MJB SCRIPT REVIEW | OCEANS 11

“𝗔 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗺𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻!” | 𝗠𝗝𝗕 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 - 𝗢𝗖𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝟭𝟭

After the blood, guts and child munching of my previous review (see JAWS), I fancied something a bit cooler. A bit more suave. So why not dip into one of my favourite heist movies ever! To quote another classic; “smoother than a cashmere codpiece”, this is heist movie (remake) royalty; OCEANS 11.

Plot in a nutshell: Newly paroled gangster, Danny Ocean, rounds up a gang of skilled associates to stage a sophisticated and elaborate casino heist; robbing three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously during a popular boxing event.

I don’t know and I can’t speak for my female readers, but for us guys, sometimes a film comes out and the characters in it are so iconically swish, we literally need to be that cool. James Bond. Han Solo. Tony Montana. You name it. But this film has so many utterly delicious, ice chilled folk in it, you’re literally spoilt for choice. Throw in a slick heist plot and some big fancy casinos and, frankly, you can’t really go wrong.

Or can you?

Well let’s find out…

So, what did I learn from OCEAN’S 11?

1. Dialogue - This is banter. This is play. This is old friends meeting up after too long. This is cautionary talk masking underlying meaning. This is heart breaking requests that barely get out the door. This is threats. This is regret and there is plenty of “want”. The ease and familiarity at which these characters interact is truly glorious dialogue. Bathe in this awhile. Let it seep into your pores. This is truly inspirational dialogue.

2. Actors - so, just like my previous review (Jaws, again), a lot of male roles and very little for an actress to play with. The only real role is Tess, and she has been written with the challenge of being one of the most important characters in the story (and therefore, needed handling very carefully). Pathos, survival schtick, love. She is instilled with all of them and her classy exterior glides perfectly with her toughened (inner) skin. As to the plethora of male roles, at some point anybody will be able to find a role they love. I would even dare somebody to take this script and play around with gender change. Sure it would work perfectly well. The dialogue is so good, it would just be so much fun to be at a table read. Give it a go as an exercise to get yourselves warmed up. Any scene is a corker.

3. Action Directions - Smooth. Dashes of expression here and there. Slick, brief descriptions that stick in the mind and do the job. Just enough to give you an idea of where everyone is and do it well. To be fair though, the directions here are more aimed at giving the actors indications as to performance, rather than type of light fittings. So this is a script more for actors than directors. But there are some nice touches, bringing out the atmosphere and the ecosystem in which these characters do their criminal thing. Come to think of it, I don’t think a single character in this script is innocent. Apart from Tess, maybe. Who becomes more than just the love interest and emerges as the single pure touchstone that Danny thinks will save him. Fascinating. But anyway, back to the other guys. Their interactions between each other set the scene far better than, say, a strict list of furniture, wallpaper patterns and costume descriptions.

4. Action Directions 2 - the script takes the very bold (and probably can, if a deal has already been set up to write it, with producers, stars and Director in place) of writing a scene where one of the main characters, Rusty, teaches young Hollywood actors how to play poker. In the script, the stars are actually name checked; Topher Grace, Seth Green, et cetera. Now normally, for the rest of us ordinary folk, we wouldn’t be able to do that. Even mentioning their names in the script may put you in a bit of a spot. However, I have been offered some advice that you could write something like; “Rusty strolls into the poker room, some well-known TV celebrities behind him, all eager to get started playing.” Something along those lines. That then leaves it open to production potentially casting anyone they can get hold of, as opposed to who you have name checked.

5. Story - there are several iconic heist movies in cinematic history. The Sting. The Italian Job (the original). Sexy Beast (trust me, a classic). All of them had the same thing in common. The whole thing is played very, very cool. You are none the wiser from the get-go, being led along the garden path by the able characters involved in this plot, whilst being kept baffled (yet starry eyed at the cool), as everyone else is, right up until the twist/explanation occurs. And it’s a beauty. The type of heist movie twist that gives that prerequisite buzz that elevates it above the norm. Red herrings and turns, double crosses and all the usual suspects involved. To say anymore would be to spoil it…

6. Finale - There’s an amalgam here that sits so comfortably together, it’s almost transcendent. From the moment the actual casino heist is underway (frankly, the whole movie is a heist as everyone cons each other at some point or another), it’s carried at a brisk (but easy to follow) pace and twists you like a dancer from one move to the next. The turns are both believable and smart, making you chuckle to yourself with a knowing nod every now and again. Which is cool. But then, once the heist is over and the aftermath emerges, the strangest thing happens. Heart kicks in. Tenderness. Tess transcends all the other action and becomes the real prize. The real reason this whole thing needed to work. And Danny is just helpless at her feet. He accepts, like any good criminal, the prize is worth any outcome. And here it most certainly is. To come away from a casino heist movie with a warm and snuggly feeling, is both brilliant and surprising. Truly remarkable.

You can always tell when a scripts’ popularity, not to mention the subsequent film that smashed into the upper echelons of profitability, comes out. Because straight after (normally about a year later), you start to get the copycats emerging. The primary candidate is of course The Italian Job remake, which wasn’t horrific, but certainly lacked what this had. As well as the…erm…sequel to this classic, Oceans 12. And the less said about that project, the better.

But I would definitely argue that this is the type of script you need to read, to see what producers are looking for. How this is written is possibly the best way you are going to get funding. Action directions are brief, but do the job in an unforgettable manner. Characters are individually memorable and the dialogue is utterly immersive. The whole thing has luxurious flow and the finale is just amazing. Most importantly, the story is on point. Not a loose cog anywhere.

So, if you want to be taken seriously and sell that script, give this a whirl. Or you can choose not to, take a roll of the dice and see how you get on…

Link to the script:

https://thescriptsavant.com/movies/Oceans_11.pdf