This is the third blog installment of our little excursion into the flow of cinematic storytelling--Three Act Structure. If you are just now "tuning in", look at the two previous blog entries first. Now, let's review:
ACT ONE-Introduction
ACT TWO-The Journey
ACT THREE-Resolution
In Act One, we are introduced to the setting (where and when), and our hero, also known as protagonist(s). Then, an event occurred, called the Inciting Incident. This event forces them (usually) to make a decision, to keep to the status quo, or to tackle a challenge, a foe, an obstacle--to reach some goal or goals. Once the hero decides to face the challenge (if they have a choice, they don't always, like Cast Away with Tom Hanks...he is FORCED to try and survive on the island), then Act Two begins.
Act Two is known as The Journey, or The Hero's Quest. It is a series of ever-increasing obstacles, conflicts that the protagonist must face...and they must get more and more difficult. We learned that there are several types of conflict, such as Man vs. Man, Man vs. Himself, Man vs. Government, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Supernatural, and Man vs. Technology.
At the end of Act Two is (usually) the All is Lost moment. This is when our protagonist is at the lowest point, apparently defeated, down for the count, in deep doo-doo. The theater at this moment is quiet as a tomb. Enter: Act Three.
It is at this low point, this bottom-of-the-barrel moment, that something beautiful happens. It may be the arrival of new help, the finding of new skills, or the discovery of new courage to face the bad guy, to challenge the obstacle, or to overcome the conflict one final time. Named after the famous bird-of-legend, that fantastic creature who dies and then is reborn more powerful than before, this Plot Point, this important phase, is called The Rise of Phoenix.
Just like the mythical creature of old, the Hero rises out of the very ashes of defeat, the rubble of his own apparent destruction. It could be the infusion of new help (Star Wars), the finding of new skills (many fighting/boxing flicks), or the discovery of new courage (Karate Kid), but somehow, the winds of change begin to blow, or sometimes blow all at once like a hurricane.
This then leads to the the last major event, The Final Battle. It is our Hero's last-ditch effort to get the girl, get the gold, or get the victory. The Phoenix has risen, and risen to face the final challenge. When this battle is over, either the bad guy is captured, killed, or defeated, or the hero loses.
But (this is important) the hero can still LOSE and yet still WIN. In many team-sports movies, the team makes it all the way to the playoffs or championships, and then LOSE the game. But, guess what? They still WIN, because of how they are different at the end versus how they were at the beginning. They have grown closer, become better friends, gained respect, maturity, or some other moral or life lesson. You can lose the last battle, but then win a completely different type of war.
But, most movies aren't that emotionally complex or deep. There is The Final Battle, and the Hero WINS the battle...plain and simple. Sometimes a movie will end on that high note, you know, cut to credits and people walk out pumped and feeling good. But many movies still have one small part of Act Three---The Denouement.
The Denouement is a "weaning off" period, it is that time from the end of The Final Battle, until the actual end of the movie. Now that the Hero has won (or lost), the story winds down, it weans us off that emotional high, it bleeds off that energy. Oftentimes, the author ties up all the loose ends of the movie, finally connects all the dots, and answers all remaining questions during the Denouement. The Return of the King (the last installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy) has one of the longest Denouements in history, lasting nearly 40 minutes.
In Star Wars, it was the medal ceremony after the destruction of the Death Star, in Ocean's 11 it is that now-famous scene with all the crooks (sans Danny Ocean) standing before the Bellagio Fountains, literally weaning away, one by one.
Speaking of Denouement, we have arrived at one in this blog. We have looked at Three Act Structure, and dissected the parts. We have considered examples, and discussed how those examples serve important purposes.
If we follow these time-tested formulas, these ancient bits of literary wisdom, as one author put it, "you won't necessarily write a good story, but you certainly won't write a bad one."
