Disturbia as a Three-Act Structure

The three-act structure is the most common formation used in filmmaking. The type of structure places the climax at the end of film. The example I have chosen is the movie Disturbia starring Shia Labeouf. This movie starts out in a very peaceful way with a nice father son fishing trip. Although, when the father and son are returning home they get into a severe car accident. This accident kills the father and the son now goes on an angry spree and is put on to house arrest. This ending scene with the car accident concludes the first act and provides the audience with a mini climax and the first plot point.

            The second scene of this movie involves the main character Kale, played by Shia Labeouf, meeting the girl next door and falling for her. The two become very close and together discover that a serial killer lives behind Kale’s house. The second scene is dedicated to providing the audience with the background knowledge they need for the upcoming third scene climax. During the second scene little thrills occur that get the audience's heart racing. Including the scene where the neighbor threatens Kale’s love interest in a parking garage after she had been spying on him in a hardware store. At the closing of the second scene the killer is on to Kale and his fellow partners and they are becoming worried.

            The third scene concludes the movie and provides what the audience has been waiting for all along. This part of the movie is the most important because it contains the all-important climax. This type of movie leaves the audience guessing until the end, which is the goal of a three-act structure. During this scene the killer is is now gunning for Kale’s mom and he is not happy. After Kale believes that he must go search the killer’s house he disobeys his house arrest rules and his mother goes over to apologize to the killer, Robert Turner. Although, she does not return resulting in a battle between Kale and Robert Turner. This is the climax of the story and involves peaking around corners, scary music, intense noises, and no sudden movements. In the end the killer is demolished and Kale saves the day. This ending is what is known in a three-act structure as a happy ending. All problems have been resolved and the characters may go back to living normal lives.