Week Five - Response To Content

The standard plot framework for a mainstream film consists of three parts or acts; the set-up (equilibrium or introduction), the confrontation (disequilibrium or series of events) and lastly the resolution (re-equilibrium or conclusion). All of these parts are vital to the telling of the overall storyline and of the individual character’s personal journeys. This structure doesn’t always happen in order, with some filmmakers deciding to mix things up a little. Notable instances of this would be Memento (2000), Magnolia (1999) and Crash (2004) however they all stay true to the critical five elements of plot:

1.      Believability - usually through audience emotional recognition of a characters situation. E.g. feeling Tula’s pain of being single and unhappy with where her life is going in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002).

2.      Urgency – the issue in the film, whether it be a ticking bomb or the last few moments with their dying wife there is a timeframe set in place on the action faced by the characters within the film. E.g. getting to safety before the bus runs out of fuel in Speed (1994).

3.      Obstacles – the protagonist needs to get past a few hurdles in the road to get to their destination or the journey loses it believability and the film runs short. E.g. the many tasks and places that Frodo and Sam had to conquer in The Lord of the Rings (2003) before finally throwing the ring into the fires of Mordor, three films later…

4.      The Climax – usually more noticeable in big action blockbusters, but every film has a climactic scene e.g. Cary Grant hanging of Mt. Rushmore in North By Northwest (1959) or the Crowning Ceremony in Miss Congeniality (2000).

5.      Resolution – in most films the near end of the film triggers the emotional or physical epiphany that the main characters have been leading up to since they first set out on their journey. All ends are tied up in this part, or are they? There’s always room for that pesky sequel e.g. in Bend It Like Beckham (2002) the protagonist Jess achieves the main goal of her soccer career but also makes up with her bests friend and gets the guy.      

The film Rubber (2010) shows an interesting take on the conventional plot structure as the ‘protagonist’ is actually not a person but a seemingly inanimate object, a tire. However from what I saw and have read about the film, as the plot continues the audience is able to experience the same emotional connection to Robert (the serial-killer no brand tire) as they would with a living, breathing human; think more Dexter than Dorothy of Oz though. In Act I (the set-up) we see Robert in his element, killing everything in his sights from rabbits to humans. However it is too early to tell ‘his’ motivation for killing or even what will happen to him as the story progresses.
REFERENCE:
Thomson, K 2010, 'Film Art', McGraw-Hill, p.61-62.