In all good movies, comedies, thrillers, action pieces, westerns, sci-fi, animation, drama, romantic comedies, etc., the third act of the screenplay requires the climax of the story, the black moment, the epiphany, the denouement and wrapping up loose ends.
The climax of the story is the culmination of what has taken place during Acts 1 and 2. A point in the story should be reached here which should be the highest point of tension
in the story. If you can imagine climbing a mountain where the trail goes steadily up, with short flat breaks on the trail before it goes up again until it reaches the peak, which is the highest point on the mountain, then, this is where you story should be in the third act of the screenplay.
In other words, you’ve gotten your main character to the top of the mountain. Now it is time for your main character to show what he is really made up of. This should be based on his transformation as he evolves throughout the story. Then, when you get him up on
the peak of your story, someone, or something, more threatening than ever before in your
story, is present to knock him off the peak. It is his job to defeat whatever or whoever it is so that he can accomplish the goal you had him set out on at about page 10 of your story where you established the dramatic premise for your story.
In fiction, this is called the black moment. The black moment occurs to challenge your main character to win or to lose his efforts to achieve his goal. A terrible fight (literally or figuratively) should ensue, where your main character is left hanging on the edge of the peak by his fingers. The antagonist or villain (in fiction, villains represent evil, while antagonists can represent any number of things including evil) stomps on your main character’s fingers. At just about the time your main character can no longer hold on to save himself, he has to overcome what has been hindering him from reaching his goal throughout your story.
It is at this time your main character should experience an epiphany. An epiphany is symbolic moment of revelation and insight. Your main character must make a decision now that will change his life forever. Win or lose? It is his choice to make. And in most movies, since most audiences want happy endings, your main character usually makes the right choice. Win. So, he grabs the antagonist’s foot. He pulls the antagonist off the peak and saves himself, something he has been unable to do throughout your story until
now.
The denouement is the final resolution of your story. Your main character must tie up all loose ends in the story. Say, he met someone with whom he’s fallen in love, but the question throughout the story has always been, will they, or will they not get together. You must show the resolution of this now. If a character was left hanging, so to speak, in Act I, without a resolution, then you must bring that character forward here, and show the audience how he ends up. If you foreshadowed something in Act 2, now is the time to show the audience what that was and how it helped the main character achieve his goal in the story. You know what I mean. Simply, don’t leave any loose end, or you will disappoint your audience. They want to know how everyone and everything ends up. And it is your job to show that to them in Act 3.
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