However, we must not overlook the fact that the movie was given 42 cuts to get it ratified by the censor Board of  India which has evidently infected its flow.I rate this movie 8.5/10.

     

  

  

Movie Review: Magnolia (1999)

"Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours".

Magnolia is an epic story of many characters whose lives intersect on a particular day. All the characters are in the life long search of either love or forgiveness. The film basically highlights the atrocities on children by their parents and its severe consequences.

This movie totally stands out as a true masterpiece and is certainly one of the best movies produced in "drama" category of all time. This is one of those very  rare movies which totally binds its audience even after having a length of over three hours.

Key Ingredients:

1.We have seen movies with two or three parallel stories running at the same time but in Magnolia, we have nine different plots running at the same time which keep on intersecting. Not only that, throughout the movie the screenwriter has ensured that the mood of each and every plot is the same which has helped the editor to easily switch from one plot to the other plot without using a blackout transition or breaking the movie into parts. I think it is an outstanding job to do so because even though your anxiety level is at peak while watching one of the plots you don't criticize the editor for making a cut to a scene from a different plot because the other plots also at that moment have the same anxiety level. So, in this way none of the plots are weaker or stronger as compared to the other plots. 

2. The soundtracks were created by Aimee Mann . The background scores were created by John Bryant which helped a lot in connecting the scenes. The central theme being- "Regret & Disappointments due to futile attempts in search of love and forgiveness". The soundtracks have really helped to add to the tension created for the viewers. The soundtracks work well for all the plots as the emotional peaks and troughs occur simultaneously for all the plots.  

3. The reason I call it one of the best movies in Drama categories I have ever watched is because of the actors. Paul Thomas Anderson  decided to go with the same cast he used in Boogie Nights which could be risky but turned out to be a very good decision because for a movie of this magnitude and having so many characters you have got to ensure that your cast understands you and your script very well.This is probably the reason why one can't rule out one of the plots as a weaker one. You know what would be the toughest question you could ask someone after watching this movie,  It would be which of the plots would you drop/cut down to reduce the movie-length from over three hours. Try it!

4. Even though the movie is full of scenes which have extraordinary dramatization, there are a few scenes that i would like to highlight in particular :

a) Julianne Moore's outburst in the medical store when she goes there to collect the medicines and the store-guy "forgets his decency".

b)The kid's refusal to answer the quiz questions in the T.V show.   

c)Frank's lecture about seducing and destroying women. This is undoubtedly Tom Cruise's best performance in any of his movies that i have watched! 

5. A large number of connecting elements have been added for the intersection of various plots. The T.V show being one of that which allows the editor to jump from the T.V kept in one scene in a particular plot to another T.V in a completely different scene from some other plot or may be to the T.V show itself being shot. There is a particular sequence in which every character is singing Aimee Mann's "Wise up". But the totally unexpected part is the climax when frogs start falling from the sky. The phrase "Its raining cats and dogs" was being repeatedly used in many scenes.All of a sudden,you realize that the phrase actually converts into reality.

Legends :

1. Donnie Smith: Quiz kid Donnie Smith was the winner of a T.V show back when he was a kid. But all his income was spent by his parents and he has been left alone without any support. He had a job which he loses. He is also getting himself braces to impress a guy at Bar whom he likes.(Apparently this guy also has braces) And his desire to love this bar-guy even compels him to do a robbery.

2. Stanley: He is the current Quiz kid who is under a tremendous pressure from his dad to win the game show but unlike Donnie, he refuses to accept the things his dad wants him to do and outbursts on the set of the T.V show.

3. Earl: He is an old guy on his death-bed who had ditched his first wife and his only son for useless things and seeks forgiveness from his son.He is also the producer  of the T.V show.

4. Frank: He is Earl's son who has led a terrible life due to his father's negligence and who now has turned into a chauvinistic womanizer who lectures men on how to conquer and destroy women.

5. Linda: She is Earl's new wife who married him just for his money but ultimately falls in love with him and regrets for betraying him while he was on his deathbed.

6.Jimmy Gator: He is the host of the Quiz kid T.V show. He had molested his own daughter but he is ironically introduced as being very good to kids.

7.Claudia: She is Jimmy's daughter who got separated from her dad because she believed he molested her. She has totally submerged herself into drugs and ruined herself by "whoring around" as put by Jimmy.

8.Phil Parma: He is Earl's nurse and he actually fulfills Earl's last wish by getting Frank to meet him. 

9.Officer Jim: He is an honest officer who is just the perfect man any girl would want but even at the age of 31 he has not been able to find anyone who would love him. This has made him a bit desperate in his attempt as he dates Claudia even without figuring out what is she like.

Even though one could point out that Paul Thomas Anderson hasn't been very experimental in this production apart from his typical long single-takes which he used in Boogie Nights too. But i would still say that the screenplay didn't demand that and rate this movie 9.5 on 10.

Secrets Of Screenwriting

As defined by Wikipedia, Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media. I will start with the most basic thing in screenwriting and that is the "Acts". There are three acts in screenwriting :
1.Set-up : The first act in which you develop the character of your protagonist. Now it is important to discuss here that the protagonist does not simply mean the main male/female lead in your movie.It may be a dog, a cat, a cardboard, a group of people. It can be anything. It depends upon the story you are writing.
2. Confrontation : Once you build the character, the next act is your protagonist's trouble. The protagonist has to face a situation which disturbs the protagonist or any conflict which makes the movie interesting or the viewer binding.
3. Resolution : Finally comes the third act- The third act depicts how the protagonist tries to tackle the situation.Whether or not the problem is solved is not important always. Some writers leave an open ending for their viewers to interpret. Ashghar Farhadi, an Iranian screenwriter & director does it beautifully in many of his movies.

Apart from these Acts, screenwriting can be explained through 4 P's :

1.People : "People" here refers to the characters in your movie. If you are writing a script with "Black & White characters" , that is you want the characters to be judged by the audience just as good or evil, then you have to build the characters accordingly. You will want your audience to root for your protagonists and against your antagonists. A section of writers also use "Colored-characters" characters as they want their audience to change their perceptions at certain points so that everyone doesn't end up picking just one side. R.R.Martin has done the same in "Game of thrones".

2.Plot : To drive a story/movie you need a conflict. That doesn't mean your story needs a villain. That's not a compulsion. Conflicts can be shown and tensions can be created in many ways. A number of films have been made on the complexity of human nature highlighting the internal conflict of mind.

3.Purpose: There should be a purpose of your story/movie. It may be hidden or shown in a very complicated manner as in many of the surreal movies. If the production team is certain about the purpose of creation, the outcome is always satisfying.

4.Place: A suitable location can add depth & Intrigue to your characters and story. It has the potential of visually communicating a great amount of information in a short period of time.When choosing a  location take care of the following things:
a)Relevance to the character/scene.
b) Comfort-ability for shooting the scene both for actors and the crew.
c) Space, lighting & noise-level conductive to a good shot.