Fargo – Act Two

(SPOILERS:  Fargo)

Now that I’ve spent the last few posts going through the various elements often found in Act Two, it’s time for me to catch up with my analysis of Fargo (written by Ethan and Joel Cohen).  Let’s look at what happens in Fargo’s second act.

Special World

The special world for our hero, Jerry, is the world of crime.  So we see him discovering what it means to live in this world – he negotiates with his father-in-law to get the ransom money and deals with the impact of the crime on his son.

Fun and Games

Since this is a crime story the fun and games section pays off those elements.  First we see the kidnappers get pulled over and shoot a cop.  Then we see Marge investigating the crime scene.  I think the important thing to note is how rich these scenes are.  The Cohen brothers make sure to give us fully realized set-piece scenes full of twists and witty dialogue and good crime stuff. 

And they use their location – the wintry North Dakota – to full effect.  This is part of the premise of the movie as well.  We see how the snow and bitter cold affect things – tracks in the snow that tell a story, Marge’s car needing a jump, etc.  We’re also treated to some of the cultural quirks of Fargo (the location) such as ice fishing and the stamp contest.

Allies and Enemies

The main enemy introduced early in Act Two is the antagonist:  Marge.  Most of the other players have already made appearances in the film at this point.  This is kind of unusual.  More often we meet the antagonist in Act One and their henchmen somewhere near the beginning of Act Two.

Midpoint

The midpoint in Fargo is when the kidnappers call Jerry and demand the entire amount of the ransom (they were supposed to split it with him).  In the very same scene, a representative from the auto company calls and threatens to turn the matter of the missing cars over to the legal department if they don’t receive the info they want by the following afternoon.  This scene adds a slight twist with the changing plans and a ticking clock with the threat from the rep.  It also reinforces what’s at stake for Jerry.

Subplot Wrap-Up

Following the Midpoint we spend a lot of time focusing on two subplots.  The bigger one is Marge reconnecting with a school friend who turns out to be a little unhinged. The other is Carl the kidnapper leaving the house where they’ve holed because he's sick of his partner.  Both of these sequences allow us a deeper understanding of the characters.  Meanwhile, Marge’s investigation is slowly closing in, building toward the Act Two Break.

Act Two Break

The Act Two Break is when the payoff goes awry.  Jerry’s father-in-law is killed and Carl is wounded.  The whole plan has collapsed.

This is troubling to me.  This would be a good Act Two break if in the end Jerry was going to get away with his plan.  But in the end Jerry is going to fail.  According to traditional three-act structure, the Act Two break for this story should be a point where it looks like Jerry might succeed.  But in Fargo, the Midpoint, Act Two Break and Resolution are all moments of Jerry’s failure.

So is it possible I'm wrong and this isn't really the Act Two break?  Well, anything is possible...  But this sure looks like an act break to me.  The tension of the story changes.  Jerry's plan is in tatters - there's no apparent way for him to get the money he needs.  It moves from a story about trying to execute a crime to a story about avoiding arrest.

The problem with the Act Two Break being the same as the Resolution (in terms of success/failure) is that it should result is a predictable story with no twists and turns.  And if you think about it, Fargo is pretty predictable as far as the crime plot is concerned.  There is never a moment in the film where Jerry’s plan seems like it’s going well.  He does nothing but fail from beginning to end.  There’s never really a surprising plot twist – we could certainly anticipate the events of the Act Two Break well in advance.  At the Break I thought, "boy, I don't see how Jerry's going to get away with this."  And then, sure enough, he doesn't.  Yet the movie was a critical and commercial hit.  And perhaps more importantly to me, I liked it.  What does this mean?

I think it means the movie succeeds in spite of its predictability.  I always tell my students, "people go to movies for a lot of reasons but it's never to see a good act break."  What makes the Cohen’s such great filmmakers is their original, quirky characters and dialogue.  Fargo is one of the best examples of that. Would it have been better if there were a moment where Jerry seems to triumph over his adversaries – a scene where it looks like he might get away with it and where Marge looks like she’ll lose the trail?  Yeah, maybe it would have.

But I go back to that saying that I heard from the late, great Frank Daniel:  “The only rule in screenwriting is don’t be boring.” 

Fargo definitely isn’t boring.

