My list of sequences. Once again, my m.o. has been to think “reel” – to break down the script into 10-15 minute reels, the way movies were edited in the early days of cinema to accommodate the technical limits of projectors. Each reel (except the last, of course) ends on a cliffhanger beat. The question I tried to answer in placing that beat is not: what is the logical flow of the story? Rather it is: what is the desired emotional flow in the audience’s mind? Where could the sequence be cut, leaving the audience in the dark (literally in those days!), wondering, worrying, curious -- desperate to know what happens next? I readily concede my choices are arbitrary. In fact, as I write this, the two hemispheres of my brain are bickering over the division of sequences. Which I take to be a sign of incipient schizophrenia -- and a well told story! “Gravity" has too many good choices! REEL #1 -- Setup and Warning    Cliffhanger beat (p9-10):    Cliffhanger question: Ryan:” Should we – should we be worried?” REEL #2 –Oh [Expletive Deleted]!    Cliffhanger beat (p17-18): Shariff is killed by debris.    Cliffhanger question: Are they all going to die? REEL #3 -- Recovery and Initial Survival Strategy    Cliffhanger beat (p29): Matt and Ryan abandon the shuttle, head for the ISS. Matt: “we could use a rescue mission.”    Cliffhanger question: Will they be able to rescue themselves before they run out of fuel and oxygen (ticking clock)? REEL #4 --Reversal, New Strategy and Heroic Sacrifice    Cliffhanger beat (p40): Matt resolves the dilemma, untethers himself. Ryan is all alone.    Cliffhanger question: Can she make it to the Chinese station on her own? REEL #5 –Initial Success, Reversal, Surprise!    Cliffhanger beat (p53): Matt re-appears.    Cliffhanger question: WTF !?!?!? REEL #6 – New Resolve and Last Hope    Cliffhanger beat (p64): Ryan undocks from the Chinese station.    Cliffhanger question: Can she get back to earth in one piece? REEL #7 –“One Hell of a Ride”     She survives the descent to earth, emerges from the “womb" of the Shenzhou and the water of the lake, saved and reborn.

Great take, Paul. Largely in sync with the plot points Kalen zeroed in on yesterday:

The debris unsettling the astronauts from their mission, Ryan spiraling out into space, Matt’s death, Ryan’s attempted suicide, Ryan’s arrival at the Chinese station and Ryan’s landing on Earth.

Your cliffhanger approach really drives home the psychological journey which is ALL about Stone's emotional arc. Another note: Seven sequences. Compare that to Argo which came out to 15 or 16, depending upon the take. It makes sense in that Gravity has sequences which are in effect elongated scenes, a story happening in - basically - real time. Thanks for your take, Paul!

Sequence One Beginning Page 1-3: High above the earth, the International Space Station (ISS) orbits silently. As the Explorer Space Shuttle comes into view, radio traffic from mission control faintly crackles as they request a status update from DOCTOR RYAN STONE. She is attempting to boot up a new Communications card, however she has trouble and mission control is unable to receive any of her data. Page 4-7: It is revealed that the astronauts are fixing a telescope that is tethered to the SPACE SHUTTLE EXPLORER. Mission Commander MATT KOWALSKI floats nearby. He jokes with mission control, expressing concern about the mission and telling a story that they’ve clearly heard a hundred times before. Revealing that not only is Matt a joker but a veteran astronaut, a good man to have around. He is testing a new prototype of a jet pack and through dialogue with Houston it is revealed that this is Matt’s last mission. He is due to retire. Engineer, SHARIFF tends to battery modules, his work is successful and he starts singing and dancing inside his space suit. Page 7-11: Connected to a robotic arm and working intently is Ryan. Houston is concerned about her physiological condition but she explains that she’s just having trouble adjusting to zero gravity. This is her first time in space. She is a medical engineer by day. Space isn’t her usual domain. She continues to attempt to reboot the communications card but mission control still doesn’t get any kind of response. Page 11-12: Matt assists Ryan with her work as she gets more frustrated and struggles with the zero gravity conditions. She accidentally drops a crucial bolt but it is saved by a vigilant Matt. Middle Page 12-14: Mission control reports to the astronauts that a satellite orbiting the earth has been hit by a missile and has created a debris field that is moving at 20,000 miles per hour. However they don’t believe that it will interfere with the ongoing Hubble telescope repair mission. End Ryan is concerned, but the veteran Matt easily calms her. Matt and Ryan enjoy the view and Shariff continues to enjoy