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5 Plot Point Breakdown: The Thin Red Line (1998)

By Pam Glazier · August 23, 2011

Screenplay Genre: Drama / War

Movie Time: 170 minutes

1. INCITING INCIDENT

WWII 1942. After Private Witt (Jim Caviezel) is captured as an AWOL soldier, he is assigned to be a stretcher-bearer by 1st Sgt. Edward Welsh (Sean Penn). He is deployed to the island of Guadalcanal along with Charlie Company. Their mission is to secure control of the island’s airfield, thus securing control of the airspace for a 1000-mile radius, and thus halting Japan’s advance into the Pacific and Australia. (00:25:01)

2. LOCK IN (End of Act One)

Charlie Company is getting mowed down by heavy machine-gun fire while trying to take a hill head-on. Private Witt, while carrying a stretcher toward the battlefield, runs into Capt. James Staros (Elias Koteas). He asks if he can be let back into Charlie Company and Capt. Staros agrees. (00:47:15)

3. FIRST CULMINATION (Midpoint)

During some downtime, while waiting for a small strike team to take out the hill’s machine gun bunkers, 1st Sgt. Welsh tells Pvt. Witt that he should take care of himself because there’s nothing he can do for anyone else. “What difference you think you can make, one single man in all this madness. If you die, it’s going to be for nothing.” Witt just listens calmly. (01:18:30)

4. MAIN CULMINATION (End of Act Two)

After taking the hill and then storming the jungle and defeating an enemy stronghold, Charlie Company listens to Sgt. Welsh read their next assignment amongst the burning rubble and rotting bodies of friends and enemies alike. For this victory, they will be rewarded with one week of free time. (01:55:21)

5. THIRD ACT TWIST

Back on the line, Charlie Company is heading upriver. Pvt. Witt, Cpl. Fife (Adrien Brody), and Pvt. Coombs (Matt Doran) are sent to find out where and how close the Japanese fighters are. They find that there are large numbers of the enemy closing in. Coombs is shot and Witt tells Fife that he’ll act as a distraction so that Fife can get back and warn the Company. Witt leads the enemy away into the jungle and is eventually surrounded and killed, Fife makes it back and warns the company.  (02:23:16)


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