Free Plan Usage
Unlock with Pro:
Harry's Existential Crisis & Katie's Divorce Plan
from Burn After Reading
Written by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
While lying in bed on a yacht, Harry attempts to wax philosophical about his personal growth and mortality, only to be blindsided when his mistress, Katie, abruptly announces she is divorcing her husband. Harry awkwardly tries to mirror her commitment while subtly backpedaling regarding his own wife, revealing the shallow and self-serving nature of their affair.
HARRY: ... and then, you know, you grow up. I guess that’s what’s happened with me. You just... people change. We married when I was, what, in my mid-twenties. A kid. We were kids. Twenties. You think it’s forever. Then, you know, you’re older——you begin to feel your mortality, you start to think, w
Create a free account to explore more
Upgrade to Pro for full access — £6.99/month
Director's Notes
Explore More
Want expert coaching on this scene?
Browse our curated list of acting coaches, dialect specialists, and more.
Need representation?
Browse verified agents and casting directors in our directory.
How well does this scene match you?
Save your casting profile to see match scores on every scene.
Try Headshot AnalyserGo Pro
£6.99/mo
- ✓ Unlimited scene reading
- ✓ PDF downloads
- ✓ Director's Notes
- ✓ Headshot Analyser
- ✓ Cover Letter Generator
- ✓ Practice Mode
- ✓ Agent Connect
- + 1,000+ scenes
More from Burn After Reading
Harry's Confession
from Burn After Reading
Harry and Katie lie in bed discussing the dissolution of their respective marriages. While Katie is blunt and decisive about leaving her husband, Harry uses pseudo-philosophical rambling to mask his hesitation and lack of commitment.
Linda's Body Image Lament
from Burn After Reading
Linda, a gym employee, desperately tries to convince her manager Ted to advance her salary for cosmetic surgeries she believes are essential for her dating life. While Ted attempts to express his personal attraction to her and shares his soulful past as a priest, Linda remains hilariously oblivious to his advances, focused entirely on her physical insecurities.
Osbourne's Memoir Monologue
from Burn After Reading
Osbourne Cox attempts to justify his recent resignation from the CIA to his unresponsive, elderly father. He struggles to maintain a sense of dignity and purpose while revealing his plans to write a memoir and his desire to stop drinking.
Osbourne's Dismissal
from Burn After Reading
Osbourne Cox is called into a meeting where he is abruptly removed from the Balkans desk and demoted due to an alleged drinking problem. Feeling betrayed and insulted, Osbourne reacts with explosive indignation, accusing his superiors of political maneuvering and personal bias.
Similar Scenes
Willie's Confession to the Kid
from Bad Santa
A hungover Willie is confronted by the lonely Thurman Merman, who seeks validation for his school grades. The scene shifts from dark comedic disbelief over the boy's name to a raw, profanity-laced moment of honesty where Willie struggles with his inability to provide the emotional connection the child craves.
Lula's News Report Rant
from Wild at Heart
While driving through the Texas desert, Lula becomes increasingly overwhelmed and agitated by the bizarre and gruesome news reports playing on the car radio. She reaches a breaking point, forcing Sailor to stop the car so they can find music to escape the 'concentrated weirdness' of the world.
Fuches' Frustration
from Barry
Fuches confronts Barry in a hotel room after discovering that Barry has befriended his target and joined an acting class. The stakes escalate as Fuches reveals the Chechens blew up Barry's apartment as a 'nudge' to finish the hit, while mocking Barry's sudden aspiration to be an actor.
The Truth About Barry
from Barry
A hitman desperate for a new life confesses his dark past to an eccentric acting teacher under the guise of an improvisation. The teacher, oblivious to the literal truth, is impressed by the 'emotional honesty' of the performance and agrees to take him on as a student.