The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: American Beauty
written by Alan Ball
American Beauty, the darling of the
1999 Oscars, is a dark comedy about a man in a mid-life crisis and
the suburban life in which he is stuck.
Structural Analysis
- Hook (2 min.)
- The narrator/protagonist tells us he will be dead in less than
a year. His daughter previously said she wanted her boyfriend to kill him.
- Complication (5-8 min.)
- Lester (protagonist) is told his job is in jeopardy.
- Call to Action (15 min.)
- Lester starts fantasizing about Angela, one of his daughter's
friends, and imagines a life different from his own boring one.
- Act One Plot Point (31-3 min.)
- Lester smokes pot with a neighbor boy and starts working out,
deciding to make a move on Angela. A new life.
- Midpoint Plot Point (51-3 min.)
- Lester loses his job but feels liberated.
- Act Two Plot Point (111 min.)
- Angela is a virgin, so Lester doesn't seduce her. He is shot
and killed.
- Climax and Resolution (111-6 min.)
- The neighbor son's father pulled the trigger on Lester. But
he died happy.
Notes
The didactic narrator irritates me a little, especially at the end, but
otherwise this is a funny, dark and original look at suburban life.
MODULE 4:
SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting
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12/01