The three act structure is one of the foundational forms of movie
narrative that Hollywood uses to entertain and inspire movie goers
from all walks of life. Often referred to as the “happy ending
structure," the three act structure is a form of movie narrative that
is often used to tell a quest or triumphant story. This form of movie
narrative is derived from the five act structure, often referred to
as the classical tragedy structure. As Professor Ramirez- Berg stated
in his lecture, the three act structure breaks a film down into three
separate stages used to tell the narrative. A film I recently had the
pleasure to view, ZOMBIELAND, is a magnificent example of the three
act structure with its use of the three stage format.
The first stage in the three act structure is the introduction. This
act is usually told within the first thirty minutes and consists of
the rising action, introduction of the characters, and the rules of
the world being introduced. The end of the first act is marked by 1st plot point. This is where the action is propelled into the next act.
In ZOMBIELAND,we are introduced into a completely chaotic version of
the United Sates. A form of mad cow disease has turned the human race
into flesh eating zombies! Buildings are ransacked and burning down.
Vehicles are without passengers piled along the interstates.
Basically, the U.S. has turned into one desolate ghost town. In the
very beginning of the film, we are introduced to the main character
“Columbus”, a college student whose rules such as the infamous “double
tap” has kept him alive through numerous zombie attacks. The rising
action comes to play when Columbus is involved in a car accident on
his way to Columbus, Ohio to see if his family is still alive. This
is when he meets “Tallahassee”, a quick trigger gunslinger, who is
shy a couple marbles upstairs and is on a personal quest to find the
last Twinkie. Together they manage to find some creative ways to kill
a few zombies, along the way they meet two young sisters named
“Wichita” and “Little Rock” with a few tricks up their sleeves. Plot
point 1 occurs when the girls con Columbus and Tallahassee into
handing over their weapons and stealing their Hummer.
Now the movie transitions into the second act which is called the
complication act. This act is usually composed of what is keeping the
main characters from getting what he/she wants. This is where the main
difficulties of the movie narrative come to play. This part of the
narrative is usually the hardest to write for screenplay writers.
Usually composed of thirty to sixty minutes, this is the part of the
narrative where the story unfolds. The end of this act is marked with
plot point 2.
During the complication act in ZOMBIELAND, Columbus and Tallahassee
eventually catch up with the two girls and they come to the conclusion
that each is better off if they work together. The group ultimately
decides to go where the girls were originally heading to, “Pacific
Playland”. Columbus is reluctant to go with them until Wichita (the
older sister who happens to be similar in age with Columbus) informs
him that Ohio has been completely destroyed. This information is
crucial because it implies his family has turned into zombies.
We are also learning about a deeper complication about
Tallahassee in that his son was killed by the zombies.During this act
two tensions develop. The first is the question, is there anywhere
to go that is zombie free? The second tension is the developing
feelings between Columbus and Wichita. These feelings lead right to the
second plot point. The two have a little wine and are so very close
to a kiss that Columbus has been longing for ever since she robbed the
poor fellow. Right before their lips meet, Tallahassee barges in to
completely mess everything up.
The third and final act is the resolution. Usually this act is the
last thirty minutes of the film. It is at the end of this act(last 5 minutes or so) when the climax takes place. In ZOMBIELAND, we have these two rising tensions brought up in act two that need to come to a boil.
In the beginning of the resolution we learn the girls bail on the guys again in attempt to go to Pacific Playland. This time it was due to the fear
of attachment Wichita had towards Columbus. From her perspective everybody she grew close to now eats flesh for a living. Reaching deeper into her psyche, she has made a pact with her sister that it’s them against the world. She is hesitant to let Columbus between them. In this act
Columbus takes initiative over Tallahassee and goes after
the two girls in a rescue attempt. At this point in the narrative each
character is faced with the serious decision of where do I go from here?
Ultimately Tallahassee follows Columbus to save the girls at Pacific Playland.
Here is when the climax takes place. As they arrive zombies have
taken over the entire amusement park. Tallahssee goes on a rampage,
killing hundreds of zombies while Columbus is in full blown rescue the
‘princess” mode. In the end, Columbus gets the girl and Tallahassee
gets his twinkie and they all lived happily ever after.
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