Sound - Dialogue

Dialogue in film; this may sound like quite a monotonous subject, but if when you think about it, dialogue is an essential part of film. First of all we must establish the purpose of dialogue in film; dialogue serves to tell the story that is unfolding in a film and it expresses feelings and motivations of the characters. It is a big challenge to write realistic and effective dialogue, and film makers often require years of failed attempts and poorly written scripts to finally master the perfect chemistry that dialogues require to engage the audience and push the story forward. It is true that the ideal film dialogue consists of 3 essential elements. 

1) The first aspect of the perfect dialogue is that it keeps the story going. By this I mean that any conversation, comment, or speech has to elaborate on the plot, or reveal something about a character that shocks and surprises the viewing audience. 

2) The second aspect of the ideal dialogue is that it is subtle and clever. Films are supposed the be an artistic and creative expression. The viewing audience do not want to hear mundane dialogue that goes on and on. The challenge for any screenwriter is that they have to produce a realistic dialogue sound clever and unique. It is good if you have dialogue that does not spell out everything that is happening on screen, the viewing audience like to be left with clues so they can piece ideas together in their own minds, making the film more engaging and exciting. 

3) The third and final aspect of the perfect dialogue is that it is witty or comic. The viewers of movies and TV shows love to laugh, but making them do this is not an easy task. It is key that comic dialogue is kept up with a character's personality. Creating the right situation in which he or she makes the audience laugh is challenging as well because as mentioned in the first aspect of the perfect dialogue, any dialogue also has to move the story forward by either furthering the plot or giving something away about the character. This is evident in many films and TV shows because you never see characters stop and tell jokes to one another. The jokes made must have some narrative value. 

A great example of dialogue in film is from the 1973 film 'The Exorcist', just before the exorcism is performed, the mother of the possessed girl tries to relax Father Merrin (the guy carrying out the exorcism) by giving him some tea. The mother then asks if Father Merrin would like some bourbon in his tea, but he declines, saying that his doctor would not approve, there is a pause followed by Father Merrin saying that "but thank God my will is weak." So from this we learn that he declines at first and then he accepts the tea with bourbon. 

Why is this section of dialogue good?

This section of dialogue is clever and unique because it reveals two things about Father Merrin. Firstly, he is weak, and secondly he is worried about the exorcism he is about to conduct. If Father Merrin had simply answered "yes" to the offer of bourbon, the dialogue would have been boring. However, if he had just said: "I am weak and I am afraid", the dialogue would be too obvious or "on the nose". With his colourful line of of dialogue, the audience is therefore engaged and given a chance to participate with the film.