The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: Far From Heaven

written by Todd Haynes

(based on a single theater viewing)


Far From Heaven is a drama set in the 1950s about the perils of interracial friendship and flirting. Slow moving but excellent, with strong dramatic structure.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook
    • The protagonist's husband is late for dinner. He's been arrested.
  2. Complication
    • The husband is gay. The family gardener died, replaced by his handsome black son.
  3. Call to Action
    • The wife convinces her husband to see a doctor to cure his "disease." She goes out of her way to befriend the black gardener.
  4. Act One Plot Point
    • She and the black gardener are seen in public together, starting vicious rumors about their relationship.
  5. Midpoint Plot Point
    • The husband announces his love for a man and wants a divorce. The wife fires the gardener.
  6. Act Two Plot Point
    • The gardener's daughter (he's a single parent) is attacked by school kids. The wife goes to see him and learns he is leaving town. No, she can't visit -- interracial friendship between the sexes, and their mutual attraction, is too dangerous.
  7. Climax and Resolution
    • She rushes to the train station to see him off. And he still leaves. They cannot transcend their times.

Notes

Ruthlessly honest, with a refusal to embrace the Hollywood ending. A fantastic film -- but it sizzles beneath the surface, in its subtext, and is not for everyone.


MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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