The 3-Act Paradigm at Work: Windtalkers

written by John Rice & Joe Batteer

(based on a single theater viewing)


Windtalkers is a an action war movie full of bloody battle scenes -- but unfortunately it has little sustained drama, despite the basis of the story being the use of Navajo codetalkers in WWII. An unrealized dramatic structure makes this movie mostly noise.

Structural Analysis

  1. Hook
    • Ben, a Navajo, leaves the reservation to join the Army in WWII.
  2. Complication
    • Joe, the protagonist, loses his men by following orders to the letter and refusing to retreat during a battle.
  3. Call to Action
    • Joe, the sole survivor, feeling guilty, is reassigned to care for Ben, a codetalker, and to protect the code at all costs.
  4. Act One Plot Point
    • Joe and Ben ship out to see action at Saipan, uncomfortable partners.
  5. Midpoint Plot Point
    • Joe gets a medal -- and gives credit to Ben. Then he gives away the medal to a widow of a dead soldier.
  6. Act Two Plot Point
    • Following orders, Joe kills another codebreaker, Ben's friend, to prevent him from being captured by the enemy. Joe admits to Ben he did this, and they become distant.
  7. Climax and Resolution
    • Joe does not follow orders to kill Ben. He rescues him instead, dying in the heroic action. Ben regards Joe as his friend and does a Navajo prayer for him.

Notes

Too much war action and not enough human drama twists the focus of this story into repetitive battle scenes and doesn't let the structure of the human story take hold to become the real focus. As a result, the movie is very disappointing.


MODULE 4: SCREENWRIGHT: the craft of screenwriting

[BACK TO TEXT]
1/02