Save the Cat Goes to the Movies (33 page)

Ethan Hawke plays one such ewe, an ambitious cop and Naif who lives in LA’s San Fernando Valley. With a wife and baby to support, he wants to be part of a group of elite detectives, and puts himself in a position where his eagerness to succeed makes him vulnerable. When he agrees to learn at the feet of veteran narc and “Company Man,” Denzel Washington, he finds there are no rules — except survival. Sanctioned by appearances from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Macy Gray, the film is billed as a genuine look at LA’s gang world. But for our purposes, Ethan’s training of the “I” kind is about realizing any mentor can be corrupt … and insane. If he is to survive, he’ll have to swear allegiance to a higher power: the inner guide that never lets him down.

I Type: Mentor Institution

I Cousins:
Wall Street, Dead Poet’s Society, Swimming with Sharks, Mentor, Mona Lisa Smile, Apt Pupil, The Emperor’s Club, In Good Company, The Devil Wears Prada, The Departed

TRAINING DAY

Written by
David Ayer

Opening Image:
The alarm sounds and Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) wakes, his wife and baby already up. They are his “Save the Cat” foundation; we are rooting for him because of them.

Set-Up:
Ethan arrives at a coffee shop and meets new boss Alonzo (Denzel Washington makes this movie). At first, it’s puppy dog Ethan versus big dog Denzel, as Ethan shows eagerness by interrupting Denzel’s reading of his newspaper. But Denzel puts puppy in his place when he says …

Theme Stated:
…”Today’s a training day, Officer Hoyt. You got today to show me who and what you’re made of.” Who is Jake? His mettle will be tested in the next 24 hours, and it will be life or death. We’ll also see
who
gets trained — it may not be the puppy!

Catalyst:
They roll. Ethan rides shotgun in Denzel’s street car. From the start, it’s obvious that Denzel’s an undercover cop who skirts between legitimate and criminal behavior. “This
is
the office,” he informs Ethan. At first Ethan is committed. “I will do anything you want me to do,” he tells Denzel. Ordered to “take off your wedding band,” he does so. Today will include a series of fraternity hazing-style tests to see if Ethan will obey (and make us wonder what
we
would do).

Debate:
How far is Ethan willing to go? As if to press the point, at Minute 14, after watching a drug buy, they stop the buyers — a car full of suburban kids. Guns drawn, Ethan and Denzel relieve them of their cash, pot, and paraphernalia. Then Ethan is offered a new “choice,” one of many that force him to question his decision to join the group. Denzel stops the car, pulls a gun on him, and says: Smoke the pot or quit. Ethan knows he’ll be fired if drug-tested; what should he do?

Break into Two:
At Minute 17, needing to belong, Ethan makes a big mistake and says: “Give me that thing.” He wants to be “part of,” and trusts his mentor. But as the effect hits Ethan, Denzel laughingly tells him the pot is laced with angel dust. Ethan has entered the “upside-down world” of Act Two.

B Story:
Still high, Ethan is taken to the home of Roger (Scott Glenn), a drug dealer and Denzel’s buddy. Though his actual screen time is short, Scott plays the B story role and is how Ethan will learn his real lesson. We also hear Scott tell a thematic tale of “the street” about a steadfast snail who refuses to give up.

Fun and Games:
The “trailer moments” of two narcs on the beat. They leave Scott’s house and cruise the city when Ethan spots a rape in progress. Making Denzel stop, Ethan breaks up the assault, gets beaten as Denzel watches, then is forced to let the bad guys go. But saving the girl will be crucial to Ethan. He’s getting wise to his false mentor. And yet! As Denzel plays Ethan, even we can’t tell if he is ultimately good or bad — it could go either way. Fun and Games end when Denzel takes Ethan to The Jungle, a gang neighborhood. The married Denzel has a girlfriend and illegitimate child there. As with the girl in the alley, Ethan befriends the boy, a caring act that pays off later.

Midpoint:
The “stakes are raised” at Minute 55 as the two meet the “wise men,” a corrupt group of LAPD brass. We learn Denzel owes the Russian Mob $1,000,000. This new information exemplifies a screenwriting trick I call the
lemon seed
. At mid-movie, think of new info such as this like putting a lemon seed between your thumb and forefinger and starting to squeeze until it …
squirts
out in Act Three. Every script should have a lemon seed in some way. From this point forward, it’s on! — pace quickening, pressure building to the final pop! Armed with an illegal warrant — courtesy of the “wise men” — Denzel and Ethan meet a cop crew, dirty like Denzel. Ethan is the rookie, not trusted as they ready for a bust. Who’s the target? Can you guess?

