Adaptation · written by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman · 2002

Charlie finishes masturbating and lies alone in the dark.

Scene 41 of 202 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act one

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 25 min into a 1:57 film

The story so farBefore scene 41

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 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
Alice tells Charlie she loves orchids while he watches her at the show.
Scene 41
This scene

41INT. EMPTY ROOM - NIGHT

Kaufman finishes jerking off. He lies lonely in the dark.