Turn Me Up, Turn Me Down
A lot of us think of the second act turning point in a script as a down moment. A dark moment, a moment of despair. And at that moment, the character figures out if they've got enough in them for a last rush at the prize. The question is often, will they or won't they manage to turn things around?
But the second act turning point can be played lots of ways. In High Fidelity, the second act turn is actually a high moment. John Cusack gets what he's wanted all along: his girlfriend back. It's a great, happy thing.
Except that he hasn't earned it. He didn't do anything to earn her back-- it was her decision. So the questions are: can he become the guy that deserves to have her back, or is he going to screw this up and lose her again? Will he cheat with the cute reporter? Will he stop being selfish and actually make an effort to appreciate her and make her happy?
All great questions for a climax, but it's even more interesting to ask these questions when the couple's actually together. We like both Cusack and his girlfriend. We know exactly what's at stake if he screws this up.
Luckily, he's brave enough at the climax to let Jack Black on stage. He finally sees "What's Goin' On".
Second act turns can be high or low points... as long as the moment poses great questions for the climax.
The movie also has a great title, that works on so many levels. Unlike this post.
A lot of us think of the second act turning point in a script as a down moment. A dark moment, a moment of despair. And at that moment, the character figures out if they've got enough in them for a last rush at the prize. The question is often, will they or won't they manage to turn things around?
But the second act turning point can be played lots of ways. In High Fidelity, the second act turn is actually a high moment. John Cusack gets what he's wanted all along: his girlfriend back. It's a great, happy thing.
Except that he hasn't earned it. He didn't do anything to earn her back-- it was her decision. So the questions are: can he become the guy that deserves to have her back, or is he going to screw this up and lose her again? Will he cheat with the cute reporter? Will he stop being selfish and actually make an effort to appreciate her and make her happy?
All great questions for a climax, but it's even more interesting to ask these questions when the couple's actually together. We like both Cusack and his girlfriend. We know exactly what's at stake if he screws this up.
Luckily, he's brave enough at the climax to let Jack Black on stage. He finally sees "What's Goin' On".
Second act turns can be high or low points... as long as the moment poses great questions for the climax.
The movie also has a great title, that works on so many levels. Unlike this post.
posted by Jennica at 9:29 a.m.
2 Comments:
This might be obvious, but I always think of it as a "false" or temporary moment. The high either doesn't last long, or it's not as high as it appears to be, or it's a complete illusion. Same for the low point.
I hadn't really thought of this before, A. It's a good point-- the moment often is false, and is very often temporary...
...but shouldn't that moment play as genuine (i.e. it might not be temporary) while we're in it?
Is it a problem that we all see right through these second act turning points?
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