The guys at Podcast 241 and I decided to have our own little podcast Christmas during which we celebrated the Christmas classic Home Alone. So checkout the podcast, read my breakdown below, and have a Happy Holiday!
Ah yes, his mom rescuing him from the Wet Bandits would have made the story even better. Appreciated learning about all this, as this is one of my favorite movies that I still quote all the time. Thanks!!!
I've been meaning to check out your website for a while now! I'm glad I did. I immediately was drawn to your Home Alone structure breakdown because I use this movie as my main example when talking to my students about the narrative structure of Classical Hollywood Style films. I don't think I've ever had a student who hasn't seen it, so it works perfectly for that.
After giving it a read through I realized that my own breakdown differs quite a bit, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Firstly, I'm going to looking at Home Alone from the Bordwell/Thompson 4 act structure. With each Act encompassing about a 1/4 of the film or so. Also, I'm not going to look deeply at the internal goal for Kevin, but I think it runs more along the lines of a "Kevin is going to learn a lesson in this movie setup" rather than a true internal goal. In the beginning he wants to be on this own, and feels like he'd be better off that way. However, by the end he realized he needs other people around to really live life. This seems pretty clear based on his conversation with Old Man Marley in the church scene at the beginning of Act 4. I'll come back to this in my act 4 analysis. Also, I 100 percent with you in the sense of the plot being a dual protagonist/storyline structure, but I'm just going to be looking at it from Kevin's point of view.
Act 1:
For the first act we have the equilibrium setup, and then we get to the inciting incident. You have it listed as "Kevin thinks he made his family disappear." I think it's much more simple. It revolves around the sequence of events that happen when the power goes out. This leads to Kevin sleeping in, and being left alone. This gives him his movie level goal of surviving on his own.
Act 2:
Act 2 begins when Kevin wakes up and realizes he is home alone. His Act 2 goal is to figure out how to live on his on. This goal directly relates to the movie level goal of surviving on his own. You have it listed as "Revel in being home alone." Which seems more like an action. Throughout Act 2 we see Kevin make mistakes as he's figuring out how to live on his own. There is definitely some reveling in there (it's great entertainment), but by the end of the act we see him as a fairly functional person on his own. He's gone shopping, and seems to be pretty responsible for an 8 year old! He's even fended off the robbers to some extent by making them think that he's not home alone.
Act 3:
Act 3 begins right after the robbers figure out that Kevin is actually home alone. Kevin realizes they have discovered this, and it leads him to his Act 3 goal of defending the house/defeating the robbers (I totally agree with you on this). This relates to the movie level goal of surviving on his own. Act 3 ends when Kevin doesn't succeed with the Act 3 goal, and has to abandon the house.
Act 4:
Act 4 sees Kevin fleeing the house, and escaping to the neighbors where he is caught. This is the climax of the film, and is the point where the audience asks the question as to whether or not Kevin will achieve his movie level goal to survive. He is a kid against two adults after all, lol!! This is when Old Man Marley saves him, and the movie level question is answered. Kevin does survive, and it also relates to Kevin's internal goal/movie lesson. He realizes that he does need other people. We then see him reunited with his family, but with a better outlook on life. Well... until the sequel that is. Smart writing for a "kids film!"
What do you think? I wrote this very quickly, so be nice! :)
I’m so glad you commented! It’s fun to engage in stuff like this, and I like the opportunity to sharpen my arguments, hear other views, and really think about how all this really works! Looking forward to some more convos!
Hey Jonathan! Glad you decided to check it out, and thanks for the thoughtful and in depth response to Home Alone--it's a great movie to use as an example of classical Hollywood cinema. Of course, in the end structure is based on character goals, and goals can be subjective, so there is always room for different interpretations. But here are my thoughts on your breakdown:
I guess the biggest difference is that I keep the movie at Three Acts and don't see a reason to divide it into Four Acts. One thing to remember with Thompson and Bordwell's Four Act approach is that they don't say that every movie has 4 acts, only that they generally have balanced, equally timed (roughly) acts. This allows for three, four, or five acts (or more). It also allows for sequences of 10-15 minutes being the main structural until of a movie (which is very common for contemporary action movies).
