Film and theatre are different mediums. You simply cannot expect Unlike theatre, which follows an outdated two-act structure including an intermission, modern film is free to use the three-act structure outlined by Joseph Campbell in his classic novel "The Hero With A Thousand Faces". This three-act structure consists of:
Act One: The Protagonist. This first act comprises the first thirty minutes of the movie, and the first five hundred faces. The Protagonist is a character with no moral flaws, who the audience sympathizes with and aspires to. Rising action occurs here. Examples of the Protagonist include Harry Potter, Jack Reacher, and Top Gun. Should generally be male; often portrayed by Tom Cruise.
Act Two: The Antagonist. This second act comprises the middle thirty minutes of the movie, and faces 501-600. The Antagonist is a character who causes the problems and bad things in a movie, and they should therefore have little screentime as they are unpleasant for the audience. Comedic filler occurs here. Examples of the Antagonist include Dr. No, Maleficent, and Gargamel from The Smurfs. May be either sex; often portrayed by Alan Tudyk.
Act Three: The Sidekicks. This third act comprises the final thirty minutes of the movie, and the final four hundred faces. The Sidekicks are comedic or sexually appealing characters who either provide light comic relief or a goal to motivate the Protagonist; they inevitably produce particularly profitable toy lines. Climax and falling action occur here. Examples of the Sidekicks include Minions, Timon and Pumbaa, and When Harry Met Sally. Should occasionally be black and portrayed by Eddie Murphy.
The Last Five Years made a token attempt at conforming to this superior Hollywood three-act structure but ultimately failed - the Protagonist is generally supposed to be male, and Cathy, as portrayed by Anna Kendrick, is not; the film was therefore unlikely to be a success and was not actually released. I strongly disagree with this decision; I for one would have made Jamie the Protagonist instead. However, they made Cathy the Protagonist, and therefore had to remove her flaws. Jamie fit nicely into the Antagonist role, as in many American communities his acts of polyamory are considered antagonistic. There were no Sidekicks in the original production of The Last Five Years (!) but the movie fixed this by upgrading the roles of Former Stripper and Wayne The Snake. However, these token efforts to appease mediums proved insufficient. Neither of the Sidekicks were afforded appropriate screentime; instead Jamie, the antagonist, received much of the screentime. However, you must credit the movie for trying, unlike what some theatre kids I could mention would do. Many would change absolutely nothing in an adaptation, producing an inferior - and impossible, as you can't film a theatre - film. The existing The Last Five Years "movie" came dangerously close to this, as it cut zero songs from the original stage production (!), far too few, but it did not put in zero effort, as I can tell from this post.
film theatre mediums demographics audiences mediums charts profit margin three-act structure campbell
films to be identical from the theatre they are adapted from; it is unrealistic.
