The Wrestler Sequence Analysis
I am going to give a detailed analysis of a sequence from The Wrestler (2008) directed by Darren Aronofsky. The source I have decided to use for this analysis is the screenplay of the film, rather than a downloaded version of the script. The sequence I have chosen begins at 32min of the film and continues until 41:09 min. I chose this sequence because it is the most important sequence in the film, as it has a major influence on the events of the script that follow, and according to Syd Field’s Three Act Structure, it is located at Plot Point 1. Often called a reversal, a plot point is an event that advances the plot in a new direction, and leading to the next act of the screenplay. Other screenplay experts, who agree with Field’s theories, have stated that Plot Point 1 is the moment when the hero takes on the problem. It is the true beginning of the story. At the beginning of the sequence, the character of Randy “The Ram Robinson”, the film’s protagonist, has just been treated by doctors after a brutal wrestling match, and has been left alone in his dressing him. He proceeds to walk over to his locker, but before he reaches it, his stares intensely at his left arm while clutching his chest, vomits twice and collapses on the floor. Randy has suffered a heart attack, and it is this event that thrusts the plot in a new direction, cementing this sequence as Plot Point 1. Previous to the heart attack, Randy had a wrestling career that had spanned over twenty years, reaching its peak in the 1980s, which can be seen through a montage of numerous newspaper articles and magazines, featuring Randy as a major professional wrestling star, at the beginning of Act 1. However, many years have passed since then and Randy is now an over the hill wrestler performing in local, small gyms and auditoriums on the underground circuit. Over the hill he may have been, with his cracking joints and weak lungs, he was still wrestling. However Plot Point 1 has now driven the plot in a new
Bibliography: Field, Syd. The Screenwriter 's Workbook: Exercises and Step-by-step Instructions for Creating a Successful Screenplay. Ed. Delta, 2007 Snyder, Blake Save the Cat!: The Only Book on Screenwriting You 'll Ever Need Michael Wiese Productions, 2005. Vogler, Christopher. Writer 's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Michael Wiese Production, 2007.