Children of Men and 4 to 10

There are 5 key moments in every good movie and screenplay. What exactly happens before and after those 5 moments? Is there another hidden structure pattern within good movies that can help you write better screenplays? Think about the number of emotionally intense moments in every good movie. Now take a look at what happens during 5 moments in the critically acclaimed Children of Men:

25: After having an emotional argument with his estranged wife on a bus, the protagonist follows his wife off the bus and up a flight of stairs. At 25, the protagonist asks "What happens to us?" His wife answers "I don't know," and kisses him. They walk through a dark tunnel to get in a car with the antagonist, a pregnant woman, and a midwife. Their journey on the road begins. The birth of something new.

45: The protagonist learns he’ll be killed if he doesn’t leave immediately. He makes a daring escape from a house and takes the pregnant woman and the midwife with him. At 45 they're in the car trying to get the engine started. Now that I'm aware.

-45: (1:40 - 45 = 0:55 into the film) Theo listens in another room as Roger, played by Michael Caine, tells the story of how Theo's child died during the flu pandemic. "Theo's faith lost out to chance." The movie is about a world without babies. At -45 we learn how our main character's baby died. Discovery.

60: The protagonist is in the car driving away after watching the antagonist kill his best friend. He must get the pregnant woman and the midwife to a safe place where the child can receive expert care. There's no going back now.

-25: (1:40 – 25 = 1:15 into the film) -25 is when Theo and the pregnant woman are alone in the room and the baby is born. Theo handles the delivery and eventually leads the mother and baby to safety. The final turning point.

Now let's focus on what happens before and after those 5 moments and the number of emotionally intense moments in Children of Men. How many emotionally intense moments usually happen in a good movie? Is there a general rule about how many intense moments should happen? The next time you watch a good movie, count the number of emotionally intense moments before and after the 5 moments.

In Iron Man, before 25 there are about 4 emotionally intense moments. After 25, there are about 4 intense moments. After 45 there are about 4 intense moments. After 60 there are about 4 intense moments. After -45 there are about 4 intense moments. After -25, there are about 10 intense moments.

In Children of Men, regarding the number of emotionally intense moments the same thing happens: before and after 25 45 60 -45 the main characters experience about 4 emotionally intense moments. After -25, there are about 10 intense moments.

Let's break Children of Men down in terms of emotionally intense moments:

Beginning of movie to 25 minutes: he witnesses a bomb explosion - his world is in chaos, he's kidnapped, his friend at the table shouts intensely, he shouts at his wife on a bus.

25 to 45: mob chases their car, wife killed, cops killed, mourns wife, discovers woman is pregnant, hears that someone is going to kill him.

45 to 60: he escapes in car with pregnant woman and midwife, listens to story about his dead child, argues with his friend but fails to persuade his friend to go with him, watches friend shot. This includes -45 because (140 - 45 = 55).

60 to 1:15 (140 - 25 = 1:15): Sid threatens him with weapon, midwife separation, he convinces guard with dog to go away, environment tense: pushes away people and people are being burned, birth pains.

1:15 to 1:40: Sid's gun is on him, fights Sid, foot in glass - intense request for a boat: he draws boat on wall, they enter a war zone and watch people get shot, antagonists arrive and he's about to be shot: he's separated from woman and baby, under fire as he escapes, antagonist runs at him and fires, shot at as he enters building, threatened with gun and soon shot in stomach by antagonist, under fire after leaving building, bleeds and dies in boat.

Wondering how to fill the gaps in your screenplay? Focus on creating 4 to 5 emotionally tense moments before and after the first 4 key moments of the story, and then during the last 25 minutes of your screenplay create at least 10 emotionally intense moments.