When it comes to detective stories, curiosity is king.
"- Oh, what's in the box?"
- As the protagonist delves into the darkness in search of answers,
the audience is just as intrigued to join them.
The focus is not who committed the crime...
"- But why?"
- Time has come to know your genre.
The "whydunit".
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"- I'm trying to make a movie."
- We will be spoiling the following movies.
Now let's open the case file.
"- Now I've got a new case with a real mean dude."
- In Blake Snyder's "Save the Cat Goes to the Movies",
he lays out the essential elements of 10 different genres.
In this video, we'll look at his take on the whydunit.
A specific type of detective story.
In the classic whodunit murder mystery,
like "Murder On the Orient Express", the killer is unknown and focuses more on
collecting clues to reveal their identity.
"- If there was a murder, then there was a murderer.
The murderer is with us on the train now."
But in the whydunit,
the mystery is more centered on the reasons behind the crime itself.
We know who the killer is in "The Silence of the Lambs"
but Clarice needs to understand his underlying psychology in order to catch him.
"- What he does with them takes privacy.
He's in his thirties or forties.
He's got real physical strength combined with an older man's self-control.
He cautious, precise, and he's never impulsive.
He'll never stop."
- As Snyder explains, it's about exploring
the dark side of human behavior we all share.
'It's not evil we'll discover...
It's ourselves.'
Snyder breaks this sub-genre down even further into five types.
The 'Film Noir' whydunit it has the protagonist enter a shadow world
only they can negotiate.
The political whydunit uncovers the abuse of political or corporate power.
"- Why would somebody take a picture and type the names of everyone in it on the back?
This is a death list."
- Fantasy whydunits are set in another world.
"- You're making a big mistake!
-I didn't kill anybody! I swear! -Let go of that door, will ya?
This whole thing's a setup, a scam, a frame job. Ow!"
- The cop whydunit is as much about the lawman's crime as it is about the criminals.
"- Why couldn't you tell anyone you shot him?
I mean, it was an accident, right?"
- And the personal whydunit follows a civilian on a case
to save themselves or others.
"- Holly, Holly, that's not funny.
A woman was murdered.
Look, you and I were set up by a murderer."
- Included in these subtypes are three components,
the Secret, the Dark Turn,
and our first element, the Detective.
Snyder describes the detective as such,
'The detective can be any kind of gumshoe.
From pro, to amateur, to imaginary.
In "Mulholland Drive",
Betty is a starry-eyed actress, enthralled with Rita's loss of identity.
"- What's wrong?
- I don't know who I am."
- In "Brick", Brendan is a high schooler
searching for why his ex-girlfriend was murdered.
"- I don't know where she's.
- I know you do. So why don't you want me to find out?
- Well, maybe...
I am looking out for you."
- Whether they narrate the story or not.
We experienced this investigation through their perspective.
"- Wait. Wait.
- You say something, Chief? - No."
- We are with Jake Giddy every step of the way as he slowly peels back
the corruption in "Chinatown".
"- What? What is it?
- A memorial service was held at the Mar Vista Inn today for Jasper Lamar Crabb.
He passed away two weeks ago.
- But is that unusual?
- He passed away two weeks ago and one week ago he bought the land.
That's unusual."
- Another quality Snyder finds in the detective
is that no matter where the case takes them, there is no guarantee of change.
Jack Reacher is a hardened investigator able to engage with violence and
corruption and emerge unfazed.
"- Other than that, damn fine police work. It's open and shut."
- "Fargo's" Marge Gunderson lets none of the darkness she
encountered shake her optimism.
"- It's terrific.
I'm so proud of you, Norm."
- Instead, it is in the audience where change can occur.
This is particularly present in political whydunits like "All the President's Men".
Woodward and Bernstein begin and end as righteous truth seekers.
"- If you're gonna do it, do it right. Here are my notes.
If you're gonna hype it, hype it with the facts.
I don't mind what you did. I mind the way you did."
- But the audience has a chance to witness the full extent
of the corruption involved.
"- Coverup had little to do with Watergate.
It was mainly to protect the covert operations.
It leads everywhere."
- Now let's get into what has peaked the detective's interest and ours.
'The Secret'.
"- Put that over your eyes, and I'll take you where you're looking to go."
- According to Snyder, 'The secret of the case is so strong,
it overwhelms the worldly lures of money, sex, power, or fame'.
Our desire to know is just as strong as the detectives.
"- Where are we?
- You know, I can't tell you that."
In "Under the Silver Lake",
Sam is lured into a surreal mystery and it nearly consumes him.
Jim Garrison's investigation into the conspiracy behind JFK's assassination
puts a target on him.
"-...while witnesses being bought off and murdered.
Why are federal agencies blocking our extraditions and subpoenas?
- I don't know!
Maybe there's some rogue element in the government."
In "Rear Window" when he suspects his neighbor of murder, Jeffrey's near
obsession trying to solve the case.
"- You did it, Thorwald. You did it."
- It may start as something seemingly insignificant,
but as Snyder says,
'The secret that is driving us on grows in power throughout.'
In "The Conversation",
a simple surveillance job leads Harry into a situation in which his own
privacy and sanity are threatened.
In "The Batman", the Riddler's crimes directly implicate the cape crusader.
"- I think I missed last talk."
And we are just as intrigued as Bruce to find out why.
"- Why did you write me?
- What do you mean? - All those cards.
- I told you we've been doing this together. You're part of this.
- We didn't do anything together.
- We did. You showed me all it takes is fear
and a little focused violence.
You inspired me."
- This brings us to our final element in which the detective becomes part
of the darkness, the dark turn.
For Snyder, 'The dark turn shows that in pursuit of the secret, the detective will
break the rules even his own.
Often, once he's relied on for years to keep him safe.
The pull of the secret is too great.'
"- Hey, don't do this. John?
Don't run.
- You don't have to chase me.
You don't have to run."
In "Blade Runner", Deckard falls in love with Rachel.
A replicant like those he's tasked with killing.
"- I want you. I want you.
Put your hands on me."
- In "L.A. Confidential", Sergeant Exley does everything by the book.
"- Would you be willing to shoot a hardened criminal in the back in order to
offset the chance that some lawyer... - No."
- But instead of doing the right thing in the end.
"- Are you gonna shoot me or arrest me?"
- He takes justice into his own hands.
As the answers to the secret are discovered, the hero may realize
that they are setting themselves up to be part of the crime.
"- I went and took some blood samples from the boy's dead body.
And I planted them.
Or that they've been guilty of the same crime all along.
"- The end justifies the means.
Right?"
- Snyder explains, 'Somewhere along the line,
Whydunit heroes willingly become part of the darkness'.
In "Blue Velvet", Jeffrey Beaumont's amateur investigation leads him to explore his own darkness.
"- Get outta there. Get out.
Put your hands up! On your head.
Do it!"
- In Se7en, Detective Mills falls right into the trap that was set for him.
"- What he wants, he wants, he wants you to shoot him.
- No! - Become vengeance, David.
- Nah, she's all right. You tell me.
- Become wrath."
- As he becomes the final sin in John Doe's twisted plan.
As we've seen the Whydunit is a sub-genre driven by questions and mysteries.
There is almost always a pessimism at their core as the detective and
the audience are lured into the dark territory with dire consequences.
When you are ready to crack the case on the next great whydunit
StudioBinder's screenwriting software is the ultimate partner in crime.
Until next time.
Remember, some secrets are better left hidden.
"- Maybe this is all coming to an end."