The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: Fargo

written by Joel and Ethan Coen


Fargo is a gripping movie with an unusual structure. The "good guy" - a charming pregnant woman who is the investigating officer of the crime that drives the story - is not introduced until we are thirty minutes into the film. Is she the hero?

Yes and no.

In fact, in dramatic terms, this film is best explicated in terms of its anti-hero, a sleezy salesman whose hare-brained scheme drives the story. In this sense, the "hero" (police officer) becomes a dramatic antagonist - though in another sense, "fate" and the anti-hero's own ineptitude conspire to do him in.

Fargo does not show that the 3-act paradigm doesn't work but rather demonstrates that it has great flexibility. This means you should not think of "three acts" as "rules" to stifle your creativity but as the storytelling foundation to which to bring creative new interpretations.

The bottom line is that Fargo works so well because it is driven by a central maxim: "American movies are about what happens next." In terms of the 3-act paradigm, the script can be analyzed both in terms of its anti-hero (the interpretation I prefer in structural terms) and its hero (the interpretation I prefer at the level of meaning).

Structural Analysis (with script excerpts)

The Anti-Hero Focus:

  1. The Hook (1 min.)
    • The sleezy anti-hero arranges with two crooks to have his own wife kidnapped to help him out of a financial jam.
  2. The Complication (11 min.)
    • A legitimate deal may rescue the anti-hero - but he can't call the arranged kidnapping off.
  3. The Hero's Call to Action (18 min.)
    • Legitimate deal won't work: anti-hero has to go through with kidnapping scam.
  4. Plot point: Act I (21 min.)
    • Anti-hero tells wealthy father-in-law that his wife has been kidnapped.
  5. Plot point: midpoint (48 min.)
    • "Blood has been shed" - crooks ask anti-hero for more money.
  6. Plot point: Act II (80 min.)
    • Anti-hero flees interview with investigating officer - all looks lost.
  7. Climax & Resolution (90 min.)
    • Anti-hero is arrested in motel room while trying to flee.

The Hero Focus:

  1. Hook & Complication: same as above.
  2. Hero's Call to Action & Plot point: Act I (33 min.)
    • Margie begins to investigate the case
  3. Plot point: midpoint (56 min.)
    • Margie meets anti-hero for first time.
  4. Plot point: Act II (77 min.)
  5. Climax & Resolution (85 min.)
    • Margie captures remaining crook. "There's more to life than a little money, you know." Her husband wins a painting contest. "We're doing pretty good."

Big Sequences

Notes

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MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

8/97