Three Act Structure

Thriller - Three Act Structure

Act 1 - This is the equilibrium of the film, where an inciting incident happens, for example. On Taken, the 17 year old daughter is able to go to France without her parents. However, this is the set up, which creates the plot to the story.

There is  'Plot point 1' which is what separates the beginning of the movie to the middle. In Taken this occurs when the 2 friends meet a random boy in France, this causes some kind of suspicion to the audience, therefore separating the happiness with suspicion.

Act 2 - This is the build up to the mid point of the movie, the 'obstacle' which prevents them from achieving their goal. In Taken this is where her and her friend get kidnapped from their hotel, causing the father to plot a plan to try and save her.

The first culmination, This is where the main character almost achieves their goal, however everything then falls apart, which leads into the midpoint. This is seen in many places in Taken, the main example will be him finding the man who set up the girls, almost achieving his goal, unfortunately the man falls off the bridge and dies, leading into the tragic midpoint of the movie where everything is about to fall apart.

We reach the midpoint next. This is where the main character is at their lowest point in the movie. This is seen in Taken when he reaches what he thinks would be his daughter, but finds her best friend laying almost dead in a brothel. Raising concern and stress about the worst possible situation which his daughter may be in.

Plot point 2 is where the main character changes their plan, is a reverse which separates Act 2 from Act 3. This in Taken is where he looks over his evidence, enabling him to find the people who may potentially have his daughter, and torturing them until he finds what he needs.

 Act 3 - The climax, the point where the plot reaches its maximum. This is seen when the main character finds his daughter being auctioned off as a prostitute, he then has to try and retrieve her from a boat full of armed men.

This is the calm period at the end of the movie, almost the happy ending where the main character achieves his goal. In Taken this is seen when he finds his daughter and she is home safe