Bad Guys Close In:
Yup. Scott Glenn. Denzel and crew burst in and rob him at gunpoint. Ethan refuses his cut of the money the crew steals from Scott. But “internal conflict” comes when Denzel murders Scott, then stages the scene to make it look like Ethan pulled the trigger. Ethan fights back, turning the gun on Denzel while the other cops threaten to shoot. Denzel tells Ethan he’ll be drug tested. Denzel’s been setting Ethan up from the start.

All Is Lost:
Or has he? In some part of our soul we think, this can’t be! But Ethan’s “choice” is clear. “You guys are insane,” he tells Denzel. Welcome to the “I” world, Ethan! Denzel drives Ethan to a gang house. Duped by Denzel, Ethan’s taken hostage in a final betrayal. The “whiff of death” occurs when Ethan is wrestled into the bathroom to be executed. But when the gang members find a wallet on him belonging to their cousin, and learn Ethan saved her from being raped, they let him go.

Dark Night of the Soul:
Riding the bus through the city at night, bloody but not done, Ethan plots the last “sacrifice.”

Break into Three:
Ethan, the “steadfast snail,” walks into The Jungle looking for Denzel. What he was in Act One — an ethical cop — is added to by what he learned in Act Two — street toughness — for a dangerous combination in Act Three: pissed-off Synthesis Man.

Finale:
The “time clock” has Denzel needing to get the money to the Russian Mob by midnight or be executed. It’s why he got the warrant, why he robbed Scott, and why he set up Ethan. But Denzel has met his better. Helped by Denzel’s son, who acts as a shield for him, Ethan battles Denzel and leaves him in the hands of the hood rats, who let Ethan walk out with Denzel’s million bucks.

Final Image:
Trying to make a getaway, Denzel is killed by the Russians, as Ethan walks in the door of his home — safe and much wiser.

The “Issue Institution” is that story of the “I” kind that involves an ensemble cast, intersecting multiple story lines, and a theme. This style has returned to popularity of late and gives us ADD-afflicted lots o’ stars to watch — and something to think about after the show. Like the spiritual forefather of this film type, Robert Altman, director/co-writer Paul Haggis uses this technique to dissect an Institutionalized problem — in this case, racism. But does
Crash
fit the structure of the BS2?

Answer: of course!

All stories are about transformation! And all good stories have beginnings, middles, and ends — with each story’s lead character changing emotionally from + to — or from — to + at Opening Image and Final Image. This phenomenon is a result of entering Act Two’s “transformation machine.” In
Crash
, as in any ensemble film, each story has a Set-Up, Break into Two, Midpoint, Break into Three, and Final Image. And though each beat is compressed, the stories are woven together for maximum drama.

The ensemble forces the writer to intensify every beat of each story, so only the most relevant moments of the BS2 are shown on-screen. It is a technique that seems “hyper-real” at times, but supercharges the overall impact. And it’s what makes any movie about “the many” so powerful — if executed well.

I Type: Issue Institution

I Cousins:
Nashville, The Big Chill, Short Cuts, Magnolia, Eating, Night on Earth, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, Sin City, Friends with Money
, Babel

CRASH

Screenplay by
Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco
Story by
Paul Haggis

Opening Image/Theme Stated:
LAPD Detective Graham Waters (Don Cheadle) and partner/lover Ria (Jennifer Esposito) after a car accident. “In LA nobody touches you,” he says. “I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something.” Jennifer is mad at Don, and when he gets out of the car, she gets into a racial-hate fight with a fellow crash victim that tells us Don may be right. What’s stopping us from “touching”? Don finds a shoe at the scene as we cut to …

Set-Up/Catalyst/Debate
: … “Yesterday.” We now set up our various stories, launching each into motion with a Cat! alytic moment, and with a “debate” about what the incident means.

– A Persian man, Farhad (Shaun Toub), and his daughter Dorri (Bahar Soomekh), buy a gun to protect their store. They argue with the gun shop owner. Bahar buys bullets.

– Two carjackers, Anthony (Ludacris) and Peter (Larenz Tate), fear being black on the white side of Los Angeles.

– Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock) and husband Rick (Brendan Fraser) are Westside elites. He is the city DA; when they’re carjacked, she will spiral into race hate.

– Don and Jennifer are called to a LAPD shooting incident.

– John Ryan (Matt Dillon) carps about his Dad’s health to HMO worker Shaniqua (Loretta Devine). On patrol with Tom Hansen (Ryan Phillippe), Matt stops a black couple in their car. Cameron (Terrence Howard), a TV director,
watches helplessly as racist Matt sexually frisks his wife (Thandie Newton).

– After a long day, and getting hate from Sandra, Hispanic locksmith Daniel (Michael Pena) gives his daughter an “invisible cloak” to protect her from stray gunfire.

Break into Two/Fun and Games:
Less plot and more talk about racism as each of the stories deals with the theme.

– Afraid from the carjacking, Sandra chooses to deal with it by changing locks and yelling at Brendan and her maid.

– The interaction with the racist Matt makes Terrence and Thandie argue about his “blackness” and manhood. Why didn’t he
do
something? More talk of race on the set when his boss (Tony Danza) tells Terrence how to coach a black actor.

– Ludacris and Larenz run over an Asian man and dump him at a hospital; they talk about the discrimination they face.

– After fixing a lock at Shaun’s store, Michael is put down by Shaun as a Hispanic, and accused of cheating them.

Midpoint/Bad Guys Close In/All Is Lost:
We see textbook “raising of stakes” on each story, and the melancholy that follows. In each case, the “bad guy” is internal turmoil.

– At Minute 46, Matt visits Shaniqua and apologizes for his racism, telling her about his Dad; she refuses to help.

– Don visits his Mom, a heroin addict. His brother is missing; she asks Don to find him.

– Shaun’s store is robbed. The insurance agent tells him because of the Hispanic locksmith, they are not covered.

–
Ryan tells Matt he’s been reassigned. It’s not stated, but Ryan doesn’t want a racist partner. Matt warns him: “You think you know who you are. You have no idea.”

– At Minute 58, police find cash in the car on the case that Don and Jennifer are working. The cop was corrupt.

– At Minute 59, Terrence watches a scene as cast and crew look on satisfied. This “false victory” makes Terrence seethe.

Break into Three/Finale:
Now the stories reach a climax. We’ve seen set-up, raising of the stakes, tension — and now release.

– At 1 Hour 4 Minutes, Matt chooses to risk his life to save a woman who hates him (Thandie) from a burning car.

– At 1 Hour 13 Minutes, Terrence is carjacked by Ludacris and Larenz, who get separated when Terrence fights back. Recognizing Terrence, Ryan saves him and his carjacker from other cops who would have shot them. As Terrence lets Ludacris go, he tells him: “You embarrass me. You embarrass yourself.”

– At 1 Hour 20 Minutes, Shaun goes to kill Michael, whose daughter jumps in front of the gunfire. Only later will we know Shaun’s daughter bought blanks at the gun store.

– At 1 Hour 23 Minutes, Sandra realizes she’s always angry, threatens to fire her maid, then slips on the stairs.

– At 1 Hour 29 Minutes, Ryan picks up Larenz hitchhiking and mistakenly shoots and kills him when he thinks he’s reaching for a gun. Ryan dumps the body.

Final Image:
At 1 Hour 30 Minutes, we are back to where this movie began, and when Don finds the shoe at the scene of the accident, we realize it belongs to Larenz, Don’s brother! We sum up each tale by showing how each person has transformed.

– Ludacris returns to the spot where he hit the Asian man and turns in his van for cash — only to discover it holds illegal Asian immigrants. He could sell them, but in the course of this day, he’s changed. He lets them go.

– Don’s Mom ID’s the body of her dead son, then blames Don for his death; he was “too busy” to find him. Jennifer understands what is troubling Don a little better now.

– Sandra’s fall and revelation about her anger has had an effect: At 1 Hour 40 Minutes, she tells Brendan she loves him and hugs her maid, calling her “my best friend.”

– Ryan burns his car to cover up his murder of a black man; his racist ex-partner was right about him.

– Thandie calls Terrence and he tells her he loves her.

– As snow falls on LA, Matt comforts his Dad with reborn compassion. In a button, Shaniqua, who did not help Matt, is in a “needed” accident. Crash bookends crash.