The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

written by Ethan and Joel Coen


Homer's Odyssey is moved to the Depression south in this whimsical and musical stylized comedy. The traditional 3-act paradigm is stretched here to fit within the "hero's journey" structure of Homer, but all the structural foundations remain.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook (1 min.)
    • 3 convicts escape the chain gang -- Everett, Pete and Delmar.
  2. Complication (6 min.)
    • Chased by the authorities and their dogs, the threesome meet a blind old man on the railroad tracks who casts their future as a great journey with surprising results.
  3. Call to Action (22 min.)
    • A black guitar player leads them to an out-of-the-way radio station where they pose as an old-timey singing group, the Soggy Bottom Boys, and "sing into a can" for money. The song (23 min.) is a spectacular version of Man of Constant Sorrow.
  4. Act One Plot Point (37 min.)
    • Their song is a statewide hit, and the radio station folks want to find them to sign them to a contract. So now they are twice-pursued: as escaped convicts (ordinary world) and as musical stars (extraordinary world).
  5. Midpoint Plot Point (58-60, 66-70 min.)
    • There are two major midpoint twists. In the first, Everett is revealed to have a wife and large family, all daughters. But his wife, who divorced him when he was in prison, is set to remarry. Everett later confesses that there's no buried treasure, to which he was supposed to be leading his fellow escapees.
  6. Act Two Plot Point (93 min.)
    • The threesome are finally captured by the authorities. Their graves are dug, the ropes to hang them are ready. Everett prays for the first time in his life.
  7. Climax and Resolution (95-101 min.)
    • They are rescued by a flash flood: a TVA project is flooding the valley. Everett gets his wife back, though they are still bickering.

Notes

O Brother, Where Art Thou? has a long, meandering first act that does not get boring because it is filled with Homeric encounters with eccentric characters along the journey. There also is a "false low point" (75) when a political candidate blows their cover as the Soggy Bottom Boys, but the crowd genuinely loves their music and boos the politician off. This is the moment when Everett's wife returns to him, satisfied that he is somebody after all. Much of the charm of this movie is in its music and stylized use of it -- even a Klan meeting is given visual and musical beauty by its choreography. This movie is another unusual and original accomplishment by the Coen brothers.


MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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