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Five Plot Point Breakdowns

"A movie, I think, is really only four or five moments between two people; the rest of it exists to give those moments their impact and resonance. The script exists for that. Everything does." - Robert Towne

When breaking down a film’s structure, generally speaking, “The Eight Sequences” framework is the standard: two in Act One, four in Act Two, and two in Act Three.

But the number 8 is only part of the equation. If the sequences are what shape a screenplay’s three-act structure, then the five major plot points are the building blocks behind sequence construction: Inciting Incident, Lock In, Midpoint, Main Culmination, and Third Act Twist.

Each analysis of selected features breaks the film down to the essential 5 major plot points, time code of when each plot point occurs included.

The Descendants (2011)

Screenplay Genre: Comedy / Drama

Movie Time: 115 Minutes

INCITING INCIDENT

Hawaiian land baron MATT KING (George Clooney) discovers that his wife ELIZABETH (Patricia Hastie) will not recover from her coma, and her will states that she’s to be taken off of life support. (00:11:29)

Carnage (2011)

Screenplay Genre: Comedy / Drama

Movie Time: 80 Minutes

INCITING INCIDENT

NANCY COWAN (Kate Winslet) and ALAN COWAN’s (Christopher Waltz) son Zachary hits PENELOPE LONGSTREET (Jodie Foster) and MICHAEL LONGSTREET’s (John C. Reilly) son Ethan in the face with a stick. After a conversation between the two couples starts to go sour, Michael invites the Cowan’s in for coffee to patch things up. (00:09:04)

Anonymous (2011)

Screenplay Genre: Drama / History / Thriller

Movie Time: 130 Minutes

INCITING INCIDENT

After BEN JOHNSON (Sebastian Armesto) is arrested for a play he wrote deemed salacious, the Earl of Oxford EDWARD DE VERE (Rhys Ifans) frees Ben from prison and gives him a play he wrote. Edward tells Ben he must stage his plays under Ben Johnson’s name. (00:21:05)

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

Screenplay Genre: Adventure / Drama / Mystery

Movie Time: 129 Minutes

INCITING INCIDENT

One year after OSKAR’s (Thomas Horn) father THOMAS (Tom Hanks) is killed in the 9/11 Twin Towers attack, Oskar finds a key in an envelope marked “Black” that may be a clue in the citywide scavenger hunt he and his father were working on. (00:15:50)

Muriel's Wedding (1994)

Screenplay Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance

Movie Time: 106 minutes

1. INCITING INCIDENT

After eccentric, compulsive liar Muriel’s (Toni Collette) friends tell her they don’t want her around anymore, Muriel takes the blank check written by her mother and follows her “friends” on a holiday to Hibiscus Island. (00:19:45)

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