Blog Post #8- Looking at the 3 Act Structure Through a Secret Window

   In film making, the most common plot structure is the Three Act Structure. Good for telling quest stories, it is characterized by a series of plot points leading up to a major climax at the end of the film. It is broken up into three acts, each escalating the stakes and asking a question that the next act answers. In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to apply this structure to one of my favorite thrillers, David Koepp's Secret Window.

   The first act is the introductory act. It presents the protagonist's current situation, introducing the plot of the film. In Secret Window, Mort Rainey is struggling from writer's block during a rocky divorce with a cheating wife when he is accused of plagiarism by a man he's never met, John Shooter. The first question is how Mort is going to prove to this crazed accuser that his story was published before Shooter wrote his. Shooter gives Mort three days to get the magazine his story was published in from his ex-wife, and he'll be back. (21:11)

Shooter Threatens Mort

   As soon as this three day warning is given, Shooter begins to make sure Mort realizes how serious he is about his threat. He kills his dog, threatens to kill his ex-wife, burns down her house, and continues to raise the stakes by framing Mort in the murder of his bodyguard and the only witness to him being there. All Shooter wants is for Mort to fix the ending of the story, and he issues another warning. If Mort talks to the police or doesn't show up with the magazine that he has sworn he has, Shooter will kill him. When Mort discovers that the story is missing from the magazine (74:29), the next question is presented: how will he avoid Shooters promised assassination?
   The resolution act is what makes this film brilliant. Mort begins to talk to himself. He realizes that the only way to please Shooter is to fix the ending of the story in which the character kills his wife and buries her in the garden. Then out of nowhere, the climax is presented. Mort is Shooter. He invented him in his mind. His wife shows up at the house to finalize the divorce papers, and Mort makes the major decision of the entire plot. He's going to fix the ending (80:00). He's going to kill her and bury her in the garden she once kept.
   The film ends with the sheriff talking to Mort about staying out of town, since, though no proof can be found, the townspeople know he killed his ex-wife and her new lover.
   "You know, the only thing that matters is the ending. It's the most important part of the story, the ending. And this one... is very good. This one's perfect."