Logline: Two polar-opposites navigate a tumultuous friendship that defies their expectations that men and women cannot successfully be platonic friends. As the twists and turns of their lives draw them together and pull them apart, they fight to stay in each other's lives in spite of their growing romantic feelings.
Theme: Can men and women just be friends? This story examines how two completely different people can function harmoniously, noting that people can make each other better, and that sometimes the line between friendship and romance is a mere step to be crossed.
2.EXT. University of Chicago Campus - DAYStory Beat: Opening ImageNotes: This is the first time when Harry and Sally meet, and it is shown through nonverbal cues that though they do not actively dislike each other, their differences irritate them.
3.EXT. Chicago Street - DAYNotes: In this scene, the audience begins to see the tension that grows between Harry and Sally as their personalities clash.Theme: Challenged
11.INT. Plane - DayNotes: An important scene to note, as it shows how little both characters have actually changed in the span of the five years they've been apart.
16.INT. bookstore - DAYStory Beat: CatalystNotes: Important to acknowledge the change in behavior from both Harry and Sally - after having experienced pain in relationships, they now are able to find common ground with each other.Theme: Explored
17.INT. Restaurant - DAYTheme: Explored
18.EXT. park pathway - DayStory Beat: Break Into TwoNotes: Crucial scene in which Harry discovers that Sally's insights into his behavior are correct, and apologizes to her. They both resolve to grow as people when they decide to become friends.Theme: Explored
21.INT. Harry and sally's apartments - NIGHTImportant character development: this is the first scene in which Sally realizes that Harry's assumptions of her character can be as correct as her assumptions of his. She respects him enough now to accept his opinion.
Climax
43.INT. Sally's Apartment - NIGHTNotes: Very important - the platonic friendship bubble has been popped, and now Harry in particular needs to resolve the discrepancy between being intimate with someone he genuinely cares about and having his initial suspicion about men and women being friends potentially proven correct.Theme: Challenged
44.INT. Sally's Bedroom - nightStory Beat: Break Into ThreeTheme: Challenged
45.INT. Sally's Kitchen - night
46.INT. Sally's bedroom - night
47.INT. Sally's bedroom - nightTheme: Challenged
48.INT. SALLY'S BEDROOM - dayNotes: She's upset that he didn't treat her differently than his ordinary hookups.Theme: Challenged
49.INT. Marie and Jess's Bedroom - dayTheme: Challenged
50.
Falling Action
52.EXT. Central Park - Day
53.EXT. new york city street - Day
54.INT. bridal salon - day
55.INT. Wedding - dayTheme: Challenged
56.INT. wedding reception - DAYStory Beat: All is LostTheme: Challenged
57.INT. WEDDING RECEPTION - DAYTheme: Challenged
58.EXT. Christmas tree stand - DAYNotes: Serves as a poignant contrast to how well she worked with Harry to complete this same task the prior year.Theme: Challenged
59.INT. HARRY'S APARTMENT - DAYTheme: Challenged
60.INT. SALLY'S APARTMENT - DAY
Resolution
73.ext. NEW YORK CITY STREET - night
74.INT. NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY - night
75.EXT. washington square - nightStory Beat: Break Into ThreeTheme: Explored
76.INT. NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY - night
77.EXT. NEW YORK CITY STREET - night
78.INT. NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY - NIGHT
79.EXT. NEW YORK CITY STREET - nightTheme: Explored
80.INT. NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY - night
81.EXT. NEW YORK CITY STREET -Theme: Explored
Denouement
82.INT. NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY - nightStory Beat: FinaleNotes: Harry and Sally's friendship has informed the way they love each other; allowing Harry to accept Sally for her more cumbersome qualities, and allowing Sally to loosen her control over her expectations of romance.Theme: Explored
Plot threads
Harry & Amanda
Relationship with Amanda
It is revealed the relationship has ended
Harry & Sally Meet
Bad first impressions
Continuing to point out flaws in each other
Assumptions are made that they'll never see each other again
Sally does not have fond memories of Harry when she sees him again
Parting ways again
New impression of each other
Harry & Helen
Harry is in a relationship with Helen
It is revealed that the relationship has ended
Harry and Sally run into Helen in a shop, Harry is visibly distressed
Sally & Joe
Sally is in a relationship with Joe
The relationship is revealed to have ended
Friendship Story
Harry and Sally become friends
Opening up to each other
Supportive of dating prospects
Audience learns of Harry's genuine respect for Sally
Boundary is crossed; relationship flickers for a moment between platonic and romantic
Trying, albeit unsuccessfully to connect their friends with each other
They fight, but are still supportive of each other
Another instance of the divide between romantic and platonic becoming a little bit less clear
Both Harry and Sally are shown to be bothered by the other's relationships
Envious of each other's partners
Physical and emotional intimacy on a previously unreached level
Sally wants a deeper and more meaningful relationship, Harry wants merely friendship
Harry seeming to change how he thinks about Sally; shown in his effort to win her over again
Turning point; Harry realizes he loves Sally and needs to get her back
Characters
HarryWhite · Male · HeroWhat does your character want?: Harry is a light-hearted man with a self-proclaimed dark side. He is sarcastic and biting, perhaps a bit arrogant, but is honest to a fault and doesn't shy away from sharing his thoughts. Harry wants a genuine connection and relationship as well for most of the story, but is unwilling to put himself in a position where he is emotionally vulnerable. He keeps distance between his love affairs and his desire for emotional attachment, and for the majority of the film wants to keep the women in his life with whom he's intimate at an arms length.How will your character attempt to get it?: In order to keep degrees of separation between the women he genuinely values in his life and those he has sexual encounters with, Harry adopts a firm belief that men and women cannot be friends. He acts promiscuously, sleeping with women he meets and then leaving them abruptly to keep himself from being trapped in a vulnerable position.What does your character need?: Harry needs a companion with whom he is unafraid to let himself open up to. He needs someone that appreciates his sense of humor and flippant nature, but also someone who will not shy away from the opportunity to call him out on his shortcomings. He needs to be in a relationship with a person who will allow him to feel safe enough to accept love into his life, and who respects him enough to listen to and understand him.How will your character realize it?: Harry does not realize this need until the very end of the film. When he and Sally have their falling out, the lack of her presence leaves him with a gaping hole in his life that he cannot reconcile. He realizes in her absence that she is the only person with whom he feels completely connected, and that if he lets their relationship die then he may not have another chance at finding love.
