Adaptation · written by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman · 2002

Alice tells Charlie she loves orchids while he watches her at the show.

Scene 40 of 202 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act one

Alice

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 25 min into a 1:57 film

The story so farBefore scene 40

Unable to find a conventional story in The Orchid Thief, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman turns his own crisis into an increasingly self-referential adaptation.

Scenes 1–9
Charlie inhabits an isolated, self-condemning world while Orlean’s book supplies a distant model of obsession.
Scene 10
Valerie and Margaret give Charlie the assignment to adapt The Orchid Thief.
Scene 31
Donald’s rivalry and affection give Charlie a living counterpoint to his isolated view of himself.
Just before
Scene 37
Orlean approaches Laroche after the hearing and tests whether he will give her an honest quote.
Scene 38
A flower blooms in time-lapse as a narrator explains orchid anatomy.
Scene 39
Charlie struggles to talk with Alice, who warmly recommends key lime pie and says she loves orchids.
Scene 40
This scene

40EXT. ORCHID SHOW - DAY

Alice the waitress and Kaufman walk hand-in-hand, inspecting sexy orchids together. She smiles warmly at him.

ALICE

(I love you)

I absolutely love orchids.