Reviews of Passing 4

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  Recommending
  A review of Passing
  by vancemi on 09/14/2003
  I could subtitle this review - Too Good for Hollywood. It's too gritty, too real, too much drug use, too few soundbytes, too many interesting characters. It's just too damned good for the typical play it safe Hollywood production. That doesn't mean it couldn't make it. Traffic certainly did. You've done a very good job of layering and interweaving these varied storylines into... I could subtitle this review - Too Good for Hollywood. It's too gritty, too real, too much drug use, too few soundbytes, too many interesting characters. It's just too damned good for the typical play it safe Hollywood production. That doesn't mean it couldn't make it. Traffic certainly did. You've done a very good job of layering and interweaving these varied storylines into a very colorful and entertaining fabric. I have only two basic suggestions. First: Lela's murder is an important catalyst for much of the action in the third act, yet it is only eluded to in Newspaper headlines beforehand. Then a leap of logic is made by the Rom cabbies that they should get Snite. I suggest you tie Lela's death to Snite somehow, maybe at a rave gone bad, and that you show her dying. My other suggestion is that you thoroughly proofread your script. There are many typos, mostly missing words that can easily be corrected as with "Jake walks out his clunky video camera." This has a lot of potential. Good luck. read
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  Good Fun
  A review of Passing
  by richardphaze on 09/02/2003
  I enjoyed this read immensely. In fact, as I read it through, I was wondering how I might critique it...until the ending. I enjoyed the characters, the dialogue was strong, the setting was interesting, the pace was good but the ending was just too pat. Everybody lived happily ever after, even the crime ring leader. I felt that someone needed to pay a price for something... I enjoyed this read immensely. In fact, as I read it through, I was wondering how I might critique it...until the ending. I enjoyed the characters, the dialogue was strong, the setting was interesting, the pace was good but the ending was just too pat. Everybody lived happily ever after, even the crime ring leader. I felt that someone needed to pay a price for something somewhere. I realize that Max and the Chechen end up in jail but that was more happenstance than Karma. Other than than, I loved it. read
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  A series of aborted brush strokes...
  A review of Passing
  by Wilson870 on 08/30/2003
  I wanted to like this screenplay. Set in Prague, PASSING opens with the promise of something exotic and smart. Unfortunately, in this draft it comes across as a series of abortive brush strokes rather than a dramatic story with a beginning, middle and end.The first 20+ pages contain many moving pieces and many characters, making it difficult to keep track of what's happening... I wanted to like this screenplay. Set in Prague, PASSING opens with the promise of something exotic and smart. Unfortunately, in this draft it comes across as a series of abortive brush strokes rather than a dramatic story with a beginning, middle and end.The first 20+ pages contain many moving pieces and many characters, making it difficult to keep track of what's happening with whom. But the more important point is that none of the characters are sympathetic enough for us to care about them anyway. The screenplay is littered with expats and locals who seem to be running quickly to nowhere, with little, if any, redeeming qualities.And while the primary conflict initally appears to be between Reed (an underachieving skate boarder who steals passports) and the club-owning minor criminal Snite, two thirds of the way through the conflict switches bizarrely to a plot by Romanian tax drivers to enlist the help of Interpol in finding the murder of a Romanian girl by turning in Snite (whew!).The basic setting and the basic backdrop are fertile material, but the story, characters and dialogue don't hold up their end.Given the writer's, apparent intelligence, I'd suggest the hard work of a ground-up re-write focusing on story. read
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  Professional...
  A review of Passing
  by contrafilms on 08/29/2003
  This is the first script I have read on Trigger Street that does NOT suffer from formatting, spelling and other “unprofessional� problems. Way to go. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if this person already has had a script made into a film. However, I must confess that the “foreign� feel of the film alienated me. I’m not saying this is a bad script…I’m just... This is the first script I have read on Trigger Street that does NOT suffer from formatting, spelling and other “unprofessional� problems. Way to go. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if this person already has had a script made into a film. However, I must confess that the “foreign� feel of the film alienated me. I’m not saying this is a bad script…I’m just saying that I, myself, didn’t really respond to it. The characters were well drawn and plot lines thought out. It’s also obvious that this author seems to have a grasp on Czech culture as well. Not really my kind of film, but maybe someone else’s. Again, congrats on being the first truly professional screenplay I’ve read on TS. (and I’ve read a bunch). read