by Jeff Kitchen
Look back over your own life at the crises you’ve faced and consider those moments when you performed incredibly as well as those in which you fell apart miserably. Many people spend their lives beating themselves up over a failure at a crucial moment. Have you saved someone’s life in a tight situation? Have you almost cost someone their life? How do you tend to respond when things become critical? Some people are calm and are effective in a crisis while others panic and come apart at the seams. Who do you know that is best in a tough spot? Who is the worst? How does he or she act? Can you figure out why, and what makes this person tick? Are you surprised at how a seemingly frail person can emerge as a hero, and how a supposed person of power can buckle?
Not only is character revealed in a crisis, but it can actually be formed on the spot. People are capable of phenomenal things when crisis erupts. There are the familiar tales of the little old lady who lifts a car off her grandson, or the laid-back farm boy who snaps in battle and becomes a creature of the jungle. A particular element of character may have been always there, but it never had to reveal itself before.
If Crisis is the make-or-break point at which a paralyzing dilemma reaches its peak, then Decision & Action is the point of no return that finally breaks the stasis. The protagonist has been fundamentally frozen by the escalating dilemma, which becomes more and more pressurized until the point of crisis, when it is hyper-compressed. Something has to give. The protagonist is forced by crisis to make a decision and take an action.
Crisis often brings out the best in people, but it can also bring out the worst. In most instances your plot will either end with a creative resolution (a happy ending) or a tragic resolution (a sad ending). If it’s a creative resolution, then at the point of decision and action your protagonist will probably begin to break out of paralysis and kick into high gear. A decision has been made and an action has been taken that launches things toward the conclusion. If the resolution is tragic, then the protagonist may well do the worst possible thing at the most critical moment, beginning the downward spiral to complete failure. You’ve probably seen this in real life when, at a critical juncture in someone’s life, you’ve tried to convince him or her not to do something obviously wrong, but you simply cannot stop him or her from rushing off into failure. A bad choice at a crucial moment works in a comedy as well. The protagonist, perhaps an Inspector Clouseau type, will get it catastrophically wrong at the decisive moment, making it even more hilarious when he still stumbles into solving the case.
The Use of Decision & Action in Training Day
In Training Day, when Jake squeaks out of Alonzo’s attempt to have him killed, his decision is to take Alonzo down or die trying. His action is to burst in on Alonzo at his girlfriend’s apartment, tell him that he’s under arrest, and try to seize the $1 million dollars as evidence. Jake has now passed the point of no return and will not stop until Alonzo is in jail or dead.
The Use of Decision & Action in What Women Want
In What Women Want, Nick’s decision is to somehow repair the damage he’s done to Darcy. He acts on this by essentially ordering his boss, Dan (Alan Alda), to rehire Darcy because the whole idea that landed the Nike account was hers. He cannot allow his sabotage to stand unchecked and so he sets out to find Darcy and undo it all, when he gets sidetracked by saving Erin, the suicidal girl. At this point we see Nick for who he really is: a man who is growing and learning, and who cares deeply about Darcy.
The Use of Decision & Action in Minority Report
In Minority Report, John Anderton’s decision is that he will not kill Leo Crow, and his action is to arrest him instead. Things then spin out of control when Crow divulges that the murder prediction was all a set-up and then pulls the trigger, killing himself. Anderton’s real character emerges when he refuses to kill Crow.
The Use of Decision & Action in The Godfather
In The Godfather, Michael’s decision is to move the family to Las Vegas, and his action is to essentially declare war on Barzini by going after Barzini’s agent, Moe Green (Alex Rocco), the Las Vegas casino owner. This may not be readily apparent, but reviewing the scene shows it’s all there: Michael goes after Moe Green to sell his share of their hotel and casino, and Moe explodes at Michael, saying the Corleones are washed up in New York and were chased out of town by Barzini, who can make a deal that allows Moe to keep the hotel and casino. This is not a casual business meeting at all. Michael has thrown down the gauntlet by going after Barzini’s guy. This is war. It may seem indirect—Michael and Barzini never go head to head—but the point of no return has definitely been crossed. Michael’s action is confirmed by a reaction in the next scene: Don Corleone tells Michael that Barzini will set up a meeting in which someone Michael absolutely trusts will guarantee his safety, and that Michael will be assassinated at the meeting. Bear in mind that Michael is playing it smart—it looks as though he’s gotten in over his head and is running away—but it is because everyone underestimates his subtle decision and action that he is able to take them all by surprise in the end.
