The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: Henry Fool

written by Hal Hartley


Henry Fool is both a dark comedy about art, culture and literary taste and an eccentric buddy story of two unusual outsiders, one a garbage man turned poet and the other, his mentor, a scoundrel and, perhaps, literary poser. As in other buddy movies, such as Thelma and Louise, the narrative role of the protagonist switches midway through the movie as the characters change their relationship.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook (1-3 min.)
    • Simon, a garbage man many take as retarded, catches a couple making love and gets caught.
  2. Complication (5-8 min.)
    • A stranger arrives, Henry Fool, an extroverted literary man, who claims greatness. Simon speaks his first words in the movie to Fool and does not appear to be retarded at all.
  3. Call to Action (9-14 min.)
    • Fool gives Simon a journal, telling him to write down his thoughts. Simon starts writing in it.
  4. Act One Plot Point (31, 38, 43 min.)
    • As a result of writing a long poem in his journal, Simon's world begins to change: he gets published in a high school newspaper (31 min.), Fool drags him to a strip joint to see the world (38 min.) and he quits his job in order to write full time (43 min.), all with the encouragement of Fool, who considers him a poetic genius. No one has ever taken this interest in Simon before.
  5. Midpoint Plot Point (55 min.)
    • Fool, it turns out, is a pediphile just out of prison and needs help. A priest tells Simon that he can provide that help, giving Simon a new goal. Meanwhile (59 min.), two dozen literary journals reject Simon's poem as trash.
  6. Act Two Plot Point (92, 101 min.)
    • Simon's poem gets posted on the Internet - and becomes an overnight sensation. He is called the authentic trashy voice of American culture. Meanwhile, Simon reads Fool's lifelong poem and hates it. Later Fool intervenes to help a battered wife and accidentally kills the husband (121 min.).
  7. Climax and Resolution (127-34 min.)
    • In the film's greatest stretch, Simon is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He comes home to help Fool, the plan being to get Fool to Sweden to accept the award in Simon's place. At the last minute, Fool turns and runs from the jet, the first non-selfish act he has done.

    Notes

    The friendship drives this story, which explains the Second Act plot point when Simon realizes that Fool is not the literary genius he claims to be, which presents a strain in their relationship. Of course, since literary taste is the object of much of the humor here, how do we know? We don't. We know Fool is a scoundrel but we have no idea what talent, if any, he has.


    MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

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