Act 1:
I can definitely see your point, and perhaps we might see the Inciting Incident as a Setup/Payoff, with the Setup being the power going out and the Payoff being Kevin thinking he made his family disappear. But the main reason I chose him thinking he made his family disappear is that most of the time the inciting incident happens to the protagonist (or they make a choice that creates the change). When the power goes out and the family leaves without Kevin, he's completely unaware that they are gone. For me, his status quo changes when HE realizes his family is gone. Of course, he looks for them for a few minutes so you could place it earlier, but when he says that line, that's when he truly understands he is alone. This is also why I place the act climax later. Your argument to make him waking up alone as the start of Act 2 could work, though it makes for a short Act 1 at under 20 minutes (which you would need to go with 4 acts). This also motivates splitting Kevin's goal between "reveling in being alone" and "being an adult." Since I place the inciting incident much later, his Act 1 goal is pretty small and doesn't last long (12 minutes, which is common in first acts). Then when the police officer arrives, he hides (if he hadn't, the movie would be over). This also happens at night, and so when the following scene with Kevin takes place the next morning, it's a natural place to start a new act. But given that you went with four acts, each act is going to be shorter than what I have.
Act 2:
We actually agree on Act 2. I have "reveling on his own" as the Act 1 goal which was in my Act 1 (but your Act 2), and splits his goofing off into Act 1 and his living more responsibly into Act 2. But my Act 2 goal is to "Live like an adult" which I think matches your "Figure out how to live on his own." I think we're also pretty close on the end of Act 2 and start of Act 3. You have Act 3 start around 61 minutes when the robbers realize he is home alone. I climax Act 2 just a minute later when Kevin overhears their plan. I see this as the end of Act 2 for a few reasons. First, it gives Act 2 a climax, which otherwise it doesn't seem to have. Two, the robbers create a plan for later that night, which sets up their Act 3 goal to rob the house. Three, Kevin realizes he's in danger and must defend the house (the Act 3 goal for him). And Four, we have another time shift that helps move us into the next section of the movie.
Act 3:
We obviously agree that the Act 3 goal is to defend the house. For me this is the final act and lasts roughly 36 minutes, which fits my Three Act structure. My main issue with starting an Act 4 when Kevin abandons the house is that it leaves the final act at roughly 10 minutes long, which sort of defeats Thompson and Bordwell's idea of roughly equally timed sections--10 minutes is just too short to be an act (and for me would be a sequence). Given the movie is only 100 minutes long, I think it's tough to divide into 4 Acts (though I have seen movies with four roughly 25 minute acts).
So overall, I think we agree on a lot in terms of goals etc. I think the main issue is whether to divide the movie into Four Acts, which is something I don't think we have to do, and leaves you with very short first and last acts. So let me know what you think and if this helps you out all!
Awesome! Thanks so much for responding so quickly! It's super fun to have these kinds of conversations.
You are right about my 4 act structure opinion that it does leave my interpretation of Act 1 and Act 4 a bit short. It's just that there are such dramatic turning points where I think Act 1 ends, and where Act 4 begins that it's hard for me to see it any other way. That said, you absolutely could be right. Your analysis makes sense as well, and it clearly goes more with the B/T thought process in terms of act length. Also, I agree with you about Act 2 ending when Kevin overhears their plan. I was literally writing from memory, and couldn't quite remember how that played out.
Also, your argument about the inciting incident does make sense, but I think his status quo changes BECAUSE of the events of the power going out. He wouldn't be home alone without that event. It works in a similar way to Peter Parker getting bit by the spider, or the character in Alien who ends up getting implanted with the alien embryo. These events change their status quo, and disrupt their normal way of life.
This is all food for thought, though. I'm going to do a re-watch with your points in mind!
