Cool as fuck spy thriller and slick update of the Robert Ludlum novel, sticking with my Cold War thrills and hitting this beauty; THE BOURNE IDENTITY.
Plot in a nutshell: An amnesiac, bullet riddled man tries to recover his memory, pursued by assassins who know more about who he is than he does.
Damn, this is a breathless pace. Exciting, tense, utterly absorbing. Damn. Ten pages in and I’m stopping for breath. The pace on this script is weaponised. The boat crew from the opening are 2D creatures that we recognise, but no need for backstory per se (with the exception of the ships “doctor”). But this is the only time. The vast majority of supporting characters have a richness. Real backstory in their eyes (mainly suffering and self imposed torture, but hey, doesn’t that make it more fascinating?) But the strength here is in the growth of our main character. It’s almost cheating giving him amnesia. That ability to add as we go along. But in truth, the creation of this character before the amnesia is where the work has gone in. The amnesia is the hook. How will this characters history reveal itself? Just as the two bullets in the back change everything. This guys clearly educated and hardy. But that could easily make him an ambassador or a learned professor. It’s when the fighting kicks in. That’s when you know this was more than an assassination attempt on this guys life.
Layers. This script is about layers. It’s about what everyone on the page is not saying. It’s about agendas under agendas, that oppose agendas. This guy just wants answers. Like any of us would. And just like an overzealous parent or dictatorial regime, you won’t get them without a fight or a serious amount of torture. We know what we’re getting here. It’s how it’s delivered that makes this script so cool.
So, what did I learn from THE BOURNE IDENTITY?
When Jason first wakes up on the boat, it is told from first person perspective. He’s lying on an operating table (of sorts), blood everywhere and no memory. It’s short, but creates an air of bewilderment concurrent with the protagonists emotions. We feel that nervousness, that panic. Solid, solid example.
Languages. This script needs to jump between languages for the boundaries Bourne consistently crosses. There are many examples, but all in all I would recommend reading the script (if you want to work with multiple languages) just to see how much the use of the different languages needs to blend into the world to seem natural. Gilroy has really encompassed that footing and made sure that the different vocabularies and cultures blend in this script.
Action Directions. There’s no better word for it. They. Are. Tight. Seriously. Love, love, love them. Major highlight is Bourne panicking in the US Embassy. “THE GUN - like a magic wand of hysteria”. Think I just got dizzy. Stunning.
Fight sequence - P.62- P.67 is a ballistic and blurred fight sequence, neatly jumping between Bourne, his would-be assassin and a (rightly) panicking Marie. The technique borders on bullet points, but it does its job better than a skilled surgeon, leaving nothing but pure descriptive fillet. You want to write a brief, yet blow-by-blow fight sequence? This.
Introduction to a sex scene; “MARIE in front of him now -- she's taking his hand -- and he hesitates -- looking at her -- is this happening? -- she's taking his hand -- moving it down her body -- staring at him -- both of them silent -- his hand -- her skin -- his mind racing -- he wants this -- wants it in every way -- but it's overwhelming -- when was the last time something like this happened? -- he can't remember -- he doesn't care -- he's pulling her toward him -- and they're kissing -- and you know the rest...” Subtle. Sexy. And in no way dirty. With a lovely step aside at the end. Fantastic example.
Sadly, it was at that point that the full script ramped down, we got a note from Gilroy that this was going to be a more edited final part of this draft (to be run past director Doug Liman, according to the notes) and it became sketchy after that. There’s the main bones of plot and some dialogue is missing. It is certainly fascinating to see the last third of a script at this stage, in this condition. Dialogue simply marked as BOURNE XXXXXX is a first for me. Some of the last few action scenes feel a little hairy and confusing, but get where they need to go. The end still has that final echo of never quite knowing where Bourne will go next, leaving it poetically tied up with reuniting at Maries moped hire shop for the time being.
But for me, the first two thirds of this script definitely show that Tony Gilroy is in the process of crafting a tense, sharp, exhilarating thriller with a masterful hand, curated from previous failed drafts. It’s an ongoing process. Refined. Constantly being honed. Surgeon-like precision on what is required and scrap the rest. Here’s a needle. Let’s hardline this bitch straight; Guy in the shit. No memory. Tries to survive.
So yeah. Where it needs work, it definitely needs work. When it’s working, slick as oil and twice as powerful.
Link to the script:
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