STORY MAPS: North By Northwest

(1959; written by Ernest Lehman; directed by Alfred Hitchcock)

Older films tend to be slower paced than modern films, especially during the first act, which can often stretch to 45 to 50 minutes in a classic film whereas nowadays it’s going to most often come in at 25-35 minutes. 

But later plot points adhere to many of the Story Map benchmarks used today, which shows us that in many ways feature film pacing has not changed.

In the classic thriller North by Northwest we see a perfect example of what I’ve identified as the page/minute 75 point where the Protagonist truly TAKES CONTROL for the first time.  I like dramatic titles, so I call this moment the Declaration of War/Assumption of Power.

In North by Northwest, Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is an advertising executive who is mistaken for a spy and finds himself running across the country while he looks for the keys to the conspiracy that threatens his life.

The film’s most famous moment, or “set piece” in today’s language, is the crop duster plane diving from the sky in an attempt to murder Thornhill.  This represents the apex so far of the escalating conflict that’s beset this innocent man and put him on the run. 

At exactly minute 75 of the film, Thornhill evades the plane, it crashes and explodes, and he steals a bystander's truck and races into town to attend the auction, where he will confront his enemy in person. 

THIS IS THE MOMENT AT WHICH HE TRULY TAKES CONTROL. 

He is "assuming his power" and "declaring war."  The stealing of the car is a strong action that SHOWS he is no longer playing by the puppeteer's rules.  The auction is a logical ESCALATION of this course of action, made into another memorable SET PIECE with high stakes, drawn out time/tension (and the auction is comedic so it also offers some relief from the tension of the plane chase scene) and a fascinating location.

Compare this plot point to minute 75 of your favorite modern Thriller on dvd and you just may be surprised to see some similarities in function.


-Daniel Calvisi
www.actfourscreenplays.com
copyright © Daniel Calvisi 2005-2006

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