I miss having these kinds of conversations in-person as we did in grad school. I think I'd be much better at them now!
Ah yes, his mom rescuing him from the Wet Bandits would have made the story even better. Appreciated learning about all this, as this is one of my favorite movies that I still quote all the time. Thanks!!!
Thanks Stefanie!
Hey Bruce!
I've been meaning to check out your website for a while now! I'm glad I did. I immediately was drawn to your Home Alone structure breakdown because I use this movie as my main example when talking to my students about the narrative structure of Classical Hollywood Style films. I don't think I've ever had a student who hasn't seen it, so it works perfectly for that.
After giving it a read through I realized that my own breakdown differs quite a bit, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Firstly, I'm going to looking at Home Alone from the Bordwell/Thompson 4 act structure. With each Act encompassing about a 1/4 of the film or so. Also, I'm not going to look deeply at the internal goal for Kevin, but I think it runs more along the lines of a "Kevin is going to learn a lesson in this movie setup" rather than a true internal goal. In the beginning he wants to be on this own, and feels like he'd be better off that way. However, by the end he realized he needs other people around to really live life. This seems pretty clear based on his conversation with Old Man Marley in the church scene at the beginning of Act 4. I'll come back to this in my act 4 analysis. Also, I 100 percent with you in the sense of the plot being a dual protagonist/storyline structure, but I'm just going to be looking at it from Kevin's point of view.
Act 1:
For the first act we have the equilibrium setup, and then we get to the inciting incident. You have it listed as "Kevin thinks he made his family disappear." I think it's much more simple. It revolves around the sequence of events that happen when the power goes out. This leads to Kevin sleeping in, and being left alone. This gives him his movie level goal of surviving on his own.
Act 2:
Act 2 begins when Kevin wakes up and realizes he is home alone. His Act 2 goal is to figure out how to live on his on. This goal directly relates to the movie level goal of surviving on his own. You have it listed as "Revel in being home alone." Which seems more like an action. Throughout Act 2 we see Kevin make mistakes as he's figuring out how to live on his own. There is definitely some reveling in there (it's great entertainment), but by the end of the act we see him as a fairly functional person on his own. He's gone shopping, and seems to be pretty responsible for an 8 year old! He's even fended off the robbers to some extent by making them think that he's not home alone.
Act 3:
Act 3 begins right after the robbers figure out that Kevin is actually home alone. Kevin realizes they have discovered this, and it leads him to his Act 3 goal of defending the house/defeating the robbers (I totally agree with you on this). This relates to the movie level goal of surviving on his own. Act 3 ends when Kevin doesn't succeed with the Act 3 goal, and has to abandon the house.
Act 4:
Act 4 sees Kevin fleeing the house, and escaping to the neighbors where he is caught. This is the climax of the film, and is the point where the audience asks the question as to whether or not Kevin will achieve his movie level goal to survive. He is a kid against two adults after all, lol!! This is when Old Man Marley saves him, and the movie level question is answered. Kevin does survive, and it also relates to Kevin's internal goal/movie lesson. He realizes that he does need other people. We then see him reunited with his family, but with a better outlook on life. Well... until the sequel that is. Smart writing for a "kids film!"
What do you think? I wrote this very quickly, so be nice! :)
I’m so glad you commented! It’s fun to engage in stuff like this, and I like the opportunity to sharpen my arguments, hear other views, and really think about how all this really works! Looking forward to some more convos!
Hey Jonathan! Glad you decided to check it out, and thanks for the thoughtful and in depth response to Home Alone--it's a great movie to use as an example of classical Hollywood cinema. Of course, in the end structure is based on character goals, and goals can be subjective, so there is always room for different interpretations. But here are my thoughts on your breakdown:
I guess the biggest difference is that I keep the movie at Three Acts and don't see a reason to divide it into Four Acts. One thing to remember with Thompson and Bordwell's Four Act approach is that they don't say that every movie has 4 acts, only that they generally have balanced, equally timed (roughly) acts. This allows for three, four, or five acts (or more). It also allows for sequences of 10-15 minutes being the main structural until of a movie (which is very common for contemporary action movies).
