Even thought this is all First Act, it doesn’t necessarily feel that way to viewers, because the relational conflict is so tight, pivotal, and entertaining. Its very late start in the Second Act works largely because the pacing within the First Act itself is so tight-we have beat after beat after beat keeping our attention (the father’s murder, Rooster’s introduction, Mattie’s deal with Rooster, LaBoeuf’s intro, LaBoeuf’s convincing Rooster to throw in with him, Rooster and LaBoeuf’s attempting to keep Mattie from coming along). Usually, when I discover a timing issue this egregious, it’s in movies that don’t work and I inevitably realize, “Ah, that’s why I never liked this.” This is one of my favorite movies, one that has always “worked” for me on every level. Although this is clearly the shift out of the setup of the First Act’s Normal World into the main conflict of the Second Act’s “adventure world,” the timing is extremely unusual in this movie: the First Plot Point doesn’t take place until nearly halfway into the running time. Particularly when we look for the Climactic Moment as the bookend to this Inciting Event, we can see this is the moment when we discover what this story is truly about.įirst Plot Point: Mattie, Rooster, and the Texas Ranger LaBoeuf leave Fort Smith to hunt Chaney in the Indian Nation. But the meeting of Rooster and Mattie is the first glimpse of the story’s true conflict and arc-that of Mattie and Rooster’s relationship. There are other arguable contenders for the role of Inciting Event-including the murder of Mattie’s father, Mattie’s arrival in Fort Smith, and her first sighting of Rooster when he’s bringing in his prisoners. It’s Rooster (as the change-arc character to Mattie’s flat-arc impact character) who initially rejects the Call to Adventure and only gives in eventually due to Mattie’s persistence. Inciting Event: Mattie waylays Rooster Cogburn, the “meanest” marshal, outside the courthouse and propositions him to help her track down her father’s murderer Tom Chaney.
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