When it comes to screenwriting, there are rules… and then there’s a notion that rules are there to be broken. We can’t create cookie-cutter films based on the hero’s journey that mimic one another until the end of time… we’ve got to push boundaries and innovate. In this way, it’s almost better to subscribe to the thought that whatever you do – make sure it works.
To inspire the unconventional storytellers among us who prefer to do it their way… here are three groundbreaking screenplays with an experimental style of storytelling that does just that – all from the early 2000s.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Charlie Kaufman is written all over Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind starring an unlikely pairing in Jim Carey and Kate Winslet. A spacey title, the nonlinear narrative structure is just as unusual, jumping between past, present and future. The classic romance drama explores memory, love and the human condition and it’s unconventional storytelling and emotional complexity have made it a quirky classic.
Primer (2004)
If you talk about high-end low budget movies… Shane Carruth’s name is sure to come up. The director and co-writer of Upstream Color and Primer, this shoestring science fiction film comes with a serious nerd alert. Combining complex physics and time travel to baffle Doc Brown, this indie classic is notoriously complex – broaching the realm of Memento when it comes to unravelling the intricate plot and scientific concepts.
Mulholland Drive (2001)
One of the most beautiful things about David Lynch’s films is that they’re essentially transposed dreams. One of his best, which frequently lands in Top 10 lists for film critics, is Mulholland Drive. A possible nod to Sunset Bld. this surreal mystery is filled with wave after wave of enigmatic dialogue and strange symbolism. An experimental film that was originally destined to be a series, its dreamlike quality and open-ended narrative make it thought-provoking as a conversation starter and fascinating in terms of screenplay structure.