In the hundred-plus years of filmmaking
and thousands of years of storytelling...
"- In the beginning.
There was nothing."
There are really only 4 ways to end a story.
In today's video, we're going to explain one of these endings.
Using a script with a top speed of 88 miles per hour.
"- When this baby hits 88 miles per hour,
you're going to see some serious..."
This is part one of
"The 4 Endings in Every Film".
"The Sweet Ending".
Traditional protagonists typically need two things.
A want and a need.
Wants are external goals
that are known to the character.
"- Wow, I would die a happy man
if I could perform with Dorothea Williams."
Specific to them.
"- I did it! I got the gig! Yes!
I don't know. I know Dorothea Williams. Can you believe it?
- Hey, pal, you're gonna get hurt."
And drive the plot forward.
"- No, no, no, no, listen. I have a gig tonight.
I can't die now.
Help! I'm not done! I gotta get back!"
But needs are internal goals.
"- I'm trying to free your mind, Neo.
But I can only show you the door."
That are often unknown to the character
universal to us all.
"- You have to let it all go, Neo.
Fear. Doubt.
And disbelief.
- No."
And drive the character through their ark.
And at the end of most stories,
the protagonists will attain some combination of their wants and needs.
And you can map every type of ending on a quadrant like this.
Sweet.
Bittersweet.
Semi-Sweet.
And lastly, bitter.
Our first type of ending is "Sweet".
Where the character gets both their want and need
making for an extremely positive ending all around.
"- Everything is great."
Let's take a closer look at one of the sweetest endings ever.
Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gales "Back to the Future".
A great ending isn't simply tacked on at the end.
The path to a successful finale starts on page one.
That's why we've imported the screenplay into StudioBinder
so we can pinpoint the necessary plot
and character beats that created such a satisfying ending.
"- Like, I've always told you.
Put your mind to it. You can accomplish anything."
Now, in a traditional character arc
the protagonist undergoes a substantial personal change.
But "Back to the Future" breaks that tradition.
Marty McFly doesn't really change much at all.
That's because his is a "Flat Character Arc".
In which according to K.M. Weiland
the protagonist is the one changing the world around him
rather than the world-changing the character.
And as we'll see...
"- Dad!"
...Marty's want and need
end up being about helping others.
"- I need your help.
I have to ask Lorraine out, but I don't know how to do it.
- All right. Okay, listen, keep your pants on. She's over in the cafe."
Not himself.
"- She said, get your meat hooks off."
In Act 1, Marty's initial want is to be a musician.
Which is established on Page 2.
And complicated on Page 7.
"- Hold it, fellas.
I'm afraid you just too darn loud.
Next please."
In the next scene, we learn about Marty's perceived lack of confidence.
"- Marty, one rejection isn't the end of the world.
- Nah, I just don't think I'm cut out for music."
For Marty to change the world around him,
we need to establish what needs changing.
Marty isn't actually an insecure character.
"- Just perfect.
- Hello! Hello!"
But his father George is.
"- Afraid I'm just not very good at confrontations.
- But the car, Dad."
In her book, Weiland explains that there are two ways
to introduce a normal world.
A good place that will be destroyed.
Or a less than satisfactory place
which has been cursed.
And it is up to the protagonist
to destroy this world
and create a better one.
And this is Marty's need
to become the opposite of his father.
He needs confidence.
"- David, watch your mouth."
This scene gives us the issues
plaguing each member of Marty's family.
His older brother is stuck flipping burgers.
"- See ya later, pop."
His sister can't get a date.
"- Then how am I supposed to ever meet anybody."
And his mother Lorraine is an alcoholic
and a victim of suburban stagnation.
Lorraine's line here is key.
"- We all make mistakes in life, children."
Lorraine's need is to fix her mistake
and fall in love with George for the right reasons.
Not out of pity but out of a deeper connection.
"- You told us the story a million times.
You felt sorry for him,
so you decided to go with him
to the Fish Under the Sea dance.
- No. No, it was the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.
It was then that I realized
that I was gonna spend the rest of my life with him."
Because Marty is a flat character
the crux of "Back to the Future"
hinges upon whether it is George that can change.
With the normal world established
and our character's wants and needs articulated
the plot takes a sharp turn.
Although Marty doesn't know it yet,
Doc Brown has invented something to solve
all of these problems at once.
"- Are you telling me you built a time machine."
And Marty finds himself stuck 30 years in the past.
"- What?
- You're George McFly.
- Yeah, who are you?"
Where he intervenes in his own family history.
"- Like the way I met your father.
- That was so stupid. Grandpa hit him with the car."
Now the story gets even more complicated
forcing Marty to adopt a new want
which is introduced on Page 65 here.
The midpoint when everything changes.
"- Now remember, according to my theory you interfered with your parent' first meeting.
If they don't meet, they won't fall in love,
they won't get married and they won't have kids."
Marty's new want...
"- There's somebody I'd like you to meet."
...get his parents to fall in love
or his entire existence will be wiped away.
"- It's like he's been erased.
- Erased from existence."
Marty has to push George to become a confident and assertive person
fulfilling both George's need
and his own by extension.
If Marty can change George for the better
his own concerns about turning into his spineless father will disappear.
Marty's want and need are now inextricably linked.
"- ...right here with me. Come on, Lorraine."
It takes some effort and a bit of cosmic coincidence
but George emerges the hero.
"- George, help me.
- Just turn around, McFly, and walk away.
- No, Biff.
You leave her alone."
Immediately after Marty's efforts to get his parents together succeed...
♪ ♪
...he is able to fulfill his initial want.
To be a rock star.
Both of Marty's wants and his need
are obtained within the same scene.
George gains confidence
and Marty gets the spotlight.
♪ ♪
Now, all he has to do is jump back in the DeLorean,
hit 88 miles per hour,
and ride the lightning back to 1985.
No big deal.
In the end, Marty hasn't changed
but everything around him has.
His house.
His sister's social life.
"- I don't know. I can't keep up with all of your boyfriends."
His brother's career prospects.
"- I always wear a suit to the office.
- Hello. - Good morning."
His mother has shed the extra weight
as well as her suburban stagnation.
"- Mom, you look so thin.
- Thank you, Marty.
George!"
And his father nearly unrecognizable.
"- Uh, now, Biff,
I want to make sure that we get two coats of wax this time, not just one."
No longer the insecure coward.
He is confident and successful.
"- ...first novel.
- Like I've always told you.
Put your mind to it.
You can accomplish anything."
The setup of the previous dinner scene now pays off.
And let's not forget the 4x4 parked in the garage.
"- Check out that 4x4.
That is hot."
This is the epitome of a happy or sweet ending.
"- Is everything all right?
- Oh, yeah.
Everything is great."
Most protagonists in the sweet ending
evolve in a positive change arc.
And with a flat character arc like Marty's
remember that they don't have to change
but those around them do.
Sweet endings are a very satisfying option to end your movie.
And it all comes down to understanding your character's wants and needs.
And achieving both.
However, a fairy tale ending
may run the risk of being too perfect.
Just because the character gets everything,
it shouldn't be easy.
When you write a sweet ending,
you still need obstacles.
Minor defeats and reversals
to make sure the victory is well earned.
In the next episode, we'll examine the opposite type of ending
the bitter end.
Where Michael Corleone undergoes a tragically negative change.
He gets neither his want...
"- That's my family. It's not me."
...nor need.
But it's still a gratifying ending.
And we still root for him.
How is that possible?
Stay tuned to find out.
"- We better back up. We don't have enough road to get up to 88.
- Roads?
Where we going we don't need roads."
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♪ ♪