5 Perfectly Delivered Lines

7 months ago

by Andrew Root

A lot of films (some might even say a majority) are poorly written. Internet inhabitants are probably familiar with fan-made montages, editing together a phalanx of utterances of the same tired cliches, so overused as to defy all logic. Just how many times - and in how many situations - can a character warn their friends of impending doom by shouting “GET OUT OF THERE?” Or call into question someone’s mental integrity with the simple remark, “you just don’t get it, do you?”

Making movies is a difficult process and is often done very quickly without time to put a personalized stamp on a timeworn scrap of dialogue. Simply put, an actor’s job is difficult. They kind of have to go with what’s been given to them, often in a maddeningly word-for-word style, depending on the writer and the director they’re working with. But every so often, however, an actor saves what could have been a throwaway line and spins it into pure gold; a moment which reveals their own personal talents and dedication to the project; a moment which crystallizes their character and speaks to the greater artistic vision of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. This is not a definitive list (no such thing could exist). This is a sampling of uncommon elegance.

1. “Fucking cops!” by Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects. Written by Christopher McQuarrie (1995)

When Kevin Spacey’s Verbal Kint, the crippled con man who “talks too much” says this line, he is very close to revealing a very big secret. Throughout the film he has been dancing around the identity of the infamous Keyzer Soze, mob boss, ruthless killer, and possibly the devil himself. Verbal has been protecting his friends and fellow criminals from a smug Customs agent, refusing to cooperate an entirely lucid manner, rejecting plea deals and offers to testify, and finally tolerating a beating from an exasperated Chazz Palminteri. There’s no question that Palminteri’s David Kujan comes off as the bed guy here; Verbal is literally unable to defend himself. He’s been funny, affable, and genuinely emotionally touching throughout the entirety of the film, and he really doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment. When he is finally allowed to leave, he turns and - with tears in his eyes and a broken voice - delivers one final parting shot to the angry, embarrassed Kujan: “Fucking cops!”

Of course, then we find out that Verbal IS Keyzer Soze, and that he’s been lying this entire time (possibly for his own amusement). On a second viewing, that emotional salvo has a completely different meaning. Verbal is actively fucking with Kujan, intentionally making him feel bad for his treasured macho persona. Kujan loves leaning on criminals, embarrassing them in front of their new, legitimate business partners, throwing his weight around in the interrogation room, and in two words Verbal makes him feel awful for it. The knowledge that Verbal and Soze are one and the same brings it all into the forefront, a moment dripping with dramatic irony (on the second viewing at least), one which firmly aligns the viewer’s sympathy with the criminals, first for one reason, and then for another. As Verbal would say, “It was beautiful.”

2. “Mount the curb!” by Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon in The Dark Knight. Written by Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan, & David S. Goyer (2008).

Try saying this line out loud to yourself. Now try shouting it. Did you sound ridiculous? You kinda did, didn’t you? You looked around to see if anyone was around? Maybe your cat gave you a weird look? Now imagine shouting that line over and over again in a room full of people, one of whom would come over and offer suggestions on how to say those words better. That’s what it’s like on a film set. Gary Oldman, being watched by director Christopher Nolan, lighting and sound technicians, other actors, cameramen, and a stunt team, shouting this line over and over again until he got it just right.

The script for The Dark Knight is pretty incredible. You’d think with a script as solid as it was, it’d be nigh impossible for an actor to screw it up too badly, but then you see the countless Joker parodies, and you realize the incredible amount of work that actors put into their delivery. As Jim Gordon races through the streets of Gotham to save Harvey Dent from the Joker’s machinations, he orders his driver to disregard pedestrian traffic and steer the car up onto the sidewalk. Does he explain that all due haste is required for this incredible situation and as such the standard rules of the road should not apply? No! He shouts “Mount the curb!” and the officer fucking LISTENS. Could you do that and have no one question you? Your cat just gave you a weird look.

3. “I have ice in my glass.” by Tom Hanks as Chuck Noland in Cast Away. Written by William Broyles Jr. (2000).

This line comes right near the end of the film. Chuck Noland has survived a plane crash, been marooned on a deserted island for four years, made an unbelievable journey across the ocean, and been reunited with most of his friends and family. In the four years since his presumed death, his girlfriend Kelly has moved on (or at least let on that she had). Resigned to his fate, Chuck had accepted his life on the island and simply set about the business of surviving day to day until serendipity brought him the materials to sail off the island. He lived for four whole years fishing, foraging, performing his own dentistry, and talking to a volleyball. Imagine the isolation, the absurdity of daily life, the complete hopelessness that must have surrounded him. As he sits in a Memphis hotel room, he marvels over the most commonplace item, completely taken by the ice cubes in a glass. His voice is weighty with emotion - not least of all because he is describing his failed suicide attempt - but what breaks him is the simplicity of an unexceptional luxury.

4. “I was the only one to see her for what she was… a freak!” by Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley in Harry Potter and the Philopher’s Stone. Written by Steve Kloves, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling (2001).

Few people have hated anything as vehemently as Petunia Dursley hates members of her own family. Our introduction to a certain young wizard’s aunt comes when she rouses him from his cupboard-under-the-stairs slumber with a growl of “UP. GET UP!” A loving matriarch, this is not. But when the truth outs about Harry’s magical lineage, the dam bursts. This entire monologue is uttered with panache, but Shaw pours many things into her final words; hate, fear, cruelty, jealousy, horror, and a touch of blind, maniacal xenohobia. She uses every letter in the word to perfectly summarize her abhorrence of all things different. If she wasn’t intolerant enough already, this line makes her a thing deeply terrifying; she is supposed to care, but doesn’t. Worse than a Death Eater. Perhaps even worse than Voldemort himself.

5. “Yeah… Yeah.” by Gene Wilder as Jim/The Waco Kid in Blazing Saddles. Written by Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor & Alan Unger (1974).

“Yeah, yeah” is the ultimate throwaway line. It’s dismissive and transitory in nature, and doesn’t really serve any purpose in a conversation except to push blindly forward. This was the danger Gene Wilder faced in the chess piece scene from Blazing Saddles.Cleavon Little’s Sheriff Bart calls Wilder’s Jim out on his supposed renown as The Waco Kid, and Jim accepts the challenge to his honour. Kicking his chair out from under him, he has Bart place his hands on either side of a chess piece. On the count of three, Bart must try to grab the piece first, while Jim stands on the opposite side of the table. Bart laughs and scoffs, saying it’s no contest at all; Jim is “a mile away.” And Jim chuckles and says “Yeah…. Yeah.” Then he blows on his fingers, counts to three, and magically ends up with the king in his holster.

The tempo and the pause are what makes this line special. The subtext of the exchange is incredibly rich; Jim acknowledges his disadvantage in the contest while simultaneously (and understatedly) displaying his complete confidence. Jim is going to enjoy this. It is a savoury, delicious moment. Jim may hate who he is, brought down by years of alcoholism and endless competition, but he knows who is, and who he is is a guy who could kill you without batting an eye.

Andrew Root is a writer and teacher currently living in England. He previously wrote about smug eyebrows here.