himself, jumping and floating around. His safety tether keeping him safely attached to the telescope. Sequence Two Beginning Page 14-16: Ryan closely inspects the panel she is working on. Finding that it is dead. Matt assists her, whilst again expressing his bad feeling about the mission and starting to tell a story about Mardi Gras that surprisingly mission control hasn’t heard before. Middle Page 16-17: Mission Control urgently interrupts Matt, ordering an immediate “Abort” to the mission, an immediate return to the Shuttle and for the ISS to initiate an emergency evacuation. Debris from the missile strike has caused a deadly chain reaction that is driving debris towards the Explorer. End Page 17: Matt orders Ryan to stop her work, she worries that if she doesn’t finish it entirely they’ll lose the whole system. Matt demands that she stop but Ryan keeps going, managing to complete the task. The Robotic starts to slowly withdraw, taking Ryan with it. Sequence Three Beggining Page 18-19: Matt and Shariff begin to release the locks that attach the telescope to the Explorer. Mission control warns that due to the chain reaction many other satellites are being destroyed and to expect a communications black out at any moment. Matt makes visual contact with the debris cloud that is racing towards them. Page 19-21: Parts of satellites start hurtling past. Too close for comfort. Ryan desperately requests that the robotic arm move faster. Then, they lose their communications. Matt races to assist Ryan to get herself free from the arm before the worst happens. Middle A piece of debris hits the shuttle, shattering, a piece of shrapnel hits Shariff in the visor, he floats away from the shuttle, unconscious. Matt propels himself after him. Page 22-26: Another piece of debris hits the shuttle, rolling it and Ryan who is still attached to the arm. Matt urgently reports the impact into the broken comms, hoping someone will hear. Another piece of debris hits, detaching the arm from the shuttle, sending Ryan spinning away into outer space. More and more impacts send dangerous particles rushing past her. Matt repeatedly tells Ryan to detach, but she can’t. The arm recedes further and further into the distance. End Finally Ryan manages to detach herself, she tumbles in free fall. Losing sight of Matt and the Explorer. Matt calls for her to report her position, but her spin means that she can’t get a fix on anything. She hyperventilates, panicked, struggling to breath. Sequence Four Beginning Page 26-30: Ryan controls her spin, calming herself, trying to gain a visual on something, someone, anything. She tries to achieve comms with Matt, Mission Control. Anyone. To no avail. Then she sees a light in the distance, flickering. No bigger than a star. She focuses hard, not blinking, afraid it will disappear. Middle Then her radio crackles to life as Matt’s voice calls out to her. End He makes it to her and grabs hold, tethering themselves together. Sequence Five Beginning Page 31-34: Matt uses his jet pack to propel himself and Ryan back towards the Explorer Shuttle. Matt realises that they’ve got about 90 minutes until the debris field hits again. Ryan’s oxygen supply is down to six percent. Matt wants to recover the body of Shariff back to the Explorer. Matt thrusts towards the lifeless form that is tethered to a floating panel that was ripped from the Shuttle. Ryan manages to grab hold of his body and finds herself face-to-face with Shariff’s shattered helmet and deathly face. A photograph of his SON floats next to him. Page 34-36: Ryan and Matt assess the damage to the Shuttle. It has suffered catastrophic damage. Looking in through the cockpit they see it has been destroyed, a body floats by. Matt reports in the blind to Houston that himself and Dr. Stone are the sole survivors of the disaster. Ryan feels guilty because she didn’t comply with Matt’s requests to stop work straight away. Maybe things could have turned out differently. Matt realises they need to get to the ISS, soon. He uses the jet pack to propel them towards the Station. Middle Page 37-41: Ryan’s oxygen is down to two percent as they make their way towards the ISS. Trying to take Ryan’s mind off the situation, Matt asks her about home. She’s from Lake Zurich, Illinois. Right about now she’d be driving home from the hospital, listening to the radio in the car. Matt senses a deep emotional response to his questions and tenderly pushing forward he discovers that Ryan had a daughter who died. Up here in space she feels remote and so far from home. Her oxygen drops further to one percent. Time is running out. Matt’s jet pack is running out of fuel, he holds for one single thrust that propels them on towards the Space Station. Page 41-45: As they close on the ISS they see that it too has fallen victim to the debris field. The station’s first escape pod