AN INTRODUCTION TO SCREENWRITING UEA (UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA) AG

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Alternate story structures

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In the last discussion of story structure, we looked at the dominant

form in theatrical films, the character-based causal Three Act
Structure. Now we’ll look at other approaches to story organisation.

There is little reason why films must be told in this particular

arrangement of three acts, with its 25-50-25 rhythm. Some sort of
beginning, middle and end is helpful, but we have no trouble following
other formal configurations. Modern stage plays seldom feature more
than two acts; television drama is often constructed in four acts, to
accommodate the adverts; and “serial” television films often break a
single story into many parts, each functioning as an act.

Some filmmakers work in a causal three-act structure, yet provide

surprise or uncertainty by subverting our expectations of the form. The
story may begin with what appears to be a protagonist, who is then
killed off well before the end of the story. You see this most famously in
Hitchcock’s Psycho, but also in more recent films, e.g., No Country For
Old Men or The Homesman. The effect can be momentarily disorientating
for the audience, who must search for a new point of view on the story, a
new home for their empathy. It produces an unsettling effect that may
enhance the suspense in a film.

Some stories may find a different rhythm or a different act structure. For
example, Enough Said which appears to have a first act that poses a
clear dramatic question, only to introduce a another major element
almost forty minutes into the film. The change is very effective, re-
energising the plot and adding more complexity to the themes.

Other filmmakers, e.g., Abbas Kiarostami or Michael Haneke, may

intentionally subvert our expectations of the story by refusing to reveal
the dramatic question or avoiding a clear resolution.

There are also entirely different ways to approach story structure. We’ve
been discussing a model that follows one major storyline that most often
follows a single protagonist with clearly defined goals. Some movies,
however, feature multiple storylines.

In most cases, the multiple storylines are joined by a common event,

place or theme. Each of the storylines may have a plot of its own, the
story’s overall coherence comes from the relationship between the
storylines. Some recent films, such as Crash or Traffic, use this technique
to make social commentary. Love, Actually takes on romance with ten
mostly-interlinked stories. Max Ophuls’ 1950 adaptation of La Ronde
featured a chain or “round-dance” of ten stories: “A” falls in love with “B”,
who falls in love with “C”, and so on.

Robert Altman’s Short Cuts was adapted from Raymond Carver stories
into a film featuring twenty-two principal characters and ten storylines.
The final film has been described as a “mosaic”, because its stories come
together to form a larger picture that can only be understood in its
totality. The movie’s theme denies the causality at the heart of a three-
act structure, taking a rather more pessimistic look at the human
condition.

There are still other ways to organise a screen story, some intended to
break the emotional hold of the immersive three-act structure. These
stories want to make us think, as well as feel. These films may employ
“alienation” techniques akin to Brecht’s “Epic” theatre.

We haven’t the time to discuss all of the possible approaches to story,

but it’s important to note that the overwhelming majority of films use the
character-driven three act structure. Other forms demand more of the
audience and, as a group, tend to be less popular than movies
constructed in the familiar structure. These movies may play at the local
speciality or art house theatre, rather than the multiplex.

Commercial considerations aside, it’s important to choose the approach

that best tells your story, rather than trying to force every story into the
same mould.

Michael Lengsfield

© University of East Anglia

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PANEL THOUGHTS ON THE THREE ACT STORIES THAT DON’T FIT THE THREE ACT
STRUCTURE MOULD
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