The classical narrative structure is the key to the success of classic Hollywood films and the feature that makes them easily understandable to the audience. Such structure suggests the presence of three essential parts: in the first one the problem is introduced, in the second one the characters work on the problem, and in the third one the problem is solved. Therefore, the classical narrative includes setup, development, and resolution1. In other words, every classic movie consists of three acts: exposition, climax, and resolution2. Such mode of storytelling is based on continuity, as the events depicted in the film are linked by cause and effect. Therefore, the link between the events is logical, causally-motivated, and anticipated. Such cause-effect model serves as the tool for achieving the logical consequence of events.
Though the classical narrative structure is followed in the majority of films, certain movies present examples of experimental narratives3. The analysis of such experiments can be made with the example of “All about My Mother” and “The Matrix”. Such analysis will help to identify whether the classical rules can and should be violated for creating unique narrative structure, and in which way such actions help the directors to achieve their goals in creating a certain overall impression from the film.
“All about My Mother”
“All about My Mother” (1999) is a movie directed by Pedro Almodovar4. He is considered Spain’s most important and influential filmmaker5. The movie depicts a story about Manuela (Cecilia Roth) and presents an example of European cinematography that tends to avoid adhering to the straightforward narrative structure that is typical for Hollywood films. Analysis of the process of storytelling used in the movie is essential to understanding the uniqueness of Almodovar’s narrative and the specifics of its experimental nature.
As the classic narrative structure includes three basic elements, it is necessary to start analysing the film with determining these elements in its narrative. The movie starts with introducing the viewers to Manuela, the nurse working in donor organ transplants department at the hospital in Madrid, and her son Esteban. As the first part of the movie should introduce the main characters, it seems that the story is about Manuela and Esteban. When starting to watch the movie, the viewer expects it to be a story about the mother and her son who seem to be an ordinary one-parent family living in Madrid. However, the sudden death of Esteban and the details about Manuela’s life given in later parts of the movie demonstrate that the first part of the movie does not serve as the introduction to the main characters. On the contrary, the personality of the main heroine can be revealed only after watching the whole movie, and other main characters are introduced throughout the movie, not in the beginning. After watching the first half of the film, the viewer understands that the impression received from the setup cannot serve as the basis for understanding the characters, as further events change this impression completely. Besides, it is rather difficult for the viewer to differentiate precisely where the development ends and the resolution begins. This feature can be considered one of the specifics of Almodovar’s experimental narrative. It violates the rules of classic narrative structure, as the events in the movie are difficult to be grouped in three parts of a classical narrative.
Another distinctive feature of Almodovar’s experimental narrative is that the viewer is kept confused almost till the very end of the movie. While classic narrative structure supposes the events to be anticipated and causally-motivated, the events in “All about My Mother” are unexpected, and the viewer is surprised with every new turn of events. The problem that needs to be solved cannot be determined after watching the setup of the movie. It seems that the main problem is related to overcoming the grief of the son’s death, but the next scenes of the film reveal that the problematic investigated in the movie include a much wider variety of issues, including relationship between men and women and recasting of their roles6. The introduction of such theme as gender construction is not expected by the viewer, as the setup suggests different thematic7. However, the director is not afraid of breaking the rules and making the viewer confused by exploring the complex issues related to gender and social role-playing8.
One more unique feature of Almodovar’s narrative in “All about My Mother” is related to the method of revealing past events through allusion. Besides using the classical method of informing the viewer about the past through the recollections of the heroes, Almodovar uses allusions to a theatrical play and a movie to reveal the nature of past events. The movie watched by Manuela and her son in the beginning reveal her theatre past while the play attended by the heroine and her son serves as an allusion to her tragic family life.
While classic narrative supposes the film to depict the heroes whose connection with each other is causally-motivated and easily-understandable, Almodovar ties the heroine that seem to be from different worlds at the first sight: a nurse Manuela, a transsexual prostitute Agrado, a bisexual actress Huma, and a young nun who works at a shelter for battered prostitutes Rosa. Almodovar manages to demonstrate the unity of such a diverse group of heroines and explores the main themes of the film through these characters. The female body, the mother, the whore, the transsexual, and the “quintessential expression of creativity”, an actress, unify the film9.
The experimental nature of narrative in “All about My Mother” serves as a tool to appealing to the viewer’s emotions and sensitivity, not to his/her logic. Though such narrative makes the sequence of the events difficult to follow, it creates a unique atmosphere and leaves the viewer spellbound. This movie presents a “confident piece of polished film-making” and serves as an example of successful employment of unusual narrative10. The experimental narrative of the movie reflects “Almodóvaresque fashion” 11 and contributes to the ability of the film to reach the viewers’ hearts and minds.
“The Matrix”
“The Matrix” (1999) is a movie directed by The Wachowskis12. They are considered to be outstanding filmmakers trying to rethink “the DNA of the 21st-century American blockbuster” 13. The movie depicts a story about Neo (Keanu Reeves) and presents an example of neo-noir science fiction cinematography14. The movie does not adhere to classic narrative structure and tends to utilize grand-scale narrative, which makes the film unique. Analysis of the process of storytelling used in the movie is essential to understanding the role the experimental narrative used by The Wachowskis in creating the movie that has become a ground-breaking hit all over the world and brought modern cinematography to the new level.