is missing and its second’s parachute has deployed. Making it unusable for re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere. Matt uses his last few fumes to thrust them towards the station. They hit at speed, struggling to gain a hold, grasping, missing. Finally Ryan takes hold and arrests their spin. Matt hurtles into her, knocking her off again. In the tumble, their tether is cut and she starts to drift until her foot becomes snagged in the parachute’s rigging lines. End She tries to grab hold of the severed tether and Matt. But Matt’s weight is pulling her loose, which would jettison them both into the abyss. He tells her to let him go. She won’t. But Matt unhooks the tether and floats away. Leaving Ryan alone. Sequence Six Beginning Page 45-49: Ryan grabs hold of the ISS. Her Carbon Dioxide alarm goes off. Matt tells her over their radio she needs to board the Station and to look for the airlock. She is getting light-headed, losing consciousness. Matt spurs her on. He tells her to use the escape pod as a lifeboat to get to the Chinese space station which is visible in the distance. She has never flown the pod, only in a simulator, which she crashed. Every time. She wants to go after Matt in the pod. He tells her that “She’s going to have to learn to let go”. He makes her say that she’s going to make it. Matt realises that he’s going to break the world record for the longest space walk. He drifts further away and the radios go dead. Now she is truly alone. Middle Page 50-52: Ryan is shutting down, losing consciousness rapidly, she struggles to make it into the airlock. End She gets it open and with one last effort makes it inside. Time slows to a crawl as she pressurises the cabin. Time is running out, she is on her last breath. The oxygen graph slowly raises. She rips off her helmet and gasps for air. Recovering she fights her way out of her space suit. She floats in a foetal position. Sequence Seven Beginning Page 52-56: Ryan moves through the damaged station. She finds water and greedily drinks it. There is 14 minutes left until the debris field should hit again. She finds the comms panel and tries to raise Matt. But nothing. She tries to raise Houston. But again… nothing. She is the only survivor. Middle Page 56-58: An alarm sounds and lights blink. There is a fire. Ryan moves towards it. Finding a fire extinguisher. The jet sends her flying. The extinguisher is no match for the fire so she dashes for the escape pod. The fire chasing her. End She makes it. Safe. Sequence Eight Beginning Page 59-60: In the escape pod, Ryan struggles to remember how to boot up the systems. The buttons and instruction are all in Russian. She must remember her training. She methodically works through the sequence. She jettisons the pod from the ISS. Middle Page 61-65: A massive jolt. Ryan looks out of the porthole. The pod’s parachute is caught on the Station. It pulls her back towards the ISS. Moments later… Ryan emerges from the pod in a space suit. Her watch alarms, satellite debris must be imminent. She inspects the problem and takes out a tool, not realising that debris is zooming past the Station. She starts to remove the bolts that hold the parachute on to the pod. Nearly losing the tool she sees the debris storm as it starts to smash into the station. She removes further bolts, humming to herself, trying to remain calm. The pod released, more debris impacts causing a chain reaction. Page 66-68: Back inside the escape pod, Ryan attempts to get on course towards the Chinese space station which is 100 kilometres away. But when she attempts to engage the thrusters… nothing happens. There’s a problem. She pushes the button over and over. Nothing. The fuel tank is EMPTY. End Page 68-69: Ryan unleashes her rage, bouncing around the pod. She tries to raise Houston on the radio. Nothing. It’s over. The pod floats listlessly in the vast blackness of space. The earth below, beautiful and unreachable. Sequence Nine Beginning Page 69-75: The temperature has plummeted. Ryan shivers as she tries and tries to raise Houston. Then, something crackles over the radio-waves. Giving Ryan a new lease of life. The transmission is not in English, could it be the Chinese station? She calls “mayday” over and over. But the man doesn’t speak English, doesn’t understand. Her hope fades. She hears dogs barking in the background, tries to imagine where he is. She starts to bark and howl like a dog. Tears fall from her eyes and float around the cabin. The transmission fades into static, the man sings, breaking through, then a baby cries. She listens to the man as he sings a lullaby to his baby. Ryan reminisces about when she used to sing to her daughter. She turns a valve, the oxygen starts to drop. The transmission grows faint, then is gone. Ryan lets go. Middle Page 75-79: A tap, tap, tap brings Ryan out of her hypoxic slumber. She looks up to see MATT outside the porthole. The latch on the porthole starts to move, Ryan panics and straps herself into her chair. The hatch swings open, the vacuum of space sucking against her. Matt swings in and closes the hatch. It begins to pressurize. Matt turns on the lights and tells Ryan with delight how he’s beaten the solo space walk record. Ryan doesn’t understand how he’s alive. Ryan is drowsy, she tells Matt that the pod is out of fuel, he suggests that she use the soft landing jets to propel them towards the Chinese station. Matt asks Ryan if she “wants to go back or do you want to stay up here?”. Then. “What’s the point in going on, what’s the point of living?”. Ryan struggles to keep her eyes open as Ryan tells her again “You have to learn to let go”. End Then, her eyes snap open, Matt is GONE. Sequence Ten Beginning Page 79-82: She remembers what Matt said about the landing jets and with a renewed determination she turns on the cabin lights, pulls on her helmet and opens the oxygen valve, beginning to breath. She grabs the manual and searches for the landing section. The jets trigger at three meters above the ground, she needs to jettison the other modules. She tells Matt that he’s going to see a little girl with messy brown hair, her daughter, she tells him to tell her that she found her red shoe. “She was so upset about that shoe”. She separates the other modules. She has to make the landing module think its only 3 meters from the ground. She resets the altitude and then… the THRUSTERS ENGAGE pushing the pod at speed towards the Chinese station. Middle Page 83-87: Realising that the pod is going to miss the station. Ryan grabs the fire extinguisher and launches herself out of the pod, into space. Slamming her shoulder. Her alarm goes off, the debris field is inbound. She tumbles, seeing the Station below her. The escape pod enters the earths atmosphere, burning up. She uses the extinguisher to propel herself towards the station. Struggling to get the right line. Eventually the extinguisher is empty, she is a few meters from the station, she drifts, trying to grab hold. Failing.Debris starts to zoom above the station. End With a last ditch effort and in excruciating pain Ryan takes a hold and makes it in through a hatch and into the station as debris gets closer and closer. Sequence Eleven Beginning Page 88-90: The control panel is all in Chinese. She takes a wild guess. The cabin pressurises. An alarm is going off. The Station is rumbling, it is plummeting towards earth. She rushes to find her way to the escape pod. Middle The station starts to break up as it hits the edge of the atmosphere. Parts breaking off, burning up. End She makes it into the pod. Sequence Twelve Beginning Page 91-95: Ryan desperately tries to engage the pod. Everything shakes violently. The station is breaking up. She searches for the right buttons amongst the Chinese symbols. Middle Resorted to “eenie, meenie, miini, mo” pressing a button makes an alarm sound, cancelling it, trying another, more alarms. End Finally, the right one and the pod initialises, everything lighting up. She tries to contact Houston, telling them she has a bad feeling about this mission and it reminds her of a story. She thinks she’s found the right button and prepares to press it, accepting the risks. Sequence Thirteen Beginning The station is bouncing through the atmosphere. Middle A piece of debris collides with the station, tearing it in two. Spinning the escape pod toward earth. End Page 95-98: Ryan is rattled in her seat, she struggles to reach a lever, pulls it. The pod’s locks disengage, sending it plummeting towards earth. Shaking and spinning Ryan. The pod’s aerodynamics right the vessel as it cuts through the atmosphere. A ball of fire as it races towards the ground. A piece of debris impacts, causing a panel to fall off inside, smoke tendrils leaking from the damage. The parachute deploys as it breaks through into the cooler sky. It slows the descent, a second opens. The cabin starts to fill with smoke, Ryan chokes. The pod is heading towards a lake, the thrusters engage as it lands in the water. Final Sequence Beginning Page 98-100: Ryan chokes in the smoke, she unstraps herself and opens the hatch. Middle Water pours inside. Ryan can’t get out. The weight of the water is too strong. It fills with water, sinking, taking Ryan with it. She makes it out of the hatch, swimming up. The weight of her spacesuit pulling her down, panicking. Freeing herself from the garments, making for the surface, out of breath. Her foot catches on the sinking parachute, she struggles free. End Page 100-102: She breaks out onto the surface. She’s back on earth. She drags herself to the edge of the lake, lying on the sand, She laughs. Struggling to stand up, on her feet she walks… walks on earth. She is free.

