Week 1 of the Plot Thickens has turned my critical thinking on movies upside down already. The structure of film is already more noticeable as this has been the focus of the class, with a recent film I have watched called Poor Things being a stand out. With reference to the quote, “the longer the audience sits, the harder the screenwriter has to work to keep it’s attention, which means the cleverer/more moving/more unexpected the rising plot needs to be”, Poor Things utilises it’s characters and their actions to form a highly unique plot which is displayed in a narrative that consistently keeps the audience hooked. The rising plot in the film is the audience following our protagonist as she gets closer and closer to finding out the truth about herself. While there is no singular villain throughout the film, it’s clear early that the villain is Bella’s yearn for freedom, knowledge, and truth. There forms a developed emotional attachment between the audience and the protagonist through her comedy, cleverness, kindness, and blunt reaction to the world, all of which give her a charm, creating a warm sense which is where the audience’s attention and want to watch the film comes from.

The Smiley/Thompson 9-point story structure seems to me like a strong way of starting a script as it ensures that the protagonist’s actions are meaningful and encourage the flow of the story, rather than having the protagonist do things around other events of the story.

By putting Poor Things in this structure, I found that it got more complicated and more difficult the more I went on. There are many aspects of the film that are not conventional for this structure and a lot of rearranging is possible. Just because it does not work perfectly with the structure does not make it a less interesting film. I would say it makes it an even more intriguing film.

Normality: Bella Baxter is doing toddler like activities under the watch of the scientist ‘God’. She is learning to speak and do new things at a fast rate.

Disturbance: Bella’s brain is developing quickly and because of this she begins to question the outside world that is forbidden to her. She is unhappy staying at home all the time as she wants to see the world and learn.

Protagonist: Bella Baxter

Plan: Bella plans to leave home and discover things about the world and about herself with a man who says will take her to many different countries.

Surprise: Bella successfully leaves home however is confronted with the not so perfect world she expected.

Obstacle: Bella tries to make sense of this new world and wants to find a purpose for herself.

Complications/substories: Bella discovers sex for money and subtly learns that prostitution is for male enjoyment only, not her own. She is exposed to the cruelty of class division when she sees the dying babies from her cruise. God is also dying which is the cue for Bella abandoning her adventure and going home.

Climax: After being kidnapped by her “husband”, Bella realises that her “mother” tried to kill herself due to the terrible life she had. The husband tries to kill her so she fights and shoots him in the foot.

Resolution: Bella turns her ex-husband into a goat and lives peacefully with her friends and family. She continually grows and expands her brilliant mind to help the world become a better place.

Resources:

Aronson, Linda. (2010). The 21st Century Screenplay: a comprehensive guide to writing tomorrow’s films. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin