Structuring Case Study : Mission Impossible 3

Structuring is almost as important as the writing itself. And it can be done at all stages of writing and rewriting. Whilst you may believe you have hit the audience hard with a certain line or scene, try shuffling earlier dialogue or scenes about as you can almost always manipulate the audience and provide a stronger reaction.

Take Mission Impossible 3, written by Alex Kurtzman, Robert Ochi and JJ Abrams (though this particular shuffle, which took place during filming, was done by Abrams). It is in my opinion the best of the Mission Impossible movies, but that is irrelevant.
Originally the film began with Ethan Hunt's engagement party, showing him to be getting comfortable with a calmer life than he had in the past as a spy, however five minutes later he is drawn into a rescue mission involving his protege. This isn't that bad of a beginning, showing what he didn't have in his previous life, what he has to lose when he gets drawn back into it. But then there are two points to draw up. This is a thriller and most thrillers start with a bang to get the audience interested and also we aren't given much of a reason to care. We don't know how much he cares about his protege and there is little tension within his perfect life beyond it being something to lose.

But Abrams decided to start the film with a flashforward to much later in the film, where Ethan has an explosive device in his head and his nemesis has his wife at gunpoint, gagged in a chair opposite him.

What follows is the tensest scene in the movie as Ethan tries everything in his disposal to stop his wife being killed. Then we cut to black on a gunshot.

This instantly gets the audience interested, we're with Ethan through the story now, we know what it comes to and we care about the characters and what happens to them, we want to know how it happens. It also serves to completely change the focus of the engagement party (which follows it) we now not only see it as what he has to lose, but what he has to gain all at once.

Despite this, at first glance it may appear that Abrams has blown his load a little early, showing us that will mean we don't care as we have seen the tensest, most emotional scene of the film early. But we haven't seen the pay off. And because of this the inevitable demise of his nemesis is all the more impactful on the audience who have been waiting the entire movie to see it happen.


This simple decision changes the focus of the whole film and show the ripple effect that restructuring can have, adding high tension and emotion to scenes which may have seemed the audiences attentions wane without it.

However making sure that your screenplay has maximum impact is up to you. So look through your screenplay, think of the set piece moments and think what has built up to them. Is there anything that can be changed to make them more affecting to the audience? If so, try it out.