The pattern I noticed: Beginning -- est. the situation and goals Middle -- conflict/obstacles End -- resolution... which lead to the next sequence. And a belated thank you to Scott and pgronk for responding to my question about thresholds during Argo week. This is John M, I haven't been able to sign in using my account.

Hey, John M, thanks for that sequence breakdown. So great to have these aggregated as a resource for writers. And I trust you have benefited from doing the exercise. It occurs to me I should create PDFs of folks' sequence breakdowns as well and host them in archives. A couple of interesting points in comparing your breakdown to Paul's: * Yours really shows the efficacy of the Beginning, Middle, End set of movements. This is one reason why I shudder anytime I read something about jettisoning Three Act Structure. It's not just about acts, it's about Scenes, Sequences, even Subplots. Those three movements are innate to narrative. And your breakdown shows how they apply to sequences. * Interesting to go through your End beats. Several of them align with Paul's and whereas Paul specifies a question that is posed at the end of each sequence he identified, here in this one, they are at least implied. For example, she pushes the right button in the Chinese spaceship and thrusters kick in. That ends that sequence. Yet there is an implied question: Will Stone survive the reentry into the Earth's atmosphere? So even though we may think of those beats as Ends, they should create a sense of anticipation, curiosity and tension, leading to the next sequence, as you point out, John: What's going to happen next? Thanks again!

Nice work, jem. It's a good demonstration of Scott's point that a script can have a Beginning-Middle-End breakdown at more than one level. I found your breakout of the your first sequence particularly interesting because in my first iteration, Reel #1 was almost the same length. Then my left hemisphere overruled my right and split it into two Reels. For me, the process of having to think about it, make a judgment call (right or wrong, for better or worse) was a learning moment. Thanks, jem, for taking the time and effort to organize the story in such detail.

This probably belongs in Friday's take-away's, but one thing we haven't discussed are the visuals. The way it's shot, "space" and the emptiness of it is a main character. On one level, it's the antagonist to Ryan--a lot of her battle is interior, but she also battles the enormity and isolation of space, which is threatening to swallow her whole. The title, "Gravity" I think refers to her ability to maintain a physical life force--have weight--in the face of a space without gravity.

Nora, "space" is absolutely a theme running through the movie. In fact, at one point, Stone says, "I hate space." Yes, she is talking about the struggle she is having surviving her ordeal in outer space, but there is also the issue of INNER space: The void she feels by the loss of her daughter. Why does she drive around after work, not returning home for hours? Because of the space that's there, the emptiness of the house filled only with tragic memories of her daughter. So space as Nemesis works on at least two levels: Outer Space -- It is what is keeping her from going home and could kill her. Inner Space -- It is what is keeping her home from being a home. She needed to go on this journey to compel her to deal with her grief, the Outer Space experience forcing her to deal with her Inner Space disunity.

