The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: Days of Wine and Roses

written by J.P. Miller


Days of Wine and Roses is a classic story about how alcoholism destroys a marriage, mostly noted for its fine performances and harrowing, if predictable, drama. One of its strengths is its ending, which refuses to take a cheap shot at "happily ever after."

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook (0-1 min.)
    • Joe Clay, a PR man, calls a strange woman, inviting her to a yacht party for one of his new clients.
  2. Complication (4 min.)
    • At the dock, Joe mistakes his client's secretary for one of the party girls.
  3. Call to Action (8-13 min.)
    • Joe presents the secretary with a peace offering back at the office. Initially rejected, he finally gets her to dinner.
  4. Act One Plot Point (26, 37 min.)
    • They begin dating seriously and are secretly married, which they announce to her disappointed father.
  5. Midpoint Plot Point (59 min.)
    • Joe realizes that he and his wife are alcoholics and pledges to turn their lives around.
  6. Act Two Plot Point (96-100 min.)
    • Joe stops drinking but his wife can't. Tracking her to a seedy motel after she disappears, he finally joins her drinking again - and wakes up in a hospital, worse off than ever.
  7. Climax and Resolution (103-114 min.)
    • Joe gets his life together: he begins paying a debt to his father-in-law, raises their daughter alone, gets a job. When his wife visits, two days sober, she wants to move back in but still drink in moderation. Joe is together enough to turn down this compromise.

Notes

Days of Wine and Roses makes story transitions that cover months and even years of time, doing so directly and cleanly. It's a good movie to study for covering a long period of time with efficient storytelling.


MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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