Wednesday, July 06, 2005
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE: analysis of a Choice Story
Year: 1993
Genre: Romantic comedy
Cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Rosie O'Donnell, Rob Reiner
Director: Nora Ephron
Story: Jeff Arch
Screenplay: Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, & Jeff Arch
(Note: this analysis contains information about key plot points. If you haven't seen the movie, please be advised some info may be considered a "spoiler.")
When the story opens, Sam and Annie are both commencing new phases in relationships. Sam's relationship with his wife ended with her death; his need is to find perfect love again. Meanwhile, Annie's relationship with boyfriend Walter rises to a new level of commitment; her problem is nervousness about committing to a relationship that makes perfect sense but little else. For opposite reasons, both protagonists share the belief that the only love available to them is a logical meeting of the minds and personalities, instead of a magic tangling of heartstrings.
Neither suspects this belief may be flawed until the antagonist triggers the Inciting Incident. Sam's son, Jonah, is the antagonist with an external goal: he wants a new wife for Dad. This gives him an Opposition Story that is largely responsible for the forward momentum and drive in the movie.
The first action Jonah takes in pursuit of his goal is to call a radio show and ask for advice. This action simultaneously introduces Sam and Annie, though miles apart, to the big choice the movie is about. Should they--
A.) look for that perfect someone they think doesn't exist, or,
B.) settle for someone logically compatible?
Repercussions from the Inciting Incident build pressure (conflict) on Sam until he is compelled to make a decision. He begins dating again. The woman he picks is a logical, safe choice where his heart is concerned. His attempts to build a relationship with her don't require any resurrected faith in "magic."
The antagonist, recognizing this woman doesn't fulfill his desired goal, takes action to sabotage the relationship. But he doesn't just resist Sam this way. He fights back by trying to find the perfect soul mate for his dad. His belief in Choice "A" leads him to reply to Annie's letter.
This action builds even greater pressure on the protagonists, especially Annie. She tries to get her brother to talk her into staying with her original decision, Choice "B." But she keeps getting lured back to Choice "A"--listening to repeats of the radio show, talking it over with her girlfriend, and replying to Jonah's letter. Eventually, she makes a big attempt at Choice "A" during the story's midpoint and flies out to Seattle to meet Sam and Jonah. It jars Sam's commitment to Choice "B," because just when he's explaining to Jonah the perfect someone doesn't exist--he sees her. He feels the magic again. Then she disappears.
When Annie sees Sam with another woman, she turns and runs back home to Walter and Choice "B." She tells her girlfriend, "I'm finally happy. This is right, this is real." She chalks up her preoccupation with Sam to " completely loosing sight of what counts."
Still shaken by his close call with Annie, Sam makes a similar attempt to strengthen his commitment to Choice "B" by arranging a getaway weekend with the woman he's dating. This hurtles the story into Act Three, because it demands an equal intensity reaction from the antagonist, Jonah, which is to fly to New York City to meet Annie. This, of course, steers Sam into position for the resolution by forcing him to chase after his missing son.
During Valentine's Day dinner, Annie discovers she can't go through with Choice "B," and tells all to Walter. Her choosing "A" no longer depends upon Sam. This is about what she believes, regardless of loss or disappointment. She chooses faith in the magic of love, and in so doing sets Walter free to find that same magic with someone else.
She follows her heart to the Empire State Building, where the story tests her one final time. The empty meeting place challenges Annie's newly affirmed decision and proves to the audience the change in her character is real and lasting. She faces brief disappointment coinciding with the greatest disappointment to Jonah's goal, but her decision is fixed and certain.
The antagonist in this story plays a vital part in heaping pressure on the protagonists and kicking the story forward at key points. He does this by taking action against the protagonists' choices, and stimulating them to equal intensity action either in defense of those choices or changing their minds. He even rescues the happily-ever-after during the last seconds of the movie. But even so, he is a secondary character.
The real story belongs to Sam and Annie and the life-altering choice they make (particularly Annie) at the end. Sam had already experienced true love. He didn't require the burden of evidence Annie did in order to believe. So while he tried to retreat from the inevitability of his own faith, Annie made the longest journey, traveling from disbelief to conviction.