The first distinctive feature of the experimental narrative used by The Wachowskis is related to the specifics of the three-act structure. While the beginning of the film is supposed to introduce the viewer to the main characters, the place, and the time of the action, “The Matrix” starts with the events that leave the viewer “hopelessly confused” 15. The setup of the movie sets numerous questions, as it does not clarify what is the time of actions and where they take place. The introduction of the main heroes also appears to be rather unique, as after finishing watching the first part of the movie, the viewer is still not able to determine the definite characteristics of the heroes and the nature of their relations. The chase of Trinity leaves the viewer without any explanation of who that woman is, who the men in black are, what the purpose of the fight is, and where the woman escapes. Afterwards, the viewers get familiar with the main hero, Thomas Anderson16. His behaviour seems to be rather ordinary and does not provoke any questions, and the viewer considers Thomas Anderson a normal man, who works in the office until the end of the setup17. The development of events creates an image of the hero that contradicts the impressions received while watching the introduction. The main hero turns to be a rare kind of person in the world depicted in the movie and is given the new name – Neo. Another hero, Morpheus is also introduced in a unique experimental way. First we see a glimpse of him on the computer screen and hear his voice on the cell phone, and, only after such vague introduction, the viewers finally meet the hero. Such unusual introduction of the hero contradicts the rules of classic narrative structure that require clarity and logical flow of events. However, the experimental nature of this introduction contributes to creating the enigmatic atmosphere of the movie.
The place where the events take actions also becomes clearly described in the second part of the movie and contradicts the set of ordinary life in a big city used in the introduction. Therefore, while the setup introduces the viewer to the world that is relatively familiar, the development of events introduces the viewer to the totally new and unfamiliar reality. Such a shocking change from ordinary world to earth-shattering reality contradicts the rules of classic narrative that require the anticipated flow of actions based on the reality introduced in the setup. However, such violation of traditional rules appears to be necessary for such movie as “The Matrix” as its main aim is not to reflect the life as we are used to seeing it, but to encourage the viewer to think out of the framework and search for the answers to unusual ground-breaking existential questions.
Besides the unexpected introduction of main heroes, place, and time of the events, the movie is also significant in the unique transition between the setup and the development of events. While the classic narrative structure requires the development of actions to be logic and anticipated, The Wachowskis made the transition from the first part of the movie to the second one unexpected and even shocking. This transition is signified with the moment when Neo wakes in artificial womb bald, naked, and plugged into various cables18. This image of the main hero contradicts all the impressions received by the viewers while watching the setup of the film. The mind-blowing scene serves as an act transition and opens the doors for the new act both for the main hero and for the viewers. That is the moment where Thomas Anderson dies, and Neo is born. Such shocking transition is not typical for classic narrative structure but is rather common in modern American blockbusters, and serves as a powerful tool for creating structural tension and story momentum.
The use of experimental narrative structure in “The Matrix” serves as a tool for awakening the viewers’ consciousness and encouraging them to view the life they are used to from a different angle. The unusual narrative structure contributes to successful exploring of existential issues and helps the directors to convey the important message they want to share with the viewers. The movie astounds the viewer with the philosophical ideas it explores19. By using a unique narrative structure, The Wachowskis have managed to create a unique film depicting humanity living in “computer-generated illusion” 20.
The analysis of the distinctive features of experimental narrative structure used in “All about My Mother” and “The Matrix” demonstrates how unique narrative can contribute to successful appealing to viewers’ emotions and raising the consciousness about the issues explored in the movies.
Bibliography
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Footnotes
1 “Classical Narrative Structure,” The Cinematique, Web.
2 Jeremy Butler, “Classical Narrative Structure: Exposition, Climax, Resolution,” Critical Commons, Web.
3 Tantra Besko, “Writing Experimental Fiction: Leaving the Problem Out of the Plot,” Writing World, Web.
4 All about My Mother, directed by Pedro Almodovar (1999; Los Angeles, CA: Sony Pictures Classics, 2010), DVD.
5 Samuel Adamson, All about My Mother (London: Faber & Faber, 2007), 1.
6 Ken Dancyger, Global Scriptwriting (Woburn, MA: Focal Press, 2013), 213.
7 Alberto Mira, The Cinema of Portugal and Spain (London: Wallflower Press, 2005), 236.
8 Lawrence Russel, “All about My Mother,” Culture Court, Web.
9 Marvin D’Lugo, Pedro Almodovar (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006), 104.
10 Mark Alisson, A Spanish Labyrinth: The Films of Pedro Almodovar (New York: I. B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2006), 167.
11 Fiona Jenkins, “Grief’s Testimony: On Almodovar’s All about My Mother,” Scan, Web.
12 The Matrix, directed by The Wachowskis Brothers (1999; Burbank, CA: Warner Brothers, 2010), DVD.
13 Landon Palmer, “The Hidden Brilliance of The Wachowskis,” FilmSchoolRejects, Web.
14 “Three-Act Structure in The Matrix”, Elements of Cinema, Web.
15 Roz Kaveney, From Alien to The Matrix: Reading Science Fiction Film (London: I. B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2005), 76.
16 Monique Bre, “The Matrix as a Neo Noir – An Analysis of The Matrix with Special Focus on Style and Motifs of Film Noir,” Grin, Web.
17 David Ibave, “Neo’s Journey: The Matrix & 3-Act Structure,” RTF, Web.
18 “Act II – Neo Awakes,” Unclean Arts. Web.
19 Christopher Grau, Philosophers Explore The Matrix (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 3.
20 James Hoberman, Film After Film: Or, What Became of 21st Century Cinema (London: Verso, 2012), 13.