The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: The Graduate

written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham


The Graduate is a comedy that is filled with plot twists and extended sequences. It's a wonderful movie to study for three-act structure form and for the various paradigms that spin off of it. It also is one of the more interesting movies to compare with the "final draft" of the screenplay to see how the process of tightening the story doesn't stop with finishing the script but continues into the editing room.

Structural Analysis (with script excerpts)

  1. The Hook (2 min.)
    • Father asks Ben, "What's the matter?" Ben's concerns about his future.
  2. Complication (7 min.)
    • Mrs. Robinson to Ben, "Take me home."
  3. Hero's call to action (14 min.)
    • Mrs. Robinson undresses, says to Ben, "I'm available to you. Give me a call."
  4. Plot point: Act I (23-37 min.)
    • Ben calls Mrs. Robinson, gets room, ends up staying with her. Starts the affair.
  5. Plot point: midpoint (45-69 min.)
    • First fight, Ben promises Mrs. Robinson not to take out her daughter, Elaine, but his parents put him up to it. Ben likes Elaine and tells her about the affair with her mother. Elaine: "Get out!" Ben loses both Mrs. Robinson and Elaine. Then he announces he plans to marry Elaine.
  6. Plot point: Act II (92 min.)
    • Mr. Robinson learns about the affair, bans Ben from seeing Elaine just after he has successfully wooed her back. All appears lost.
  7. Climax & Resolution (103 min.)
    • Ben rescues Elaine from church right after she is married. They take the bus into the sunset.

Big Sequences

One of the wonderful things about the structure of The Graduate is that several of the big sequences lead directly to plot points. Here are some major moments:

Notes

Some other lessons from The Graduate:

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MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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