Adaptation · written by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman · 2002

A girl swings while her distant parents sit apart in a suburban yard.

Scene 42 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 42

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 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
Charlie finishes masturbating and lies alone in the dark.
Scene 42
This scene

42INT. SUBURBAN BACKYARD - EVENING

Dark and muted. The seven year old girl is pushed on the swing by her father. From the air she sees her mother, tiny and lost, sitting across the yard smoking.