The Use of Decision & Action in Tootsie
Often the protagonist is in more trouble than ever before once he makes his decision and takes action, but he at least is now functioning rather than paralyzed. Once Michael Dorsey in Tootsie makes his decision and reveals his true identity on live TV, Julie is furious at him. He has by no means resolved anything, but merely gotten out of being Dorothy—at the cost of any connection to Julie. He’s out of the frying pan and into the fire. It’s not until he makes things right with Les and wins Julie over at the film’s conclusion that Michael fully resolves his dilemma. This shows the very real distinction between Decision & Action and the next step, Resolution.
The Use of Decision & Action in Blade Runner
In Blade Runner, Deckard’s decision is to go after the replicants despite his reservations, and his action is to kill Pris (however reluctantly) and then try to shoot Roy, the replicants’ leader. He’s still trapped in his dilemma, but his hand has been forced and he has to take action. He doesn’t like killing Pris—he’s still a draftee tormented by an awful job—nor is he happy or eager to go after Roy.
LET’S ADD A DECISION & ACTION TO OUR DEMO PLOT
Back in the demo plot our detective, Zack, is madly in love with his client Minky, but has just learned that she may have betrayed him, and now they’re under attack by her enemy. He’s clearly got to make a crucial decision and take an action. What’s he going to do? His whole world is upside down and he’s got to come up with something quickly. Is she the love of his life or is she the worst thing that ever happened to him? Has she really betrayed him or is somebody trying to ruin both of them? Is he even sane enough to deal with these questions now? Can he stave off this deadly attack and somehow survive?
His decision is to break it off with her, and his action is to panic and lash out at her as he fights off the attackers. When she explodes back at him, he realizes that she actually has betrayed him. He fights with her, calling her crazy and saying she’s ruined his life. He tells her that he knows everything about the blackmail of her assailant, and that he’s finished with being her dancing monkey. Our unhappy pair barely escape their attackers and then separate. He hasn’t by any means resolved things yet, but he has made a decision under pressure and taken a key action.
THE FUNCTION OF RESOLUTION IN DRAMATIZING A PLOT
Resolution, the fourth of Aristotle’s keys to creating riveting drama, occurs when the protagonist actively and conclusively solves the dilemma, for better or worse. The dilemma should be resolved by the protagonist as opposed to someone doing it for her, or to it just happening to fall together. The protagonist should be the one who takes the key actions. If someone else does it for her, it is called deus ex machina: a “god in the machine” who appears unexpectedly in order to solve an apparently insoluble problem. Such a scenario is not satisfying to audiences. The cavalry can show up and help John Wayne win the battle, but it shouldn’t win the battle for him. A
resolution that just happens to come together can be equally ungratifying to audiences.
For a protagonist caught on the horns of a dilemma, things can be resolved several different ways. One way is to choose one of the “horns”—one of the unacceptable alternatives. The other way is to go between the horns. By thinking on her feet, our protagonist is able to come up with a radical third alternative in which she chooses neither of the two equally unacceptable alternatives. When the protagonist devises an unexpected way out, she has found a creative resolution. An excellent example of this is in The Firm, when young lawyer Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise) is trapped between the Mafia law firm he works for and crooked FBI agent Wayne Tarrance (Ed Harris), who tries to muscle him into violating client-attorney privilege to take down the firm. Rather than illegally handing over documents, Mitch comes up with a radical third alternative when he realizes that the firm is systematically over-billing clients through the mail. Mitch presents the FBI with the mail-fraud bust, satisfying the letter of their agreement without violating his client-attorney privilege and being disbarred.