Coming soon…another example demonstrating one of "The Three Master Recipes of Fiction."
Genre: Romantic comedy
Cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Rosie O'Donnell, Rob Reiner
Director: Nora Ephron
Story: Jeff Arch
Screenplay: Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, & Jeff Arch
(Note: this analysis contains information about key plot points. If you haven't seen the movie, please be advised some info may be considered a "spoiler.")
When the story opens, Sam and Annie are both commencing new phases in relationships. Sam's relationship with his wife ended with her death; his need is to find perfect love again. Meanwhile, Annie's relationship with boyfriend Walter rises to a new level of commitment; her problem is nervousness about committing to a relationship that makes perfect sense but little else. For opposite reasons, both protagonists share the belief that the only love available to them is a logical meeting of the minds and personalities, instead of a magic tangling of heartstrings.
Neither suspects this belief may be flawed until the antagonist triggers the Inciting Incident. Sam's son, Jonah, is the antagonist with an external goal: he wants a new wife for Dad. This gives him an Opposition Story that is largely responsible for the forward momentum and drive in the movie.
The first action Jonah takes in pursuit of his goal is to call a radio show and ask for advice. This action simultaneously introduces Sam and Annie, though miles apart, to the big choice the movie is about. Should they--
A.) look for that perfect someone they think doesn't exist, or,
B.) settle for someone logically compatible?
Repercussions from the Inciting Incident build pressure (conflict) on Sam until he is compelled to make a decision. He begins dating again. The woman he picks is a logical, safe choice where his heart is concerned. His attempts to build a relationship with her don't require any resurrected faith in "magic."
The antagonist, recognizing this woman doesn't fulfill his desired goal, takes action to sabotage the relationship. But he doesn't just resist Sam this way. He fights back by trying to find the perfect soul mate for his dad. His belief in Choice "A" leads him to reply to Annie's letter.
This action builds even greater pressure on the protagonists, especially Annie. She tries to get her brother to talk her into staying with her original decision, Choice "B." But she keeps getting lured back to Choice "A"--listening to repeats of the radio show, talking it over with her girlfriend, and replying to Jonah's letter. Eventually, she makes a big attempt at Choice "A" during the story's midpoint and flies out to Seattle to meet Sam and Jonah. It jars Sam's commitment to Choice "B," because just when he's explaining to Jonah the perfect someone doesn't exist--he sees her. He feels the magic again. Then she disappears.
When Annie sees Sam with another woman, she turns and runs back home to Walter and Choice "B." She tells her girlfriend, "I'm finally happy. This is right, this is real." She chalks up her preoccupation with Sam to " completely loosing sight of what counts."
Still shaken by his close call with Annie, Sam makes a similar attempt to strengthen his commitment to Choice "B" by arranging a getaway weekend with the woman he's dating. This hurtles the story into Act Three, because it demands an equal intensity reaction from the antagonist, Jonah, which is to fly to New York City to meet Annie. This, of course, steers Sam into position for the resolution by forcing him to chase after his missing son.
During Valentine's Day dinner, Annie discovers she can't go through with Choice "B," and tells all to Walter. Her choosing "A" no longer depends upon Sam. This is about what she believes, regardless of loss or disappointment. She chooses faith in the magic of love, and in so doing sets Walter free to find that same magic with someone else.
She follows her heart to the Empire State Building, where the story tests her one final time. The empty meeting place challenges Annie's newly affirmed decision and proves to the audience the change in her character is real and lasting. She faces brief disappointment coinciding with the greatest disappointment to Jonah's goal, but her decision is fixed and certain.
The antagonist in this story plays a vital part in heaping pressure on the protagonists and kicking the story forward at key points. He does this by taking action against the protagonists' choices, and stimulating them to equal intensity action either in defense of those choices or changing their minds. He even rescues the happily-ever-after during the last seconds of the movie. But even so, he is a secondary character.
The real story belongs to Sam and Annie and the life-altering choice they make (particularly Annie) at the end. Sam had already experienced true love. He didn't require the burden of evidence Annie did in order to believe. So while he tried to retreat from the inevitability of his own faith, Annie made the longest journey, traveling from disbelief to conviction.
Coming soon…another example demonstrating one of "The Three Master Recipes of Fiction."