The Act Two Break

(SPOILERS: Zombieland, Some Like It Hot, The Visitor, Star Wars, Aliens, Little Miss Sunshine, While You Were Sleeping)

Continuing my in-depth look at story structure with the Act Two Break…

The Act Two Break is one of the most critical beats of your story.  It’s often referred to as the “lowest moment,” though I don’t like that because I think it’s misleading.  Seldom do I see a successful story where things start getting better right after the Act Two Break.  I think “moment of greatest failure” is a better description.  It’s also sometimes called the “all is lost” moment, which is pretty good.  The point is that this is when it looks like your character is doomed to fail.

That assumes, of course, that ultimately your character will succeed.  Some stories end with the character failing and in this case you have to reverse the Act Two Break.  It becomes the moment of greatest success.  Gangster movies often work this way – the gangster seizes control of the gang at the end of Act Two and looks like he’ll be unstoppable.  But by the end he’ll be lying dead in the street, riddled with bullets.

Why is this so important?  Because the ending won’t be satisfying unless it’s hard to achieve.  And you don’t want your movie to feel completely predictable.  This is the point where the audience needs to think, “boy, I know the hero must be going to beat the bad guy and get the girl (this is a movie, after all), but I sure don’t know how he’s going to do it.  It seems hopeless.”

Hope and fear come into play here.  What is the audience rooting for?  Do they want the character to succeed or fail?  (Both are possibilities depending on your premise.)  This is the moment where you make them think the opposite might actually happen.  Or in a tragedy you make them think they might get the ending they want only to snatch it away from them.  Romeo and Juliet hatch a plan to run away together… maybe it will all work out after all…

For example, the end of Act Two in Zombieland (written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) is when Columbus wakes up in the mansion to discover that Wichita and her sister have ditched them in the middle of the night.  So much for finding love!  In Some Like It Hot (screenplay by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond), the gangsters that Joe and Jerry were fleeing show up in Florida and nearly recognize them on the elevator.  It looks like the jig is up.  Our heroes have failed in their goal of escape.

The Visitor (written by Thomas McCarthy) demonstrates the tragic take.  At the end of Act Two Walter and Mouna go on a date.  It’s looking like Walter’s life might actually be getting better.  The chapter title on the DVD is even called “A Moment of Happiness.”  But it’s just temporary – at the resolution Walter and Mouna will be separated forever.

Beyond this fundamental idea of greatest failure/success opposite the resolution, there are several common ways the Act Two Break works.

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

Sometimes the character will actually achieve a major goal at the end of Act Two, only to discover they’ve set in motion a bigger – but related – problem.  This is what happens in Star Wars (written by George Lucas).  Luke Skywalker escapes the Death Star with Princess Leia.  He’s achieved the goal he set out to achieve.  But we quickly learn Darth Vadar had placed a tracking device on the Millennium Falcon.  Now Vadar knows the location of the rebel base.  By achieving his goal Luke has potentially doomed everything!

Hero Gets What They Want But Doesn’t Want It Anymore

Sometimes the hero will achieve their want but find their priorities have changed.  For example in Aliens (story by James Cameron and David Giler & Walter Hill, screenplay by James Cameron), Bishop gets the back-up shuttle from the space ship down to the planet.  They can escape!  This is what Ripley wanted all through Act Two – to get off the planet.  But Newt has just fallen down a shaft and been captured by the aliens.  Ripley finds she wants something more than escape – she wants to rescue Newt.

Trip-with-a-destination movies frequently operate on a variation of this.  The hero generally arrives at their destination at the end of Act Two only to discover things are not what they expected.  For example, in Little Miss Sunshine (written by Michael Arndt) the family arrives at the talent show only to discover that it’s populated by shallow, creepy, distasteful characters.  Richard, the guy who was all about winning, is no longer so sure he wants Olive to win this contest.

Romantic comedies that use love triangles also typically follow this pattern.  The heroine finally gets the guy she’s been pursuing but it’s the wrong guy.  This is what we did in Sweet Home Alabama.  While You Were Sleeping (written by Daniel G. Sullivan & Fredric LeBow) did something similar – Peter wakes up from his coma and, though Lucy has invented their whole relationship, he decides to marry her.  The trouble is Lucy has since fallen for Jack.

As a screenwriter your primary job at the Act Two Break is to make sure that you put your character in an extreme situation regarding their goal.  You need to make things look bleak (or hopeful) enough that we’re on the edge of our seats throughout Act Three.

Act Two Part Two – The Midpoint

(SPOILERS: Aliens, Little Miss Sunshine, Some Like It Hot, The Visitor, Zombieland, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial)

Today I continue my in-depth discussion of structure by examining the middle of Act Two, which is obviously also the middle of the movie.  In three act structure this is where we find the…

Midpoint

The concept of the Midpoint is fairly straightforward, though its use and purpose can vary a lot.  I know several successful screenwriters who don’t give any thought to the midpoint at all and I’ve seen movies that don’t have a traditional midpoint.  It doesn’t really seem to be a required beat.  But I think it’s a valuable milestone to help us keep Act Two interesting.  And if used well it can be the tent pole that supports Act Two.

