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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.
Lockout (2012)

Screenplay Genre: Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi
Movie Time: 95 Minutes
INCITING INCIDENT
HYDELL (Joseph Gilgun) breaks out of his holding cell on the orbital prison M.S. One and releases all of the other convicts. (00:17:01)
Casa de mi Padre (2011)

Screenplay Genre: Comedy
Movie Time: 84 Minutes
INCITING INCIDENT
ARMANDO (Will Ferrell) witnesses drug cartel leader ONZA (Gael Garcia Bernal) kill a man on Armando’s fathers ranch. (00:06:00)
J. Edgar (2011)

Screenplay Genre: Biography / Crime / Drama
Movie Time: 137 Minutes
INCITING INCIDENT
After MITCHELL PALMER’s (Geoff Pierson) house is bombed by communist revolutionaries, J. EDGAR (Leonardo DiCaprio) is promoted and given a staff to search out federal suspects. (00:10:12)
The Artist (2011)

Screenplay Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Movie Time: 100 Minutes
INCITING INCIDENT
After bumping into GEORGE VALENTIN (Jean Dujardin) after a movie premiere and creating a media frenzy, PEPPY MILLER (Berenice Bejo) arrives in Hollywood to become a star. (00:11:08)
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Screenplay Genre: Action / Adventure / Crime
Movie Time: 129 Minutes
INCITING INCIDENT
PROFESSOR JAMES MORIARTY (Jared Harris) captures and kills IRENE ADLER (Rachel McAdams). (00:11:00)
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