Day 4: 3rd Act Climax

[Karen Haas]

3:10 to Yuma:

Basic scene components —
Scene arc, Protecting a prisoner– trying to get him on the train during a gunfight
situation Life for death for all— bullets flying,
conflict— bad guys vs prisoner guard,
moving the story forward, son of guard helps dad by letting cattle go giving them cover
entertainment value- edge of seat action, and
setups/payoffs train comes in/train goes out. Crucifix on gun, he recognizes the symbolism of good guy giving his life for another man.
Watch 2nd time for:·

How this scene is the ultimate expression of the conflict. Men fight over bad guy getting on train
The escalation of the conflict.· Bad guy gets on but the good guy is shot and dying
The final twist at the end of the scene.· Bad guys respects good guy for giving his life for him and gets on the train himself, after killing all the other bad guys.
Intriguing Dialogue· Minimal dialogue but powerful. You did it, Oh no! You did it, Dad. He got on the train.
The final payoffs of this movie. He gets on the train, helping the good guy to fulfill his mission, but maybe he is still planning an escape at the prison because he summons his horse.

[Mary Albanese]

Great Scenes – CLIMAX
A FEW GOOD MEN
Watch the first time for:
Scene Arc – Kaffee questions Jessup, who lies. Kaffee pauses – then goes in with his big question. If all men obey Jessup, who says Santiago was not to be touched, why did he order Santiago off base for his own “protection.” This is the tiny tear Kaffee intends to use to rip Jessup’s lie apart. And it does.
Situation – Kaffee feels Jessup is quilty of harming Santiago but must prove it by getting Jessup to confess.
Moving Story Forward – The whole investigation has been heading to this. Will Kaffee prove someone hurt Santiago ON ORDERS or will Santiago’s death be left as accidental. The crux of the whole story.
Entertainment value – Jessup comes off as a bully. Even in just this scene he looks like a pompous self-righteous jerk. We want him to go down. And enjoy it when he does.
Setup/payoff. Kaffee seems beat – Jessup won’t budge. He has only one card left – a suspicion. It’s vague and requires Jessup to come clean. Somebody tells him not to use it. He pauses. Then does. Will it work? It seems not to be working. But he manages to push Jessup until he cracks and admits his guilt.
Watch the second time for:
Escalation of Conflict. Kaffee keeps his cool and keeps asking the question – did you order the code red. The judge says Kaffee is in contempt of court, but Kaffee keeps pushing – I want the answers. Lucky for him Jessup pushes back, Kaffee doesn’t let up, and Jessup finally cracks.
Final Twist. Jessup not only confesses, but he lets his venom and disrespect for Kaffee out. “I’m going to rip your eyes out and piss on your skull.” The final twist is that Jessup is not allowed to return to his base but gets arrested, and everybody in the room agrees.
Intriguing dialog. “YOU CAN”T HANDLE THE TRUTH.” Best line of the film, and something that was ad-libbed by Jack Nicolson in the moment. Brilliant.
Final pay-off of the movie. Jessup is marched away to confinement, after revealing his true arrogant, lying, hateful self.