The Use of Resolution in Training Day
In Training Day, Jake conclusively resolves his dilemma when he beats Alonzo in a fight to the finish and turns in evidence of Alonzo’s criminal activity. He destroys Alonzo within the legal world, which is what matters to Jake, as well as within the criminal world. He has finally completed what he set in motion at the point of Decision & Action.
The Use of Resolution in What Women Want
In What Women Want, Nick chooses one of the horns, conclusively resolving his dilemma by giving up on revenge and instead coming completely clean. He confesses to Darcy that he ripped off her ideas because she “stole” his job, that he feels awful about it, and that he is now totally dazzled by her. He is prepared to lose everything, and fully expects that he’s lost her—but she forgives him.
The Use of Resolution in Minority Report
The Resolution of Minority Report comes when John Anderton finishes off Lamar by broadcasting images of him murdering Anne Lively to the group honoring his retirement from Precrime. Anderton confronts Lamar with the ironic cost of creating a homicide-free society—the murder of Agatha’s mother—and demands that Lamar murder him, too, in order to maintain the system. Lamar takes his own life instead.
The Use of Resolution in The Godfather
Caught between being a criminal and being a respectable civilian, Michael Corleone resolves his dilemma in The Godfather by killing off all his enemies, including the traitors within his organization, to emerge as a soulless crime lord. He achieves total power but loses his connection with the family he set out to save. That’s the tragedy of the piece: He resolves the dilemma at the cost of his soul.
The Use of Resolution in Tootsie
In Tootsie’s Resolution, Michael Dorsey makes up with Les and then reconnects with Julie. He has grown so much as a person that Julie is willing to let him back into her life—this time without the dress.
The Use of Resolution in Blade Runner
The resolution in Blade Runner comes when Deckard drops out of his trapped situation and runs off with Rachael, one of the replicants he was ordered to “retire.” After saving Deckard’s life, Roy shows him what it means to really live; Deckard understands and begins living with everything he’s got. He finds a radical third alternative in a dead-end dilemma, breaking free of the entire system in which he was trapped.
Maximum Dramatic Reversal
In considering resolution, Aristotle observed maximum dramatic reversal, also known as “peripety” (from the Greek peripeteia), in those dramas that most grip an audience. A classic example of dramatic reversal is when the hunter becomes the hunted. Other examples include the king becoming a beggar, the master becoming a slave, or the underdog triumphing. Maximum dramatic reversal is about things swinging around to their opposite, and it adds eye-opening intensity and a sense of completion, often through an element of the unexpected. It’s part of the kick of a great, satisfying ending.
There are real reversals in each of our six example films. Jake’s reversal is apparent by the end of Training Day: He is as different as day and night, having gone from a “daisy-fresh rookie” to a streetwise cop. Nick Marshall, too, has clearly undergone a complete reversal: He is open, clearheaded, and the total opposite of the shallow man he was in the beginning. In the beginning of Minority Report, Anderton is an absolute believer in Precrime and its ability to shape destiny, but by the end he is totally outside of its universe, a defiant man with free choice. Although he seems unaware of his complete reversal, Michael Corleone starts out as an innocent in The Godfather and ends up a cold-blooded Mafia don. In Tootsie, Michael Dorsey also undergoes a complete transformation, but in the opposite direction: Instead of neurotic hustler who lies to women and is a pain in the ass to work with, he has become realistic, straightforward, and honest. In Blade Runner, Rick Deckard’s reversal is substantial, from the emotionally disconnected, passionless person we meet at the beginning of the film (his ex-wife called him Sushi, meaning “cold fish”) to the awakened man at the end who drops out of the game and runs off to live his life. Each of these dramatic reversals helps to bring on a resolution that truly grips the audience.