Traditionally the Midpoint mirrors the Resolution and is opposite to the Act Two Break.  If your character is going to succeed at their goal in the Resolution, then the Midpoint should be a moment of success (and, as we’ll see in the next post, the Act Two Break will be a moment of failure).  If the character will fail in the Resolution then the Midpoint will be a moment of failure (and the Act Two Break a moment of success).  In this way we’ll have a story that has dramatic peaks and valleys.

For example, in Little Miss Sunshine (written by Michael Arndt) Olive actually fails to win the pageant at the Resolution (Richard is the main character – his goal is to help his daughter win).  The Act Two Break is when they finally arrive at the pageant and manage to get registered – a moment of success.  The Midpoint is when Grandpa dies, a big setback that mirrors the resolution.

Twisting the Tension

The Midpoint often twists the story in a new direction or adds a new element.  This helps keep things fresh.  In Some Like It Hot (screenplay by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond) the Midpoint is when Joe poses as a millionaire on the beach to seduce Sugar.  This adds a new dimension to the story.  Now he has a second disguise to maintain, one that throws new obstacles into the original mission.  And in The Visitor (written by Thomas McCarthy) the Midpoint is when Mouna arrives.  She throws a new element into the story by adding a romantic possibility for Walter.

Sometimes this twist can be so big it actually seems like an additional act break.  In Aliens (story by James Cameron and David Giler & Walter Hill, screenplay by James Cameron) the Midpoint comes just after the marines have discovered that the colonists they’re looking for are all dead.  They try to leave but an alien attacks the pilot of their shuttle and it crashes.  The goal changes from rescuing the colonists to getting off the planet.  Thus Act Two is divided into two very distinct arcs.

You may be thinking to yourself that the Midpoint in Aliens doesn’t sound like a moment of success since in the end Ripley beats the Aliens.  But remember, Ripley is our main character in the movie and this is the point she takes charge of the mission.  However I think this does reinforce my point that the Midpoint is a less rigid part of three act structure.

Raising the Stakes

Another good thing to do at the Midpoint is raise the stakes.  This happens in Aliens – when the drop ship crashes they are no longer just on a dangerous mission, they have lost their only way out of the mission.  In E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (written by Melissa Mathison) the Midpoint is when E.T. figures out his plan to “phone home” but it’s also the point when they first realize E.T. and Eliot are getting sick.  If the midpoint itself doesn’t raise the stakes, then often this will happen immediately afterwards.

Mythology

Note that the hero’s journey story structure spelled out by Joseph Cambell in The Hero With A Thousand Faces (and excellently applied to screenwriting by Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer’s Journey) looks at the middle of the movie in a whole different way.  This is the point where the hero enters the innermost cave – the most special part of the special world – and faces a big challenge.  As a result of defeating the challenge, he seizes the elixir – a metaphor for finding the thing he needs to ultimately succeed in his quest.

After the Midpoint

The sequence following the Midpoint often gives writers trouble.  The things that often occur at this point are a bit unexpected and unappreciated.  It tends to be a surprisingly quiet sequence.  It’s a place to recuperate a bit from the big action of the Midpoint and wrap up some loose ends before we ramp up for the Act Two Break and Act Three.  Some of the things we often see here:

Fireside Scenes

Fireside scenes are scenes where the characters gather together (around a metaphorical fire) and reflect on their adventures so far.  They are a type of preparation and aftermath scene that give us a chance to check in and see how everybody’s feeling.  In Zombieland (written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) we see our four heroes gather to play a game in the celebrity house where they've holed up.  During this scene, Tallahassee breaks down remembering the son he's lost.  These scenes are important so that the audience doesn’t stop caring about the characters.

Emotional Revelation

I’ve noticed there is often a scene at this point where the hero finally reveals their true feelings, sometimes in a fireside type scene or sometimes in another form.  This first came to my attention in Die Hard (screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza).  John McClane is a strong, silent type not given to talking about his feelings… until the scene where he’s in the bathroom picking glass out of his feet and tells Al how much he loves his wife and admits his regrets about his marriage.

Now I notice these scenes after the Midpoint all the time.  And it’s no accident that they occur in this section of the movie.  If your character has any kind of arc, then this would be about the time they’re starting to realize the error of their old ways.  They should have been pushed to the emotional brink by the Midpoint.  They’re defenses are starting to break down.  And that’s when they finally tell us how they actually feel.

Chalkboard Scenes

The purpose of chalkboard scenes is to recap the plot for the audience in case they’re feeling lost.  They’re expository scenes which makes them a challenge to pull off, but in a complex plot the audience will welcome them.  In Aliens the marines have a planning session where they take stock of their resources and challenges.  Again, these are a type of preparation scene.

Wrapping Up Subplots

Usually we’ll start to see some of the subplots get wrapped up or at least moved close to their conclusions in the sequence after the Midpoint.  Why?  To get them out of the way so we can focus on the main plot with greater intensity as we move into Act Three.

One of the common subplots that gets dealt with is the romance.  Often this is the point in the movie where the hero and love interest will first kiss or have sex (depending on your movie's rating).  In Spider-Man (screenplay by Devid Koepp) this is where we get the upside-down alley kiss.  In Raiders of the Lost Ark we have the scene where Indy and Marion start kissing…until Indy falls asleep.  And in Zombieland there is a near-kiss between Columbus and Wichita that Tallahassee interrupts.

After we get this (very important) stuff out of the way it’s time to turn our attention to the big moment – the Act Two Break.  And that will be the subject of my next post.

Act Two Part One - Fun and Games

(SPOILERS:  Pretty Woman, Lars and the Real Girl, The Visitor, Bruce Almighty, Star Wars, Some Like It Hot, Avatar)

I’m going to break Act Two down into three parts for my ongoing analysis of story structure.  Today I’ll discuss the period that comes right after the Act One Break.  Next I’ll discuss the middle including the structural beat of The Midpoint, and then the end including the Act Two Break.  So, what commonly happens in the early stages of Act Two?

Fun and Games

Screenwriters sometimes refer to this section of the script as the “fun and games” section.  This is the time to explore all the interesting possibilities of your premise.  One question that good writers ask themselves is, “given this set up what would I like to see in the movie?”  The answer will be those “obligatory scenes” that you need to have so the audience isn’t left unsatisfied.  Many of these scenes go here.

For example, in Pretty Woman (written by J.F. Lawton) we see Vivian the prostitute from Hollywood Blvd. get to live the glamorous high society life, enjoying a Rodeo Drive shopping spree and fancy dinner.  Or in Lars and the Real Girl (written by Nancy Oliver) this section of the movie is filled with comedic scenes of the townsfolk trying to adapt to a delusional young man who believes a life size sex doll is a real person.  In The Visitor (written by Thomas McCarthy) Walter learns to play the drums and learns about a different culture as he bonds with his new friends.

In movies where the character gets some kind of super power this is where they explore what they can do with it.  For example, in Spider-Man (screenplay by Devid Koepp), Spider-Man swings around New York in his new costume stopping crime and becoming famous.  And in Bruce Almighty (story by Steve Koren & Mark O’Keefe, screenplay by Steve Koren & Mark O’Keefe and Steve Oedekerk) Bruce plays with his newfound powers of God by parting the traffic like the red sea and pulling the moon closer for a romantic moment with his girlfriend.  It’s playtime – the downside of the powers hasn’t revealed itself yet.

Exploring the Special World

In the Hero’s Journey story structure spelled out by Joseph Cambell in The Hero With A Thousand Faces (and excellently applied to screenwriting by Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer’s Journey) the end of Act One usually coincides with the character entering the Special World.  This could literally be a different and unfamiliar place or it could be a metaphorical world – the character has left their comfort zone and is trying something new.  The fun and games period at the beginning of Act Two is when they explore this special world.

So Neo learns how to manipulate the matrix in The Matrix (written by Andy & Lana Wachowski) and Jake explores Pandora and learns about Navi culture in Avatar (written by James Cameron).  In Some Like It Hot (screenplay by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond) Joe and Jerry discover the world of women.  They engage in girl talk and a late night party in Jerry’s train bunk.  At first they try to be prim and proper to fit in, but they soon discover to their surprise that the women in the band are not like that at all.

Allies & Enemies

Another stage from the Hero’s Journey structure is Allies and Enemies.  Frequently in the early part of Act Two the character meets the people that will help them on their journey and those that will stand in their way.  So Luke Skywalker teams up with Han Solo and Chewbacca and encounters Storm Troopers in Star Wars (written by George Lucas).  And Dorothy meets the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz (screenplay by Noel Langley & Florence Ryerson & Edgar Allan Woolf).