Act 1:
I can definitely see your point, and perhaps we might see the Inciting Incident as a Setup/Payoff, with the Setup being the power going out and the Payoff being Kevin thinking he made his family disappear. But the main reason I chose him thinking he made his family disappear is that most of the time the inciting incident happens to the protagonist (or they make a choice that creates the change). When the power goes out and the family leaves without Kevin, he's completely unaware that they are gone. For me, his status quo changes when HE realizes his family is gone. Of course, he looks for them for a few minutes so you could place it earlier, but when he says that line, that's when he truly understands he is alone. This is also why I place the act climax later. Your argument to make him waking up alone as the start of Act 2 could work, though it makes for a short Act 1 at under 20 minutes (which you would need to go with 4 acts). This also motivates splitting Kevin's goal between "reveling in being alone" and "being an adult." Since I place the inciting incident much later, his Act 1 goal is pretty small and doesn't last long (12 minutes, which is common in first acts). Then when the police officer arrives, he hides (if he hadn't, the movie would be over). This also happens at night, and so when the following scene with Kevin takes place the next morning, it's a natural place to start a new act. But given that you went with four acts, each act is going to be shorter than what I have.
Act 2:
We actually agree on Act 2. I have "reveling on his own" as the Act 1 goal which was in my Act 1 (but your Act 2), and splits his goofing off into Act 1 and his living more responsibly into Act 2. But my Act 2 goal is to "Live like an adult" which I think matches your "Figure out how to live on his own." I think we're also pretty close on the end of Act 2 and start of Act 3. You have Act 3 start around 61 minutes when the robbers realize he is home alone. I climax Act 2 just a minute later when Kevin overhears their plan. I see this as the end of Act 2 for a few reasons. First, it gives Act 2 a climax, which otherwise it doesn't seem to have. Two, the robbers create a plan for later that night, which sets up their Act 3 goal to rob the house. Three, Kevin realizes he's in danger and must defend the house (the Act 3 goal for him). And Four, we have another time shift that helps move us into the next section of the movie.
Act 3:
We obviously agree that the Act 3 goal is to defend the house. For me this is the final act and lasts roughly 36 minutes, which fits my Three Act structure. My main issue with starting an Act 4 when Kevin abandons the house is that it leaves the final act at roughly 10 minutes long, which sort of defeats Thompson and Bordwell's idea of roughly equally timed sections--10 minutes is just too short to be an act (and for me would be a sequence). Given the movie is only 100 minutes long, I think it's tough to divide into 4 Acts (though I have seen movies with four roughly 25 minute acts).
So overall, I think we agree on a lot in terms of goals etc. I think the main issue is whether to divide the movie into Four Acts, which is something I don't think we have to do, and leaves you with very short first and last acts. So let me know what you think and if this helps you out all!
Awesome! Thanks so much for responding so quickly! It's super fun to have these kinds of conversations.
You are right about my 4 act structure opinion that it does leave my interpretation of Act 1 and Act 4 a bit short. It's just that there are such dramatic turning points where I think Act 1 ends, and where Act 4 begins that it's hard for me to see it any other way. That said, you absolutely could be right. Your analysis makes sense as well, and it clearly goes more with the B/T thought process in terms of act length. Also, I agree with you about Act 2 ending when Kevin overhears their plan. I was literally writing from memory, and couldn't quite remember how that played out.
Also, your argument about the inciting incident does make sense, but I think his status quo changes BECAUSE of the events of the power going out. He wouldn't be home alone without that event. It works in a similar way to Peter Parker getting bit by the spider, or the character in Alien who ends up getting implanted with the alien embryo. These events change their status quo, and disrupt their normal way of life.
This is all food for thought, though. I'm going to do a re-watch with your points in mind!
I miss having these kinds of conversations in-person as we did in grad school. I think I'd be much better at them now!