Please welcome (The Other) Chris Pratt to the Moral Premise Blog. Chris is a veteran screenwriter and writer manager in Los Angeles. During recent discussions we had about structure, in particular about Taken (2008), Chris offered up Michael Arndt's Pandemonium post on Insanely Great Endings, and then offered to write this blog post applying Arndt's perspective to Taken... for which I was greatly appreciative.
Arndt's 100 page story map and his explanation of Insanely Great Endings fits nicely into the natural structure of story telling, so I tired to include his beats in the latest version of the story diamond. But I over did it—the Story Diamond is getting too off-putting with its apparent complexity; so look for future simplifications. But now on to Chris' insanely great post on Taken. — S.W.
TAKEN'S Insanely Great Ending
by
The Other Chris Pratt
Screenwriter Michael
Arndt created Insanely Great Endings as a deep dive to help us
understand the emotional resonance of our greatest cinematic experiences. If
you haven’t seen it, check it out here. What follows for Taken assumes you understand Arndt's story concepts.
Inspired by Stan
Williams’ deep dive into Taken found here:
The following is a
Michael Arndt-style analysis using his Insanely Great Endings method to analyze
the 2008 hit film TAKEN. Here's Arndt's 100 page story map which will help us. Click on it for larger version.
 |
| CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE - Michael Arndt's 100 page Story Map |
Arndt opens with the idea that there’s an organic logic of storytelling. A sort of ‘Who, what, when, where?’
THE MAJOR BEATS
OPENING: In Taken, we begin
with old home video footage of a little girl’s fifth birthday party. Bryan
Mills (Liam Neeson) wakes up to a table side picture of the same girl, now a
teenager. He’s already missed her childhood.
ORDINARY WORLD: Daily
Routine + introduce unresolved issue (could be an internal or external
unresolved issue.) In a single scene, we establish the WORKING CLASS hero, his
numerous trips to the electronics store to select the right gift for daughter
Kim (Maggie Grace). Rich people don’t visit the store multiple times, they have
stuff delivered. Most people don’t read the instruction manual over and over
before purchasing electronics. In a single scene we get A) Careful, B) Thorough
and C) Thrifty. We don't see his unresolved issue until the BIRTHDAY PARTY at a
big frickin’ house. Bryan’s EX married very well. We learn he wasn’t there for
his daughter growing up. We see her stepfather can give her anything/everything
she wants. Bryan’s time has passed, has his window to be her father has closed?
She’s 17 and ‘Not a little girl anymore.’
THEN ONE DAY: 10% A
bolt from the blue, lightning hits, changing sense of character’s self, who
they are, and their sense of the future. Bryan’s friends, old CIA operatives, over BBQ and beers, we learn he was the best of the best and he’s
not on the job anymore because he’s making a conscious choice to quit working
and be closer to Kim. They pitch him on a job. He rejects the call, then
accepts the call.
THE JOB: Bryan
protects the POP STAR from a security threat, rescuing the first of three
daughter figures in the film.
CALL TO ACTION: Kim
is excited to join a friend on a trip to Paris, she asks her dad to let her go.
He rejects the call to let Kim go to Europe is to let go of Kim, and he’s not
ready to do that. Bryan then accepts the call, gives permission, and drives Kim
to the airport. This is Bryan’s story. His arc. While he doesn’t go, he is
still the active participant, crossing the threshold, he makes the decision to
let her go.
EMBARKS: 25% On the
quest, has a long range goal and a short term quest. Bryan calls Kim as her
friend is kidnapped, his daughter taken, his now famous speech, “I will look for you. I will find
you. And I will kill you.” The only dialogue ever to appear on a movie poster.
The pitch as a single line of script. Kudos to writers Kamen and Besson.
MIDPOINT SETBACK: 50%
Something happens around the middle, rug pulled out from under him, has to find
a new way. The midpoint has Bryan tracking the trafficked women to a
construction zone where workers line up to rape drugged out victims. He finds
his daughter’s jacket but no Kim. The traffickers discover him, and he begins
to burn it all down. Before it was a story about a man pursuing his daughter,
now he’s declared war.
NO RETURN: 75% No
going back, trap door opens, total commitment. When he runs into a dead end, a
name he doesn’t know, he turns to his contact in the French Government, Jean-Claude. Out of time, out of options, he
shoots the man’s wife, threatening to kill her. No going back now.
CLIMAX: 90% Achieves
goal or fails to achieve goal. Tracking his recently sold daughter to a boat,
Bryan infiltrates the boat and kills… everyone, pretty much kills everyone.
STAKES OVERVIEW:
While many a guru
would say there are two sets of stakes, internal and external, Arndt argues, to
great effect, there are actually three sets of stakes. Internal, external,
and philosophical stakes. See the breakdown below:
What are the EXTERNAL
STAKES in Taken? Save the girl. First, Bryan Mills makes the choice to
save the POP STAR, while this isn’t his daughter, it is one of three
daughter figures in the story. The bolt from the blue happens at the ten
minute mark when Bryan is shaken from his complacent state of waiting for his
daughter to return his love and becomes an active hero with the POP STAR.
Who are the EXTERNAL
STAKES antagonists? What scene introduces them? The kidnappers are the external
antagonists, the scene introducing them takes place in the apartment, the
moment they kidnap the girls. (You could argue the French Bureaucrat,
Jean-Claude, is an external antagonist but he’s more of what John Truby
would call a fake-ally opponent. He’s a philosophical antagonist for Bryan as
explained below.)
Who is the EXTERNAL
Mentor? What scene introduces them? Bryan’s friend and former special ops
colleague, Sam. He’s got the call to exposition scene where he tells
Bryan the who, what, when, where of the kidnappers M.O. and sets the ticking
clock of 96 hours before Kim disappears. Forever.
What are your
INTERNAL/EMOTIONAL STAKES? (Arndt says this could be parent child love,
romantic love, self esteem, will my life matter, will I get out of here, will I
even get a chance, call to greatness.) What scene introduces the EMOTIONAL
stakes? Internally, this is a story about Bryan’s purpose. Will he connect with
his daughter? Will his life matter now that his baby girl is all grown up? Can
he let go? Is it better to keep his daughter protected and unaware of the world
or let her experience it? On the way to the airport, Bryan describes his gov’t
job as being ‘the preventer.’ Personally, this is a story about a father’s duty
to protect his daughter vs. his paranoia and instinct for overprotectiveness. Should
he prevent her from growing up by preventing her from harm? It starts with
a ‘can he let her become a woman’ and ends with ‘sometimes you need your daddy’
which is genius. Split hairs. Have cake, eat too.
Who is the
INTERNAL/EMOTIONAL STAKES antagonist and what scene introduces them? (Arndt
says Star Wars has Uncle Owen on some: “Kid, don’t get too big for your
britches, harvest is when I need you the most, it’s only one more season.”)
Bryan’s emotional antagonist is his ex-wife. She reminds him he was good at
missing out, he wasn’t there for his family. She’s right about that, but is he too
late?
What scene introduces
the EMOTIONAL mentor? (Star Wars has: “Kid I see something special in you.”)
Taken has BBQ buddies. Bryan’s old team. The guys who know he’s the best of the
best but “I hope she appreciates the fact you’ve given up your life to be
closer to her?” For a BBQ beer scene with war buddies, that scene has a LOT of
heart.
Also, during the car
ride to the airport, Bryan’s inner compass is telling him she’s too young to go
to Europe, he’s fighting the voice of his ex-wife, his daughter’s will, but
that voice inside keeps guiding him. Bryan’s conscious is his training. “Mom
says your work made you paranoid.” “Made me aware…” You’re not paranoid when
the world is out to kidnap and sell your daughter into sexual slavery.
What are the
PHILOSOPHICAL STAKES? Those with money and power are just too strong, they will
win out over justice. The philosophical antagonist is Jean-Claude, the French
Bureaucrat. “That’s now how the world works.” When Bryan first arrives is Paris
and seeks out his old friend, he’s told to go home.
What is your underdog
value? Father knows best.
What is your dominant
value? Too late, she’s a grown woman.
Who is your GLOBAL ANTAGONIST? What SCENE lays out the Global Antagonist Aria? In Star
Wars, General Tarkin says “Fear will keep the local systems in line.” In Taken
we don’t get a big speech from the antagonist, when Bryan takes the phone and
give his “I will find you and I will kill you…” speech, we simply get two words:
“Good Luck.”
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| Whether a superhero or a dude with a problem, this dad has a way with phones. |
What SCENE lays out
the PERSONAL ANTAGONIST ARIA? Han Solo’s “Kid, I’ve flown from one end
of this galaxy to another…” This speech attacks Luke’s personal journey, a
journey into a much larger world, a journey into the force. Bryan’s personal
journey is to matter, to be the father his daughter needs. Ex-wife Lenore
reminding him, “You can’t smother Kim or you’ll lose her for sure.” In effect,
end the quest to matter, give up on becoming the father your daughter needs.
List the DOMINANT vs.
UNDERDOG GLOBAL values: The dominant global values are ruthless power
wins, criminals take, can’t beat a corrupt system, might makes right, guns and
power rule the day. The underdog values are freedom, justice, the American way.
Dominant values are winning. “A few years ago there were twenty of them, now
they have hundreds…” The police even get payoffs. Corruption, crime, drugs,
kidnapping, slavery, the bad guys are winning.
What SCENE lays out
the GLOBAL MENTOR ARIA? Star Wars has Obi Wan saying; “You must deliver
these droids to Alderaan.” Taken has Bryan’s friend Sam saying, “You have 96
hours before she’s gone. Forever.”
What SCENE lays out
the personal Mentor Aria? Obi Wan also says; “You must come with me and
learn the ways of the force.” Bryan’s BBQ buddies ask if Kim understands he’s given
up his work, his old life, to move and be closer to her, to be the father he’s
always wanted to be. “You lose her to college next year.” “Still gives me a
year.”
List the dominant vs.
underdog PERSONAL values: Dominant personal values; it’s too late, you
missed out, she’s grown up, she doesn’t need her father, you missed your shot,
you don’t matter, your life doesn’t matter. The underdog personal values; only
you know what the world is capable of, you have skills bro, you see what others
can’t, you do matter, you can be the father she needs. These are underdog
values because the whole movie, people keep telling him, ‘Naw brah, let her
go.”
Structure TIP:
Act 1
Antagonist Aria (dominant value) is “I will find you, I will kill you.” “Good
luck.” Dominant value is the odds of finding kidnappers... normal people don’t
have a chance, special set of skills or not.
Structure TIP:
All is
lost in Act 2, the ALLY chooses the dominant value, betrays the hero. The
French Bureaucrat Jean-Claude is the fake-ally opponent who choses illegal
payoffs over his friendship with Bryan. This is the setup/payoff Antagonist
Philosophical Dominant Value, or money/power wins over justice. Han Solo’s
betrayal, all is lost in Star Wars; “I’m not sticking around to help you
face the death star, Kid.” Our all is lost betrayal is when Jean-Claude
holds Bryan at gunpoint, “I’m taking you to the airport right now.” “What about
my family?”
What are the two
competing value systems at play in the PHILOSOPHICAL STAKES? Bryan believes in
American justice. Preventing the big bad is how he sees himself. The world is
full of big and bad, but he won’t buy in. “I reject your hypothesis.”
Scene Breakdown
Checklist:
What is your opening
image? Bryan’s dream; a 5 year old girl’s birthday party.
What is the equilibrium
for your world? Bryan was busy working for the gov’t, wasn’t there for his
daughter. She’s grown.
Is your character
flawed or is your world flawed? The world is flawed. (Bryan doesn’t change.) [He's a hero. See Hero vs. Protagonist.]
How is your
character’s future fixed? He is trying to earn the right to be Kim’s father but
because he was never there, she’s grown up without him. He’s moved to be near
her but hasn’t really been invited into her life. So he waits. This is his
fixed future.
How is this the
stable self image? Retired. Waiting. His skills got him all dressed up with no
place to go.
10% What is your bolt from the blue?
Kim is invited to Paris.
How does that
incident change your character’s future? Accepting that she’s growing up,
becoming a woman, leaving him… tough.
How does it change
their sense of self? He realizes she doesn’t need him, she needs his signature
on the permission slip.
How is this the worst
possible thing to happen to them? He’s moved to be near her. This is the
opposite of what he came here to do. It’s game over, man.