Helen38 · White · Female
SallyWhite · Female · HeroineWhat does your character want?: Sally wants things to go her way. Characterized as high-maintenance and difficult, she is very particular about what she does and does not like, and has a meticulous nature that she uses to control the things that happen in her life. She is talkative and competitive, though very set in her ideas, and wants to have a successful relationship with someone she can commit to and marry. Sally hides her emotions behind a "wall of reason," and is not prone to outwardly displaying her feelings of malcontent. As the story progresses, Sally finds that she wants a romantic relationship with Harry, someone who knows and accepts her as she is.
24.INT. art museum - DAYStory Beat: Fun and GamesTheme: Explored
25.INT. apartment - dayTheme: Explored
26.EXT. batting cages - DAYTheme: Explored
27.INT. Diner - DAYNotes: An example of Harry allowing himself to be taught by Sally; she is able to point out perspectives that he was formerly unable to consider.Theme: Explored
28.Montage New York City Winter - DAY
29.INT. New year's eve party - nightNotes: Note that this is the first moment that Harry and Sally seem to realize the potential for attraction to each other.Theme: Challenged
36.INT. shop - DAYNotes: This is one of the audience's glimpses of how Harry uses humor as a defense mechanism, and also serves as a look into the character behind his breezy and sarcastic persona.Theme: Explored
37.EXT. flower shop - DAYTheme: Explored
38.INT. Jess and Marie's Apartment - Day
39.EXT. Outside Marie and Jess's Apartment - DAYNotes: Character growth: Both Harry and Sally call each other on their flaws, but are able to look past the brief insult in order to make amends and resolve their argument.Theme: Explored
40.INT. living room - NIGHTTheme: Challenged
41.INT. Kitchen/Den - NIGHTTheme: Challenged
42.INT. Harry's apartment - NIGHTTheme: Explored
INT. Harry and Sally's Bathrooms - Day
Theme: Challenged
51.INT. restaurant - nightNotes: Each are bothered for seemingly different reasons; Harry because he can't separate his emotions from the sexual experience, and Sally because her sexual experience doesn't come with an intimate attachment.Theme: Challenged
Theme: Challenged
61.INT. HARRY'S APARTMENT - DAY
62.INT. SALLY'S APARTMENT - day
63.INT. HARRY'S APARTMENT - DAY
64.INT. SALLY'S APARTMENT - day
65.EXT. Hot dog stand - day
66.INT. HARRY'S APARTMENT - day
67.INT. SALLY'S APARTMENT - DAY
68.INT. HARRY'S APARTMENT - DAY
69.INT. SALLY'S APARTMENT - day
70.INT. HARRY and Sally's APARTMENTs - dayTheme: Challenged
71.INT. Harry's bedroom - NIGHTStory Beat: Dark Night of the Soul
72.INT. NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY - night
Both have accepted their feelings for each other as being more than platonic
Marie & Jess
Marie and Jess's attraction to each other begins
Marie and Jess leave the double date together
Four months later, Harry and Sally shop for an engagement gift for Marie and Jess
Jess and Marie are shown to be living together
Jess and Marie get married
Marie and Jess are shown to attend a New Year's party as a married couple
How will your character attempt to get it?: Sally attempts to find success in her relationships through a series of dates and relationships that never seem to last for long.
What does your character need?: Sally needs someone to be her companion. She requires a level of sympathy and understanding from that person, as well as a refusal to judge her for the way she is. She needs acceptance from a person whose influence will give her the safe space she needs to grow and develop as a character.
How will your character realize it?: Sally will realize this need through her platonic interactions with Harry. Her companionship with him will set a bar for her romantic relationships that she'll find is unmatchable by any of her other dating prospects, and she will discover that no one else in her life is willing to know her and value her as he does.
MarieWhite · Female · Companion
JessWhite · Male · Companion
Alice30 · Female
Gary35 · White · Male
Amanda22 · Female · LoverWhat does your character want?: Amanda, a friend of Sally's, wants to be close to and affectionate with Harry, whom she dates when they attend college together.How will your character attempt to get it?: Amanda attempts to capture and hold Harry's attention through physical affection and romantic language.