Drivers in 'The Devil Wears Prada'

analysis
#1

I saw this movie again just the other day, and in checking the Dramatica storyform became curious about the drivers. Obviously, the storyform was completed pre-podcasts so I’m not expecting anyone to remember the reasons that every choice was made in the Users Group.

But the movie is very subtle in its use of drivers, so I just wanted some clarification on what the drivers actually are within the story, since I’m not 100% certain.

So here are what I think may be the “major” turning points:

INCITING EVENT: Miranda decides to hire Andy.
This one I’m very uncertain of. It’s the only ‘big’ decision and it kicks off the story, but the decision is off-screen and there’s no clear ‘deliberation’ during the interview scene. Although, you could argue that the whole scene is a deliberation.

ACT TURN: Andy makes the decision to get a makeover.
This one I’m certain of. We see the decision right before the montage, and it’s a huge act ‘bump’ into Playing a Role.

MIDPOINT: Andy deliberates on whether or not to quit.
This, again, makes me uncertain. It comes at an awkward moment (albeit right in the middle of the movie) during the hunt for the Harry Potter manuscript and seems pretty flippant. But Andy specifically says that she is thinking about quitting (which incidentally also reflects the ending: a classic sign of a midpoint).

ACT TURN: Miranda decides to give the job to Jacqueline, instead of Nigel.
This one I have NO idea about, because the decision is off-screen (again) and quite late into the third act which makes me question it. But there aren’t many turning decisions before this, other than Nigel telling Andy. This one fits the ‘bump’ style of the three-act driver, since it really shifts Andy into rethinking (or re-conceiving) her idea of the fashion world.

CLOSING EVENT: Andy decides to quit, and walks away from Miranda.
I was on the fence about this, because I thought the throwing the phone into the fountain was an action but the decision is made right before it. Miranda gives the speech about how Andy had choices all along, and Andy makes the decision to quit. That’s probably as clear as you can get.

I really want to know what other people think, since this movie seems to have been one of the few not structurally broken down on the internet.

#2

I agree that the closing event (Andy quits) is a Decision driver. But I can see where you’re coming from – many pivotal decisions aren’t shown on-screen.

A number of otherwise solid stories make mistakes when it comes to Driver consistency. @jhull has pointed out that The Dark Knight makes the error of tying up the OS with a Decision moment, when it’s been an Action story all along.

#3

I listened to one of the podcasts earlier (I think it was the Tender Mercies one), and Chris clarified that decisions made off-screen still count as a Decision driver if it’s treated as a significant turn. So that at least makes me more comfortable with the off-screen drivers, but I still don’t like the drivers being off-screen.

I hadn’t read Jim’s article before, but it lines up with my one complaint about The Dark Knight (that even the 15 year old “comic book nerd” me felt when he saw it for the first time): that the boat section feels out of place and goes on way too long. I never had an explanation before.

There’s a prime example of the power of Dramatica for you. One slip up, and the audience feels it.

3 Likes
#4

I haven’t seen the movie in a while, but I think the 4th driver might be Miranda’s decision to bring Andy to Paris. The movie is about expectations, and Miranda is making it clear that the other assistant is falling short. Then again, Nigel is expecting the job and doesn’t get it, so my own logic doesn’t even support my own idea…

But there is this logic:

  • She gets the job
  • She gets the right to take The Book to Miranda’s
  • She gets promoted to first assistant

There’s a nice linearity there.

#5

That was my initial choice for the 4th driver, since Miranda basically forces Andy into making a decision. And, as you said, the linearity is pretty good.

Just skipping through the movie again, it comes 15 minutes after what I perceived to be the 3rd driver/midpoint. Which feels too soon to move to the next signpost – it might be correct, but in a 100 minute runtime just feels too soon.

#6

Yeah, that seems really soon.

#7

It’s weird - Devil came out in 2006, when we started recording podcasts.But I don’t think it was ever a Users Group Meeting film. I’m pretty sure this is a storyform from @chuntley. Maybe he can remember.