In Act II you must complicate your story’s conflict by showing that the problem facing the protagonist is more far-reaching than he supposed. If he doesn’t adapt, he won’t survive.
After your first Turning Point, we must see your character react to it. After John is wounded, he’s very concerned about Rachel and Samuel, so he drives them back to the Amish community to protect them. This leads to John collapsing from his wound and having to stay in the Amish community. (The beginning of the subplot is the growing relationship between John and Rachel.) He is nursed by Rachel and realizes that the values of the Amish community are attractive – so attractive that Book helps to build a barn in an overlong scene. (Apparently, before Harrison Ford became an actor he was a carpenter and he loved the barn-
building sequence so much he wouldn’t let any part of it be edited!)
Transforming the characters
It is in Act II that we see the beginning of Book’s gradual character transformation through his love for Rachel. In fact, 45 minutes into the film, he gives her his gun (the tough cop in Act I would never have done this), even though he knows Schaeffer and McFee are looking for him. This simple action integrates the subplot with the main plot (finding a killer). It also shows that the solution to Book’s problem doesn’t lie in a gun but in his need to change from being an aggressive cop who thinks only of himself into a more likeable human being. We see the romantic side to Book when he tries to teach Rachel to dance in a barn and almost kisses her.
We also see how Rachel has changed. She obviously found Book crude and was repelled by him in the beginning of the film; she certainly isn’t in this scene, in spite of the fact that she is defying all the Amish rules by starting a relationship outside its world and could be forced to leave.
However, the danger within John and Rachel’s relationship is magnified tenfold in the main plot: two highly trained killers are looking for John Book. And, of course, he gives them the opportunity to find him at the end of Act II i.e. the second turning point.
The second Turning Point
The second Turning Point occurs when John goes to the nearest town with other Amish people, dressed like them. But when the Amish men are taunted by some of the locals, John beats them up
(which a real Amish person would never do).
We can see from his reaction that Book now obviously respects the Amish people enough to stand up for them, even if they won’t. However, because of his reaction, John’s cover is blown. He is seen by someone and the information is given to Mcfee and Schaeffer. They go after him and so we are thrown into Act III. ACT III ^ INTENSIFYING THE ACTION
This act should have the fastest pacing of all the acts. Incidents should be happening swiftly and lead inexorably to the climax.
This is where you bring in as many conflicts for your character to face as possible. It must seem impossible for him to succeed because of these problems and his character flaws. It was a mistake for Book not to involve other cops when he discovered that Schaeffer was corrupt, but Book was arrogant enough to believe he could sort out the corruption within the police force by himself. (This arrogance gets his partner killed.)
However, because we have seen the softer side of John in the Amish community, we are now on his side. He has allowed himself to be vulnerable because of Rachel and we want him to succeed. And indeed, Rachel helps him to succeed because she’s made him stronger mentally; he now thinks before he acts which helps him outwit his antagonist and boss Schaeffer.
The third act needs to be more intense than the others so that it leads up to the climax.
Climax
The climax occurs about 5–8 pages from the end. If you look at this section in Witness you’ll see how fast paced it is. The scenes are very short and action-packed with fast intercuts from Book, to the men who want to kill him, to young Samuel ringing the bell to warn the Amish people, to Rachel, now terrified that her son might be killed in cross-fire, back to Book again. There’s hardly any dialogue for pages. The climax is incredibly tense and the anticipation that not only will Book be killed, but also young Samuel, makes the suspense very powerful. In front of the whole Amish Community, Book shows that he’s stronger than his corrupt boss by outwitting Schaeffer.
After the climax, the pace should slow so that the tension can be released. In Witness, we see Book and Rachel separating – their differing lifestyles can’t be overcome. The last scene focuses on an Amish man who loves Rachel and hints at where Rachel’s future lies.
Remember when you’re writing your script: create a strong, visual style with credible, exciting complications to fascinate your audience.
N.B.Many films don’t use this structure and yet still work. However, if you try to copy films likeTootsie (which many people think has five acts) orMemento which uses flashbacks and flashforwards to confuse or intrigue the audience (depending on whether you like or hate the film), you’ll find your plot meandering all over the place. As I said before, learn proven screenwriting structure before you try to break it.
EXERCISE
Look at your step outline again in the light of this chapter. Have you got a tight structure? If not, rework the outline.