Interrogation scenes are all about obtaining information.
"- You're sheltering enemies of the state, are you not?"
- One side wants it.
And the other side is reluctant to give it.
"- You give me my phone call."
In our last video on interrogations,
we looked at how power dynamics can play a role
in gripping interrogation scenes.
This time we look at three types of mind games
screenwriters can use to create an unpredictable and dynamic interrogation.
"- I'll never talk. - Is that right?"
- This is "Page to Picture": Interrogation Scenes Part II.
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Now, let the games begin.
"- Do you mind if we record this?"
The Good Cop, Back Cop routine
is a hallmark of interrogation scenes.
"- We're going to do good cop, bad cop. Okay?
It's the oldest game in the book for a reason, it works."
- The concept is simple
one cop is cruel and aggressive...
"- It's just you and me, and I am going to rip you apart."
...making the suspect more willing
to open up to the more mild-mannered partners...
"- Okay, I will talk to you, you're reasonable."
-...has become so common that it's often used as a joke.
"L.A. Confidential" provides a classic example
which utilizes three elements
that are present in most good cop, bad cop scenes.
"- Are you sure golden boy is up to the task, cap?
- Oh, I think you'd be surprised what the lad is capable of."
- First, there's blocking.
The good cop is seated and calm.
Placing himself at the same level as the suspect.
"- Did one of the officers work you over?"
- While the bad cop broods on the background.
Then, there's the division of dialogue.
Usually, the good cop takes the lead.
"- Come on.
Give me one to feed the D.A.
It'll make me look good.
...and I'll say, "Sugar Ray's not a punk like his sissy partners."
- But before long the bad cop boils over and dominates the scene.
And most importantly while both cops have different methods
they both have a common goal.
"- Where's the girl Fontaine's talking about? Did you kill her?
- One is six. Where's the girl?
- White, I have this under control! Put the weapon down.
- Where is the girl?!"
- While these methods are found in most examples,
there are ways to subvert these rules.
In "The Big Lebowski", after the Dude's car is stolen
their only evidence is some homework
leading them to young Larry Sellers.
For this interrogation, the Coen Brothers
undermine each element of a typical
good cop, bad cop scene for pure comedy.
"- We came to talk about Little Larry. May we come in?
- Larry, sweetie, that man is here."
- First there is no dynamic blocking to keep the suspect guessing.
Walter and The Dude both stay seated for most of the interrogation
making it unclear who exactly is
supposed to be the good cop
and who was supposed to be the bad.
"- Is this your homework, Larry?
Is this your homework? - Look, man...
- Dude, please."
- This spills over to the division of dialogue.
Instead of a coordinated and strategic verbal negotiation
The Dude and Walter simply shout over each other.
"- Is this your homework, Larry?
- We know it's his fucking homework!
Where's the fucking money, you little brat?"
- And finally there is no common goal.
The Dude asks about the car
while Walter pushes him about the homework.
"- Is this your homework, Larry? - Just ask him about the car, man.
- Is this yours, Larry.
- Is this your homework, Larry? - Is that your car out front?
- Time for plan B."
- By bucking the common tropes of this type of interrogation scene,
the Coen Brothers effectively satirize the technique.
Instead of good cop bad cop,
we get two incapable and unprepared civilians
who have seen too many movies.
"- What are you doing?"
It's no surprise then when they eventually resort to the threat of physical violence.
"-You see what happens, Larry.
You see what happens."
- Which leads us to our next technique.
Often interrogators will use threats and ultimatums
to get their detainees to speak.
But sometimes threatening them personally has little effect.
"- You really aren't going to tell me, right?"
- In these cases, an external threat might be necessary.
A threat that targets a valuable object or person in the suspect's life.
"- Give me the password.
And I would at least let her live."
- The most effective targets therefore
should be anything the detainee cares about most.
Perhaps, it's their only weakness.
"- Leave her alone."
- This scene in "Avengers: Infinity War",
utilizes key elements of an external threat interrogation.
For example, the stakes are clear from the outset.
"- The tesseract.
Or your brother's head.
I assume you have a preference."
- The interrogator previews the pain to come
in order to make the threat more real.
And the scene makes heavy use of reaction shots from the prisoner.
Usually in progressively tighter frames like close-ups
to emphasize their inner turmoil.
"- All right, stop!"
- For an intense application of this tactic,
let's look at "Mission: Impossible - 3"
written by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci.
This scene heightens each of these three elements
in order to create an adrenaline-fueled interrogation scene.
"- We've put an explosive charge in your head."
- The scene begins In Medias Res
as Owen Davian questions Ethan Hunt
about the location of the rabbit's foot.
"- You're going to tell me where the rabbit's foot is
or she dies."
- The stakes are raised even higher
by revealing Julia who obviously means a lot to him.
"- Rabbit foot's in Paris.
You want to know where in Paris? Then let her go.
- It's not in Paris."
- Davian's preview of the threat is equally heightened.
"- The only way you're going to get what you want is for you..."
- And reaction shots capture Ethan's anger
and desperation in tight hand-held close-ups.
"- No.
No.
- Ten. - No."
- By using an external threat writers can establish extremely high stakes
and reveal what the character cares about most.
"- Don't you touch her!
- Don't you touch her!"
- Sometimes the external threat may not even be real it
may all just be an elaborate fabrication.
"- Julia is still alive."
- Which leads us to our next topic.
A third way interrogators would try to get information from their subjects
is through deception.
Lying in order to make the subject believe that circumstances are different
than they actually are.
"- She saved Fran's life."
- This deception ranges from a simple lie
to a complex ruse.
- Fran's alive?
- Oh, yes.
Fran will confirm this very story
and send you, Hugh, to jail.
Steven Spielberg's "Ready Player One"
hits every beat of the classic deception interrogation scene.
"- You're gonna tell me exactly which rig she's in.
- Yeah, that seems appropriate."
- The first crucial element in these scenes is the reveal.
When the truth is made known to the audience and the suspect
which can be separate or simultaneous revelations.
"- I think he pissed himself.
- So he really doesn't know he's in the OASIS?"
- And then there's the explanation.
How did our characters pull this off?
"- We grabbed him in transit just as he was logging out of the OASIS
so he thinks he's back at his office in the real world
But actually, he's here, in the identical office that Aech built.
- This isn't real, you're tapping my feed."
- Without these answers, deception can feel cheap and contrived.
"The Usual Suspects" uses these key elements of deception but with a twist.
Instead of the interrogators using this tactic,
it is the suspect.
"- I used to be in a barbershop quartet in Skokie, Illinois.
The baritone was this guy named Kip Diskin.
Big fat guy. I mean like orca fat.
He was so stressed in the morning, you know.
- Verbal, you know we're trying to help you?"
- Most of the film is framed around a single interrogation scene
between Agent Kujan and Verbal Kint.
This is where deception begins.
But we don't know that yet.
"- Verbal, you're not telling us everything.
I know you know something.
- I told the D.A. everything I know.
- You don't think I know you held out on the D.A.
What did you leave out of that testimony?"
- Verbal's confession lasts almost the entire run time.
"- People say I talk too much.
- Yeah, I was just gonna tell you to shut up."
- And we only become aware of the deception at the very end
along with Agent Kujan.
This long buildup makes the reveal all the more dramatic.
Writer Christopher McQuarrie has the deception explained visually.
Using slow-motion to portray the gravity of Kujan's realization
using bits of audio to replay key moments
the audience puts the pieces together alongside the detective.
"- Convince me. Tell me every last...
When I was in that barbershop quartet in Skokie, Illinois...
- Where's your head, Agent Kujan?
- What we need to do is think.
Think back."
- Verbal's entire confession
was really just an elaborate red herring
crafted using details found on the bulletin board.
"- It's all there. - And I'm telling it straight, I swear.
Some guy in California. His name is Redfoot.
- The gift from Mr. Jose."
- "The Usual Suspects" shows us just how iconic
a well-executed deception can be.
With patience and attention to detail,
it can create one of the most memorable twists in cinema history.
"- And like that.
He's gone.
Interrogation scenes are fertile ground for inventive storytelling.
"- What did you say?"
- A psychological warfare on both sides can be just as exciting.
"- Hello, Blofeld."
- Surprising.
"- Hi, buddy."
- And even hilarious.
"- We need you to come in. - I'm in the middle of an interrogation.
This moron is giving me everything."
- Write your next interrogation scene
using StudioBinder's free screenwriting software.
And for more tips on how to shoot it,
be sure to check out part one.
What other important elements are there in interrogation scenes?
"- I don't know."
- Let us know in the comments.
"- Can you speak?"
For now, we've told you everything we know.
"- When's your birthday?
- Uhhh. - Out."
- See you next time.
"- You see what happens, Larry.
See what happens when you find a stranger in the alps.
This is what happens.
You see what happens, Larry?
You see what happens, Larry.
This is what happens when you feed them scrambled eggs."