Hey GITS. I'm a bit behind, but thought my analysis may contribute to the already flowing discussion. I broke the screenplay into 8 sequences. 2 sequences in Act 1, 4 sequences in Act 2 and 2 sequences in Act 3. After each sequence, I have an "Analysis", which identifies, first, key moments in the narrative and, second, critical junctures in the protagonists internal journey (or metamorphosis). Part 3: Major Plot Points Act 1, Sequence 1: Opening P. 1-9 P1-3 Beginning: Introduce Explorer Captain Matt Kowalski (M), Dr. Ryan Stone (R) and Houston (H). M is the driver, R is installing comms card and H is NASA control on-ground. Middle: Comms card is not sending data to H. Medicine (as represented by H) is concerned about R’s ECG reading. End: R confirms her diagnostics are green; R reboots comms card (open-ended / cliffhanger); Goal: Introduce characters and their roles in the mission. Alludes to Ryan being brave / reckless and putting her work ahead of her safety. P3-5 B: M tells stories, unrelated to the mission (suggesting mission is in control). He is the veteran, having long-standing relationship with Houston. Comms card reboot in progress. M: Introduce Shariff (S), who is replacing battery module A-one and C. E: S succeeds in replacing battery. H and S celebrates his accomplishment. G: Introduce S and further unveil NASA workflow. P5-8 B: After multiple attempts, H confirms they are not receiving data from card. H suggest that R remove card and examine for component damage.. M: R examines card for damage and fine no problem. She suspects problem is with the comms panel. E: R has new plan, which will take 1 hour. M to assist. It’s his last space walk. G: Learn the purpose of their mission - to install comms card into Hubble. H depends on R to fix issue. P8-9 B: R is feeling nauseas, pushing her physical limits. M: R drops bolt and is not confident in space, but is determined to succeed. E: M picks-up bolt. They both ready to complete mission and are close. G: Determine they’ve been in space for 1-week and that R is inexperienced. Analysis: Establish setting: 600km above earth; Explorer Space Shuttle and Hubble Telescope Introduce characters: RYAN, the protagonist, is at the centre of the drama: she struggles with space conditions (tense dialogue) and she is the “genius” that is completing the mission (installing the comms card). Basically, everything comes back to Ryan; MATT, semi love-interest, brings out the protagonists softer side. He’s a veteran, light hearted in nature (plays music, tells humorous stories); SHARIFF, the foil, is the side-kick and really contrasts the protagonist (he jokes, dances and celebrates his completed mission - installing batteries). Internal journey: We see beginnings of Ryan’s emotional arc: even in early stages, she is “just driving”, working beyond her body limits. Why is she prioritizing work over health? Protagonist’s mini-goal: to install comms card and ensure data being received by Houston. Act 1, Sequence 2: Routine Killer and Inciting Incident P. 9-18 P9-13 B: H notifies that Russian satellite has incurred missile strike, creating debris orbiting 20,000 miles per hour. It’s not in their trajectory. M: M, R and S continue working. R excited about NASA funding her project, despite dangers of space travel. M continues with stories. E: The mission will bring “new set of eyes to scan the edge of the universe”. S continues to celebrate. G: External: Introduce further complication (debris from Russian satellite). Internal: R’s work / funding is number one priority in life. P13-15 B: Identify problem, which has been plaguing R from film’s onset: comms panel dead. R requests permission to resolve problem i.e. “cut link to auxillary”. Lures audience into false-sense of security before drama hits. M: H advises to abort mission. Emergency evacuation. Newly created debris from Russian satellite is traveling toward their altitude. E: After hesitation, R finishes working. M releases locks and pushes-up Hubble. G: Lure audience into false-sense of security, mission looks like it’ll be complete. Then activate Routine Killer (first major obstacle in Act 1): New debris predicted to hit. P15-18 B: New data. Systems are down. Debris is out of control and expanding. R is on robotic arm and communication black-out pending. Visual contact with debris. M: R requests faster transport. Houston lost. E: M moves to R and assists detach herself. S dies. Debris punctures hole in shuttle, which starts to veer out of control. G: Act 1 Plot Twist. All bets are off. S is head and Shuttle