Most screenplays take a turn for the worst at around page 60…and no, I’m not referring to the quality of writing! Rather, this is the time when things go really sour for the principal characters. Often referred to as the midpoint of a story, this moment can either be really obvious or really subtle, depending on the author’s preference and the structure of the story. Dramatica has little to say about the former, but much to say about the latter.
In the film, Laura, the very obvious midpoint of the film occurs with Laura’s “return from the dead.” I say very obvious because you can really feel the change in direction the story takes. When you see her arrive, it’s almost as if someone has grabbed you by the shoulders and quickly rotated you 270 degrees in the other direction. The switch is so abrupt that it takes a minute or two to get your bearings straight again.
The revelation that she is still alive is shocking (and can account for some of this feeling), but the main reason it is so powerful is because the act turns are switching to a different type.
Here you can see the paths of the plot for Laura:
Note that 3 out of 4 throughlines take the “hairpin” route - so called because their path across the quads resembles a hairpin. In the latest version of the Dramatica theory of story, this path is referred to as the “Slide-Bump-Slide” path. This is because moving within a Dynamic Pair (quad items diagonally across from each other) is much easier than moving to another Co-Dynamic Pair. Switching pairs will feel abrupt while moving diagonally across will feel smooth and seamless.
This article on Dramatica Act Structures describes it in more detail:
When we look at the straight and diagonal transitions in terms of the dynamic pairs in a quad, we begin to get a “feel” for how smooth or jarring the transition might be.
As was mentioned earlier, the components of a dynamic pair are designed as two ends of a spectrum. The nature of the spectrum is quad content specific. The components of the co-dynamic pair represent a related but different spectrum. Because of this difference, transitioning from a component in one dynamic pair to a component of the co-dynamic pair is more noticeable than transitioning between two components within a dynamic pair.
Straight transitions, which move from a component of one dynamic pair to a component of the co-dynamic pair, are relatively noticeable. We describe this transition as a ”bump.”
Diagonal transitions, which move from one component of a dynamic pair to the other, are relatively smooth. We describe this transition as a ”slide.”
The Main Character throughline, that of Detective Mark McPherson, jumps from one dynamic pair to the next in each act. This results in a “Bump-Bump-Bump-Bump” throughline. This kind of throughline will feel more episodic than the “Hairpin” because with each act break comes an abrupt transition into a new topic.
To the right you can see the four throughlines laid out in timeline fashion. Again, the single loner appears to be the Main Character throughline. This would explain partly why McPherson comes off as cold and why his character doesn’t seem to flow with the others. While the majority of the story relies on one major act turn towards the center of the film, McPherson’s throughline comes off as choppy and independent - almost with a mind of its own.
In this context, Laura is similar in feel to the film, To Kill A Mockingbird. Only, instead of the Main Character throughline feeling episodic, the Overall Story of Mockingbird has the Bump-Bump-Bump-Bump throughline. A visual representation of this can be found
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