One of my favorite sword-and-sandals epics from the 1950s is Cecil B. DeMille’s classic The Ten Commandments. The movie is full of color and spectacle and, even more importantly, character development. It spends the first three-quarters of the story presenting a plausible and compelling version of the personal character arc of Moses. But when it reaches the Third Act, something happens, and it’s something not so good.
The Ten Commandments (1956), Paramount Pictures.
The Third Act of The Ten Commandments has long been my least favorite part of the movie. From the time Moses sees the burning bush and returns to Egypt to confront Pharaoh and free the Israelites, the movie just doesn’t have the same pizzazz. And as I watched it through recently, I realized why.
After the wonderful attention to character in the first two acts, the Third Act does an abrupt about-face and practically abandons its character in exchange for what might be termed the “bigger story” of the Exodus itself. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. The Exodus is a big story that deserves a big telling. But in my opinion the movie would have been stronger had it maintained its close focus on character.
No matter how big your story, setting, or spectacle, character is the heart of your story. The climax should be big, but no matter how big the events surrounding the protagonist, they should never overshadow the bigness of his own personal crises and transformation. Be wary of becoming too enamored of and distracted by the grand possibilities of the Climax. Just make sure you’ve taken care of your main character, and everything else will fall into place.