hit. Act 2 mission is to get back to ear safely, no longer install card. Analysis Routine Killer: russian satellite has suffered a missile strike (P.9). Debris orbit does not overlap; mission continues. Great Routine Killer: unexpected, cannot be undone, subtle/intriguing and the scene defines the story’s very premise. Plot Twist: Debris from the missile strike has caused a chain reaction, hitting other satellites and creating new debris that is headed for their [Matt, Ryan and Shariff] altitude. New direction: to survive i.e. return to earth. Telecommunications are dead; GPS down; Shariff dead; Ryan is off Explorer and drifts into space with no anchor, losing oxygen, life support battery and visual contact; Matt, after losing visual contact with Ryan, locates and pulls her back to Explorer, along with Shariff’s [dead] body. Protagonist’s mini-goal: stay alive and get back to Explorer with Matt. Act 2, Sequence 1: Plot Thickeners P.18-28 P18-23 B: R still attached to robotic arm, and requests support. M: R becomes detached from Explorer and drift into space. panics and eventually calms, she gives coordinates to M. Oxygen at 10 per cent. E: She flashes light. M finds and grabs R, tethering her to him. G: Drive suspense and add obstacle: R drifts from base and is helpless, relying on M. P23-28 B: M uses thrusters to accelerate, pulling R, moving toward Explorer. Houston still lost. 90 minutes until next round of debris. M: M decides to collect S body. Ryan grabs S body E: Photograph of S’s family, completes his death; M and S make it back to Explorer, which has suffered extreme damage. G: Resolve S death; audience encouraged to believe M and S will survive. Analysis: Act 2 Opening: R isolated on robotic arm and she is coming to grips with mission - stay alive and get back to earth. Comfort zone is ruined, the protagonist comes to terms with the “adventure” (returning to earth) and there’s no turning back. Plot Thickener: R is detached from Explorer. Change of environment (drifts into space) and is thrusted into panic. Screws are tightened on protagonist, stakes rise, this is her first major test. Plot Thickener: S is dead; stakes rise. Plot Thickener: Explorer suffers extreme damage. Act 2, Sequence 2, Halfway Plot Twist P.28-36 P28- 33 B: Back in cockpit and R apologizes for not complying instantly. M reassures she’s not at fault. New mission - make it to nearest space station: ISS. M: On way to ISS. R unveils death of daughter and its emotional impact, she now “just drives”. R oxygen low. E: Approaching ISS and learn Soyuz 1 is missing and Soyuz 2 is damaged. G: Critical step in R Internal Plot: why she’s a workaholic (she needed this journey to snap her back into living life). External plot: ISS will not get them back to earth. P.33-36 B: Smash into ISS. R tether to M snaps, she is left detached and is entangled in Soyuz’s parachute rigging. M: R grabs M’s tether. M tells R to let go, he’s pulling her further away from Soyuz. E: M unclips tether and floats away, leaving R floating toward ISS. G: External: Kill-off M; Internal: leaves R to really confront her emotional flaw: inability to “let go”. Analysis Internal plot: clear change in tone, Ryan’s emotional arc becomes clear, she has not let go of her daughter, who is dead. To cope, she “just drives”. She needed this tragedy to occur confront her personal demons. Plot Thickener: Soyuz 1 and 2 at ISS are damaged Plot Thickener: Ryan entangles in parachute rigging Halfway twist: plot thickeners culminate - Matt unclips himself and drifts into space [he is dead]. High suspense. R is well into her adventure. She know her mission. BUT, the Halfway twist changes how it will be complete. Act 2, Sequence 3: Plot Thickeners push Protagonist towards Crises P. 36-52 P.36 - 40 B: M continues to give R instructions to board station. She must hurry, she’s breathing carbon dioxide and is losing consciousness. M: Next stage of mission: use Soyuz 2 to get to Chinese station (it’s too damaged to get to earth). E: Again, R forced to confront internal issue re: letting go, with M unsavable (emotional arc palpable). M forces R to say, “I’m going to make it”. Hope restored. G: Identify solution and restore hope re: R’s survival. P.40-42 B: R is in ISS, removes suit and re-pressurizes oxygen. She lets go of M M: R attempts to use fire extinguisher to put out fires. E: She fails, but luckily gets to second Soyuz. G: Place R on her own and set-up her solo-mission. P.42- 46 B: R tries to use instruction manual to activate Soyuz toward Chinese station. 