Is there insult to
injury? She lies to him about the trip, where she’s going, and why. Touring
Europe to follow U2 instead of hitting museums in Paris. She doesn’t trust him
enough to tell him the truth.
25% What first act break? Phone call.
“Special set of skills…”
How does that
mini-arc pay off at Act 2 all lost (problem A)? Act 2 he finds Marco, and kills
him. Solves problem A.
How does your
character embark on the journey? Literally. He charters the jet and hops a
round trip LAX to CDG.
50% What is the midpoint setback? He finds
Kim’s jacket but no Kim. The girl wearing it is drugged so he rescues her --
the second ‘daughter’ rescue.
How is the midpoint
setback a reversal? How does it change directions? Escalation. Instead of a
detective asking questions, he’s kinda the punisher now. High speed chases and
explosions. He’s on everybody’s radar.
How does the midpoint
reversal deepen the stakes? This won’t be a quiet extraction, he’s facing a
criminal organization and he might have to burn it to the ground.
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| CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE - Michael Arndt's ACT 3 Breakdown |
75% All is lost? Dead
end. He’s found Kim’s friend Amanda, dead. Kim isn’t there so he tortures bad
guy MARCO but only gets a name. He can’t do jack with a name.
How does this crisis
force the stakes? Bryan has to go back to fake ally-opponent and confront him
with his own corruption.
How does it solve Problem A? Marco is dead. Bryan did find him and Bryan did kill him. Makes you
wonder if the guy shouldn’t have wished him ‘good luck.’
How does it force Problem B? Bryan gets a name, but with no way to track it he’s forced to turn
to Jean-Claude.
How is the character
headed toward a waterfall? He shoots Jean-Claude's wife to get the info. No
return, as they say. Now he’s screwed with the French police, screwed with the
underworld, burning everything as he goes leaves him without
friends/allies.
List Act 3 external
setbacks toward the ending? Rescued girl is passed out, arrives at the bad guys
but can’t identify Marco, Kim’s friend is dead, no Kim, tortures Marco but gets
a useless name, Jean-Claude is no help, shoots his wife, finds Kim but is
captured before rescue, hanging from pipe he’s ordered killed, daughter is on a
boat, leaving.
List Act 3 internal
setbacks toward the ending? Bryan’s not there for her. Even when he finds the
stash house with the girls, even when he kills the bad guys, he can’t find her,
he can’t save her, he won’t matter in her life, once again, he’s not there when
she needs him.
What are the
philosophical setbacks? More money, more guns, more power, the further he goes
the greater the opposing forces. This isn’t some local Armenian mob, this is
upper echelon society with deep pockets and resources. Up against more than
nameless, faceless Albanian sex traffickers, these are nameless, faceless rich
people too. He finds his daughter but someone buys her. He’s captured by better
killers with more training. A rich Sheik with professional security has his
daughter. Philosophically money and power are winning.
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| CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE - Michael Arndt's Two Minute Climax Breakdown |
What is our Hero’s
Kamikaze moment of commitment? Jumping onto the boat.
How does the Hero
listen to the mentor? The inner voice that says… let’s do this.
How does the hero
choose the underdog value against their own self interest? He could die on that
boat but to find Kim, to rescue her is worth the risk.
How does choosing
this APPEAR to be an external failure, an internal failure, and a philosophical
failure? He hurts himself on the leap, limping through the next sequence, he
gets shot by BIG BAD, he gets stabbed, he’s thrown through glass… (Note: Nice
little callback here, the knife from the first daughter POP STAR rescue is
mirrored by the final knife fight.)
Leading to what
moment of despair? Bursting into the room, the Sheik has his daughter at
knife-point. Oh, no. He’s failed, he’s going to lose everything.
What is the decisive
act our hero chooses? BLAM. He fires, killing the man instantly.
How does the ACT (not
a speech) embrace the underdog values? Money and power did not win out over
justice. The man says “We can negotiate-” BOOM, negotiation over.
How does it lead to
external success, internal success, and philosophical success? Externally, he’s
rescued Kim, saved the girl. Internally, he is the father she needs, he
matters, he is connecting with her and philosophically, American justice wins
out over the money and power of a corrupt world. We go from total loss to total
victory in the final sequence leading to an Insanely Great Ending.
