How to Write a Screenplay

THE ENDING OF THE END: DENOUEMENT

So what happens after the climax?  Not much. 

Here is why.  Consider the rewrite of this classic joke.

Why’d the chicken cross the road?

To get to the other side of the road.

Do you see how the last three words are redundant and actually ruin the experience of the joke?  Climaxes of movies are like punch lines.  They are a complete reversal and epiphany where we suddenly realize the point of everything that came before.  And just like in a joke, once you hit the punch line, the joke is over.  You want to be done with your story as fast as possible.

The fancy word for the resolution of the story is denouement.   The word literally means to untie.  Here, you untie the tension of the knot in the story.  Quickly wrap up looses ends.  If at all possible, wrap up subplots before the climax of the movie.  By definition, a subplot’s climax will be less climactic than the main story’s climax.  Don’t be anti-climactic.

To complete the emotional experience, demonstrate how the character’s change in the climax resonates throughout the world of the story.   In Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell refers to a “magic elixir,” which is brought back home by the hero.  An elixir is a substance that has the power to heal or cure.  In a fairy tale, it might literally be the magic water that, when poured into a dead sea, brings it back to life.  In a drama, the elixir might be the new idea, say love or faith, which the protagonist introduces into his old world to create a demonstrable transformation.

If love, in all of its forms—self-love, romantic love, love of country (duty)—is the elixir in Casabanca, Rick’s quippy line to Captain Renault “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” is evidence of how it will continue to transform Rick’s world, even after Ilsa is gone.  At the end of your story, briefly let the audience see how the new found elixir element has affected the world.

HOME | BACK | MORE HOW TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY