Is Magnolia a three-act structure?

Started by Derek, January 15, 2004, 03:14:15 PM

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Derek

The structure has been compared (by PTA himself) to the Beatles' "A Day In The Life.' In that it builds and builds, then drops off, only to build back up again.

I remember a lot of discussion about how the movies of 1999 broke free of structural conventions. But the more I think about it, Magnolia seems to have distinctly three acts to it...the first act ending after Donnie first enters the bar, and the second after Wise Up.
Would others agree that Magnolia is a three-act structure? On a broader scale, are all good stories told in three acts?
It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.

SoNowThen

Nah, it's operatic. I think the chapter breaks on the dvd are fairly indicative of its structure.

But I could be wrong, maybe PTA had the 3 act structure in mind the whole time.

This whole structure thing: Kubrick and Scorsese talk about 5 - 6 major scenes in a movie, parcelled into movements or sequences. I like this a whole lot better than the rigidity of the 3 act idea.
Those who say that the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union was not "real" Marxism also cannot admit that one simple feature of Marxism makes totalitarianism necessary:  the rejection of civil society. Since civil society is the sphere of private activity, its abolition and replacement by political society means that nothing private remains. That is already the essence of totalitarianism; and the moralistic practice of the trendy Left, which regards everything as political and sometimes reveals its hostility to free speech, does nothing to contradict this implication.

When those who hated capital and consumption (and Jews) in the 20th century murdered some hundred million people, and the poster children for the struggle against international capitalism and America are now fanatical Islamic terrorists, this puts recent enthusiasts in an awkward position. Most of them are too dense and shameless to appreciate it, and far too many are taken in by the moralistic and paternalistic rhetoric of the Left.

Derek

It was a point that was bugging me for some stupid reason.

Other things that bug me regarding Magnolia: People who say it belongs with 'Days Of Our Lives' and other soap operas as well as the constant comparisons to Altman' Short Cuts and Nashville.

These things bug me but my reasons, I fear, are petty.
It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.

Jeremy Blackman

Syd Field is Satan... you can call anything "3-act" if it has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

With Magnolia, I tend to like the DVD's chapter stops, though I wonder if you could group them into larger acts.