7-min until next round of debris hits. M: R thrusts toward Chinese station, but parachute is still caught, stopping Soyuz. E: Wearing a suit, climbs down the station to detach the parachute rope. Debris scheduled to hit, but nothing in sight. G: Add another obstacle of Soyuz tethered to station via parachute. Increase suspense. R is determined to make it on her own. P. 46-47 B: As she tries to remove parachute, debris makes visual contact. She resumes tearing at parachute. M: Finally she removes the final rope stopping Soyuz. E: She returns to interior of Soyuz. G: Solution to last obstacle: Soyuz being tied to ISS. Another cliffhanger moment. Analysis: Mission is clear, but many plot thickeners get in the way, driving action and suspense: Plot Thickener: get into Soyuz ASAP - Ryan losing oxygen. Plot Thickener: attempts to put out fires with extinguishers (pay-off in Act 3, when she uses extinguishers to launch into Chinese station). Plot Thickener: 7-min until next round of debris hit Plot Thickener: Soyuz caught on parachute and cannot launch from ISS toward Chinese station Plot Thickener: Soyuz is in below-freezing conditions and cannot move. Act 2, Sequence 4: Act 2 Plot Crisis and Revelation P.47-56 P.47-52 B: Sozuyu is now below freezing. R steadies Soyuz into stabilized position. The periscope displays the Soyuz in a position to head directly towards Chinese station. M: R attempts to launch Soyuz, but it doesn’t move. Tries again with no result. Fuel gauge frozen due to temperature. Houston remains lost. E: R hears indistinct noise playing over Aningaaq. She loses faith and accepts her pending death. G: External plot: Soyuz stuck due to weather and no valuable communication. Internal plot: R gives-up hope, she is at her most frustrated and is in a deep crisis. P.52-56 B: R decreases oxygen and turns off lights, accepting her fete. She sits back in her seat and closes her eyes. Aningaaq continues to sing. M: M appears outside and enters the Soyuz. He turns on oxygen and provides solution - to use landing jets to launch into Chinese station. E: Internal: M confronts R on her decision to shut-down lights and oxygen, drawing a parallel to R’s kid dying and giving-up. He pushes her to “start livin’ life” again. G: Further spotlight R’s emotional arc. Deal with the death of her daugher. Analysis Crisis: Ryan is in a mess of unresolved crises. At last straw. She accepts pending death. The mission, to get back to earth, seems absolutely impossible (creating great suspense). Great Revelation: at most frustrated, the protagonist finds a piece of information that makes everything click; “aha” moment (R imagines M, who gives her the solution) Act 3, Sequence 1: Climax P.56-59 B: R re-pressurize the cabin and turns lights on. M: She launches landing, just like M advised. R separates the cabin, air lock and engine. Ready to launch. E: Climax of R’s emotional arc: she let’s go of her daughter, telling M to relay a personal message. G: Fulfill R’s emotional arc. It’s the “big confrontation” / climax moment. Analysis: Internal Resolution: R completes her emotional arc, accepting the death of her daughter. She asks M to relay a personal message - bittersweet moment. This is the climax of the film. Internal Resolution: R lets go of M, accepting his death (she earlier re-imagines him returning to Soyuz and continuing to assist her get to the Chinese station) Act 3, Sequence 2: Resolution and Aftermath P.59-68 P.59-62 B: R ignites landing jets, hurling the Soyuz towards the Chinese station. M: The Chinese station is dropping towards earth. R determined to catch it. E: R grabs fire extinguisher and exist the Soyuz. She uses the extinguisher to thrust back towards the Chinese station and crawls inside. G: External plot: closer towards making it back to earth, now at the the Chinese station. P. 62-68 B: R moves her way to control cabin. M: R launches herself from station and hurtles toward earth and drops into lake. She hears random radio voices. E: Finally she hears Mission Control, who have deployed a rescue mission. R gets out of sinking vessel, and floats on her back. She crawls to show and unsteadily walks off. G: Aftermath scene, mission to return to earth complete. Analysis: External Resolution: R ready to finally land the Soyuz, which she could never complete in training. External Resolution: R is capable and is in damage control against all odds. Unlike her failure to use the extinguisher in Act 2, now she innovatively uses it to launch herself into the Chinese Station. External Resolution: R makes it back to earth.