Adaptation · written by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman · 2002

Laroche says darkness descended as he and Orlean sit beside his father watching television.

Scene 79 of 202 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act one

Laroche

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 45 min into a 1:57 film

The story so farBefore scene 79

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.
Scene 75
Laroche says adaptation is learning how to survive in the world.
Just before
Scene 76
Charlie asks agent Jerry how to adapt the book; Jerry urges him to invent a story, while Charlie insists on responsibility to the material.
Scene 77
Charlie wakes to Donald typing amid the mess of his stalled writing life.
Scene 78
Orlean’s history of Florida’s dangerous swamp shifts from archival images into a staged diorama.
Scene 79
This scene

79INT. LAROCHE'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

The room is dark, lit only by the light of the TV Laroche's father watches. Laroche and Orlean sit on the couch.

LAROCHE

The nursery was going well, but sometimes

bad things happen. Darkness descends.

Laroche glances at his father, who just stares at the TV. On the TV set are two framed photos: one of Laroche's sister and one of Laroche's mother.