The 9Screenplay of The Purple Rose of Cairo
"In the most basic terms, a screenplay is a 90-120 page original document or based on a true story or previously written piece, like a novel, stage play or newspaper article. At its heart, a screenplay is a blueprint for the film it will one day become. Professionals on the set including the producer, director, set designer and actors all translate the screenwriter's vision using their individual talents." stated by Mario O. Moreno, the writer/creator of Maker Studio's LA Series.
The Purple Rose of Cairo was given birth by the masterful writing by Woody Allen. The film was released in 1985 and starred Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, and Danny Aiello. The Purple Rose of Cairo is an amazing film with twists and turns leaving you not knowing what to expect next. The characters are fun and enjoyable even though the movie was during the time of the great depression.
Within a screenplay, such as that of the Purple Rose, The characters play a huge role in the plot or story of the screenplay. Within a screenplay, there must always be a protagonist and an antagonist. This leads into goals, motivations, and conflict for those characters. The protagonist can be a good guy or a bad guy. The important thing to note about the protagonist is that he or she is the central character whom the story revolves around. The protagonist must have a need or a goal s/he wants to achieve by the end of the film.
The antagonist can also be a good guy or a bad guy, but they need to stand in the way of the protagonist trying to achieve the goal.
In the Purple Rose, Cecilia played the lead character ( the protagonist) in the film, a lonely depressed waitress who is married to Monk (the antagonist) , an abusive husband. She finds solitude and excitement when she escapes to watch the silver screen. During the film, we observe Monk as an abusive husband, who beats and shows no love for his wife, even though he fears the idea of losing her to another man (Tom- also an antagonist), his fear is only due to him being unemployed and having no other means to survive other than living off Cecilia.
In a screenplay such as Purple Rose, is important for characters to have motivations. A motivation is a reason why someone does what s/he does. Motivations make characters believable. Cecilia always finds solitude and excitement when she escapes to watch the silver screen. She allows herself to slip away from her own reality and abuse and places herself in another world where she desires to be. The characters have to want to do what they do, or why do it? It would not make sense otherwise.
Another major fact about a screenplay is that it requires a conflict. The struggle between the protagonist and the antagonist can be the main source of conflict. Will the antagonist keep the protagonist from achieving his/her goal?
Act I of a screenplay is called the Set-up because it establishes (sets up) certain criteria that will be resolved by the end of the film. In the Purple Rose, the first major plot point of the movie begins when Cecilia falls in love with the movie “The Purple Rose of Cairo”, she started rewatching the film a few times and her fantasy of characters comes to life in the movie. Tom Baxter played by Gil comes out of the silver screen to meet her and runs away down the alley thanking God that he’s free at last and falls in love with Cecilia. Tom, of course, isn’t a real person but just an internal figment of the imagination of Cecilia who longed for someone to love and care for her the way that Tom did. Toms character played by Gil was introduced in the film when his agent tells him that his character came out of the silver screen and that Tom may ruin his future career as an actor. Gil eventually becomes the main antagonist in the film, but when he decided to fly to New Jersey to get his character back in the film obstacles were about to arise.
While Gil was making his way from Hollywood, Cecilia was falling madly in love with Tom, who filled a space in her heart that was vacant for so long. Her goals to keep this happiest came to the forefront when she lied to her husband about babysitting. All she wanted was to feel love and to feel happy no matter the cost.
Act II is called the Confrontation. In this act, major obstacles will be placed in the path of the protagonist and other characters. The mid plot occurred when she was in the shop and saw Gil for the first time, she assumed it was Tom and offered him the goodies she had purchased him. Soon she finds out that it wasn't Tom and it was Gil. She also feared to tell Gil where Tom was located and she didn't want to lose her new-found fantasy for Tom.
The second major plot occurs when Cecilia is hanging out with Gil and they played and sang a song together in the music store. At the end of the scene, they get close and Gil kisses her. This creates a major love triangle between, Cecilia, Tom, Gil and Monk whom Cecilia didn't love but whom she was still married to.
Cecilia major crisis arises when she gets tangled in the middle of two charming men and unsure who to choose. She loves that Tom is honest, loving, charming, witty and she enjoys Gil who is a real human and full of character who wants to take her away to Hollywood to fulfill her fantasy.
Act III is called the Resolution because 1) the conflict will finally be resolved, 2) the remaining questions will now be answered, and 3) the loose ends will be tied up.
The climax can be the most dramatic part of the screenplay, it can be the final confrontation between the protagonist and the antagonist, but most importantly, it needs to resolve the major conflict. The climax takes place when Gil walks in the theatre and sees Cecilia with Tom and they started to fight for the love of Cecilia. Cecilia finally had to make her own decision on who she wanted to be with. In a bizarre twist, not only was Gil the antagonist in this scene but Cecilia herself was her own antagonist as well. She had to choose between reality and fiction. Her own internal conflict had to be resolved. She eventually chooses Gil and runs home to pack her things and confronts her husband in an attempt to pack and leave. After she ran out the apartment and back to the location to meet Gil, he wasn't there. He had left without her. The horrible falling action of the film was that Gil conned her to get Tom back into the screen. It leads to the immediate disappointment of Cecilia who turns around and enters the theatre again to see a new film in progress. Soon, while the film plays, Cecilia started to find fantasy in her new film.
The Purple Rose was a well written and adapted screenplay. It showcased the three-act structure of a screenplay; the set-up, confrontation, and resolution with major plot points between the acts. The Purple Rose was a literal adaptation, written and directed by the same author. The ending is well executed by Woody Allen as you're left wondering, is Celicia somewhat living in in a crazy world or is it just pure delusion.