Discovery or Recognition
Aristotle also noted that the most compelling resolutions involve a moment of fundamental discovery or recognition, often appearing as a revelation, an awakening, or an epiphany. The protagonist may discover that a major blind spot has been causing his problem, or may recognize that he has been part of the problem and, seeing this, can now become part of the solution. In some cases the discovery or recognition is external, with the protagonist learning some crucial piece of information that constitutes a final piece of the puzzle. This kind of realization can set the protagonist free to resolve things conclusively.
Aristotle maintained that recognition and reversal can occur anywhere in a drama, but that clustering them around the resolution will create the most impact. The recognition will open the protagonist’s eyes in time for him or her to conclusively resolve the dilemma, and a substantial reversal will enhance the overall dramatic impact. But the resolution should be fixed firmly in finality—that is, it should be irreversible. If the protagonist wins, it should remain a victory; if he loses, it should remain a loss. Audiences tend to be contented by a resolution that doesn’t backslide. This is not to say that you should never have an ambiguous ending. If your goal is to irritate or unsettle the audience then, by all means, experiment with ambiguity. But don’t give your screenplay an ambiguous ending just because you can’t think of a better way to end it.
When Jake Hoyt is beating Alonzo down in Training Day, he realizes that he’s not like Alonzo—that he has an entirely different way of operating. Nick Marshall has a fundamental awakening in What Women Want, and he realizes he’s been utterly horrible to Darcy while she has been faultless and magnanimous. In Minority Report, John Anderton experiences an external recognition when he makes the crucial discovery that Anne Lively (Jessica Harper) is actually Agatha’s mother, and it all clicks: He was framed because he had learned of her existence. In The Godfather, Michael Corleone doesn’t really experience an internal discovery because he doesn’t seem to notice how cold and hard he’s become. In spite of his total victory, he’s a tragic figure. Instead, his recognition is external—when he gets Carlo to verify that Barzini was behind Sonny’s execution at the toll booth. Michael Dorsey’s moment of discovery in Tootsie is when he tells Julie, “I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man, you know what I mean? I just gotta learn to do it without the dress.” He finally understands what it means to be in a real relationship, and this helps him pull it all together in the end. In Blade Runner, Rick Deckard undergoes a substantial recognition when Roy dies while saving him, showing him what living life to the fullest truly means. This recognition electrifies Deckard, galvanizing him toward his resolution.
LET’S
ADD A RESOLUTION TO OUR DEMO PLOT
Does it seem like our story will have a happy ending for our detective and his wacko client? Will they reunite and live happily ever after? In a romantic comedy caper such as ours, the answer is, probably. But how and why? And on whose terms? Are they happy or crazy at the end, or both? Do they take out the attackers together? How does Zack transform? Does Minky transform as well? What’s the secret to all the confusion and hijinks? Did she really betray him or was it a misunderstanding? These are tough questions, especially in a plot so scantily developed. So here is our resolution in simple form: After attempting to leave Minky, Zack inadvertently teams up with her again to eliminate the attackers and remove her from danger. As it turns out, she had only been blackmailing to protect herself from corrupt former business partners who were trying to falsely implicate her. This revelation frees Zack to be with her and he comes to life, transforming into a free-spirited wildman. She has unleashed him from his own inhibitions, and now that they’re perfectly matched, she leaves her husband and marries our detective.
Is this a perfect plot? Certainly not, but it demonstrates all the aspects of this tool: the elements of Dilemma, Crisis, Decision & Action, and Resolution. Here it acts simply as a skeletal teaching demonstration, while an actual screenplay could require a good hundred hours to develop it just to this point. To supplement our examination of Aristotle’s observations as applied to acknowledged masterpieces such as Training Day and Tootsie, we’re analyzing a plot under construction from the ground up. This practice will help you to consistently create, develop, and structure dramatic plots that work—and they will work, once you have acquired the thought processes and habits of a trained dramatist.