Breaking The Scene (Stand By Me — Train Dodge)
Here’s a great scene that finds a way to wring drama out of a scenario that, despite it’s rather obvious ending, feels stunningly profound and original.
Scene Context:
The boys have just begin their trip to find the body of a dead kid. Teddy’s father is a war veteran.
Scene Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUfGTiJYhaU
Written by: Bruce Evans, Raynold Gideon (Story by Stephen King)
Scene Conflicts:
- The group wants to avoid the oncoming train
- Teddy wants to dodge the train
Scene Outline:
- The boys sit on the tracks and count how much money they’ve got. See a train coming towards them.
- The boys get off the track, but Teddy stays, wanting to dodge the train.
- Chris yells at Teddy to get off the tracks. Asks if he has a death wish.
- Teddy pretends like he’s his father, fake-gunning at the train, as Chris jumps to action.
- Chris pulls Teddy off the tracks. They fight as the train passes.
- Chris accuses Teddy of trying to kill himself. Teddy says he doesn’t need a babysitter.
- Chris offers his hand to Teddy, asks him to “skin it” and make peace. Teddy ignores it, says he could’ve dodged the train.
- Chris tells Teddy he can dodge the train on his own time. Asks again for peace between them.
- Teddy begrudgingly agrees to peace. The boys continue on.
Why It Works:
Primal Fear: Going into this scene, we know Teddy isn’t going to get hit by the train. We’re 15 minutes into the film, and they haven’t even started on their journey. To maim or kill Teddy here would make the film an entirely different one than the one it has been advertised as. That being said, we’re still wonderfully antsy about Teddy as he remains on those tracks and watches the train coming towards him. Why? First off, it’s a train coming towards a child. It doesn’t matter that we know he’s going to survive unscathed- the mere thought of this train running him over already instills a great deal of stress in the audience. And as the train gets nearer and nearer, that sense of dread only grows.
Practiced Reconciliation: One of the things that makes the boys’ friendship so believable is how it seems so wonderfully practiced. There’s a constant familiarity evident in their small interactions, with things like “skinning it” being one of them. These rituals allow for the audience to recognize the sense of history between them and ultimately makes us really understand how these boys, all from starkly different backgrounds, have been able to create and develop such a powerful bond between them.
Parent Amongst Children: Chris is one of the most fascinating child-characters on screen, and that’s largely because he doesn’t act at all like a typical child. He’s tough, wise, and has a distinct worldview. This sense of maturity allows him to step into the role of parent more often than not, and to see the dichotomous relationship of a child trying to act as a parent is one that is undoubtedly engaging, and makes for some really emotionally packed scenes later. (See “The Milk Money” scene)
Thematic Ties: This is a film about a lot of things, but one of the key themes surrounds how one doesn’t need to be the person their family might represent. Each character has to reconcile their personal identity with the one thrust upon them by their family, and if they fail, then Teddy is that example. In this scene, he carries the same romanticized sense of sacrifice and his father, and the audience can see just how debilitating this is. By having a character that represents the repercussions of ignoring the story’s theme, the audience is able to clearly figure out exactly what the story is trying to say.
Summary:
This movie is great for so many reasons, but what really allows this scene to stand out is it’s willingness to explore these characters beyond their surface level. It’s rare that children on film are painted with such stunningly complex psychology, but when they are given genuine motivations and desires , they become strikingly real, as in this scene.