After about twenty minutes or so of screen time the special world and initial premise will start to feel a little tired.  It’s time to shake things up.  That’s what the Midpoint is for.  And that will be the topic of my next post.

Act Two - The Vast Wasteland

(SPOILERS:  Some Like It Hot, Little Miss Sunshine, Zombieland, The Visitor, Up in the Air, Ocean's Eleven)

Now we get to Act Two in my in-depth analysis of story structure.  Unlike acts one and three that have a lot of specific jobs to do structurally, Act Two is pretty wide open.  In fact, in traditional three-act structure, there are only two beats in Act Two:  the Midpoint and the Act Two Break (and the midpoint is even sort of optional).

Yet Act Two is supposed to take up roughly half of your screen time.  This vast stretch of story without a lot of landmarks frequently undoes writers.  It’s a cliché that many unfinished drafts sitting forgotten in desk drawers petered out a bit after the half way point.  The writer got lost in Act Two.  So I think it’s quite useful for us to look at things that commonly occur in Act Two of successful movies.  This gives us ideas to fall back on when we start to lose our way.

Obstacles

Today I want to look at what needs to happen overall in Act Two.  In our basic story foundation this is where the character faces obstacles in pursuit of their goal.  So obviously one thing you need to do is figure out what obstacles your character should face.  There ought to be more than one and they should escalate as the story progresses.

For example, in Some Like It Hot (screenplay by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond) Joe and Jerry are disguised as women to escape gangsters who want them dead throughout Act Two.  The first obstacle is convincingly behaving like women under the eye of suspicious Sweet Sue.  Next we have the lovely Sugar tempting our heroes to reveal their true nature.  Then there is the millionaire who falls for Jerry and won’t take no for an answer.  Situations arise that threaten their disguise as well – for example the unintended party that starts in Jerry’s train car that could get them kicked out of the band.  As the guys’ lies grow more elaborate the effort required to maintain their disguises increases.

In Little Miss Sunshine (written by Michael Arndt) Act Two is the family’s journey to California.  Their goal is to get Olive to the pageant on time.  Some of the obstacles include the van breaking down, Richard losing his pending business deal, Dwayne freaking out when he discovers he’s color blind, getting pulled over by a cop and grandpa dying.  Each one must be overcome in turn.

Ups and Downs

You do not, however, want the character’s progression through the obstacles to be too linear.  We like our movies to be like a rollercoaster – with lots of peaks and dips and twists.  A rollercoaster with only one big drop isn’t much fun.  You need to mix moments of success in with moments of failure for your characters.  In one scene they’re getting closer to their goal, the next farther away.

So in Zombieland (written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) immediately after Columbus meets Wichita, she betrays him and steals the car and guns.  He finds her again and they start travelling together but she doesn’t trust him.  Slowly he wins her over until in the celebrity mansion she dances with him.  But just as they’re about to kiss, Tallahassee interrupts them.  The relationship develops in fits and starts – they take two steps forward and one step back.

In The Visitor (written by Thomas McCarthy) Walter’s friendship with Tarek and Khalil is regularly disrupted by cultural misunderstandings and then by Tarek’s arrest and threatened deportation.  But even when things have gotten bad we see Walter’s character growing as a result of this friendship.  The arrival of Mouna even offers him an opportunity for romance.

Mysteries and caper movies particularly need to develop in stages like this.  In a mystery there can’t be one clue that solves the whole mystery.  Clues should accumulate and build and red herrings should lead the investigator awry.  In a caper movie there should be multiple sub-tasks involved in pulling off the overall plan.  So in the remake of Ocean's Eleven (screenplay by Ted Griffin) they have to gather the gang, stake out the casinos, practice cracking the vault and so on.

Plot and Subplot

Most feature length movies have several subplots.  In fact, four plotlines – one main and three subplots – seems to be about right.  Any more and the movie gets cluttered.  Any less and it’s underdeveloped.  Often one of the subplots is used to dramatize the character’s arc (this is frequently a romantic subplot in stories that do not have romances as their main plot).  Developing these subplots will occupy some of your time in Act Two.

In Up in the Air the main plot is about Ryan’s relationship with Alex.  The three subplots are his mentorship of Natalie, the impending wedding of his sister (and his task of getting pictures with the cutout), and the brutality of the layoffs that are his business.  All three subplots provide perspective on the theme and character arc.  And they help flesh out Act Two.

Over the next three posts I’ll go through the beginning, middle and end of Act Two and what usually happens in each section, as well as addressing the Midpoint and Act Two Break.