O Brother Where Art Thou? Breaking down the three acts

How does the story begin? As the audience when we watch the finished product, but before the camera even beings to roll a story has to be established.

The screenwriter, before the producer or director, has to create a script and present sell his or her idea.    The screenwriter has one shot to make the perfect impression, if the reader is not hooked after the first page then the movie never gets made. O Brother Where Art Thou? is one of my favorite comedies. It may be odd to hear that I like it so much because of the screenplay rather than the laughs, but writing a comedy is hard.  I appreciate that the movie never strayed off track and didn't resort to vulgar or idiotic tactics.  So how does O Brother Where Art Thou break down?




As I mentioned before every movie has three acts. If you have not seen this movie I encourage you to try and find it. The following analysis may not make much sense to someone who's never seen this film.

•  Act One: We dive right into the movie. What the audience learns about the characters is revealed through their actions. This is an "action"film in that dialogue is secondary it's not what carries the film. Everett (Clooney), Pete (Turturro) and Delmar (Nelson) almost immediately have their personalities established and it was all from their actions. Audiences don't like to be told what they should see they like to see it. You can see Everett is a selfish know it all, Pete is short temper but caring, and Delmar is dim witted, but kind hearted. Act one give us a reason to be curious. Why are these three men chained together? What crimes did they committed? Why did they escape? We also get the dramatic need: These men are on a treasure hunt. As the film continues we learn more, but the first act does everything right. Character development, dramatic need, and the Call to Action, which is like the point of no return. They've broken out of jail and if they're caught they'll hang. 
• Act Two: The obstacles. Running away from the ominous Warden, stopping to record a song for cash, robbing banks with George Nelson! Being ambushed by sirens, and having all their money stolen by a Bible salesman. It sounds crazy written down but watching these events unfold is hilarious and engaging. The consistency of the character's personality also draws the audience in. Everett never shuts up and in the scene with the Bible sales man (Goodman) while Delmar is being beat up Everett just keep on chattering. Along with the obstacles usually comes the low point. After being pardoned by the governor the audience gets a sense that everything will be alright. This is a breather, let the audience have a break before diving into act three. 
• Act Three: Picks up right at the low point, the three men are caught by the Warden and all seems lost. The low point is the chance for the character to have his change of heart. The character arch where the character is different somehow then when the film first started. Everett sees the error of his ways and repents. He's grown and gained humility and discovered what important in life. It may sound a little sappy, but movies aren't mirror reflections of life. They have enough of life in them to be realistic and relatable, but then the fantasy element is that they can end happy and people can change and miracles can happen.   The end of the film is happy Everett has his family back and his freedom. But there's also a little room for another crazy scheme, why do we think this? Because it fits his personality. 

Something fun to note is that this film is an adaptation of the Odyssey. So for fun see if you can make the connections between the two.  Post your answers.