The Art of the Turn
In narrative theory, a reversal—known as peripeteia in Aristotle’s Poetics—is a fundamental tool for creating a dynamic and engaging plot. It is not merely a minor plot development but a profound change in circumstance that alters the trajectory of the story and the protagonist’s fortunes. A well-executed reversal is the engine of surprise, forcing characters to adapt to a new reality and keeping the audience off-balance. The most effective reversals are those that feel shocking in the moment but, in retrospect, seem inevitable, having been subtly foreshadowed by previous events. This combination of surprise and inevitability is the hallmark of sophisticated screenwriting.
The function of a reversal is to escalate the conflict and raise the stakes. When a protagonist who seems to be succeeding is suddenly faced with a catastrophic failure, their resolve is tested in a new and more profound way. Conversely, when a character at their lowest point experiences an unexpected stroke of good fortune, it can provide a powerful sense of hope and renew the narrative’s momentum. Stories are rarely a straight line to victory or defeat; they are a series of ups and downs, and reversals are the peaks and valleys that make the journey compelling.
Types of Reversals in Cinema
Reversals can manifest in several ways, often working in combination to create complex and layered turning points in a film.
-
Reversal of Fortune: This is the most common type, where the external situation of the character is completely upended. A character might go from being rich to poor, powerful to powerless, hunter to hunted. In The Social Network (2010), a key reversal occurs when Mark Zuckerberg’s former partner, Eduardo Saverin, believes he is signing papers to secure his position in Facebook, only to realize he has been diluted out of the company, reversing his fortune from co-founder to adversary.
-
Informational Reversal (The Twist): This occurs when a new piece of information is revealed that recontextualizes the entire story. The audience and the characters learn that what they believed to be true is, in fact, false. This is the foundation of the ‘plot twist’. The revelation in The Sixth Sense (1999) that Dr. Malcolm Crowe has been dead the entire time is a classic informational reversal. Similarly, Darth Vader’s line, “I am your father,” in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) is a reversal that transforms a simple good vs. evil story into a complex family tragedy.
-
Character Allegiance Reversal: This involves a character’s true loyalties being revealed, often showing an ally to be an enemy (a betrayal) or an enemy to be an ally (an unexpected redemption). In Frozen (2013), Prince Hans is revealed to be a manipulative villain after appearing to be a charming love interest, a reversal that completely changes the stakes of the third act.
-
Expectation Reversal: This plays on the audience’s knowledge of genre conventions. A scene is set up to lead the audience to expect a certain outcome, only for the film to deliver the opposite. Quentin Tarantino is a master of this, often building immense tension in a scene—like the tavern sequence in Inglourious Basterds (2009)—that explodes in a manner that is both shocking and contrary to how a typical war film might handle it.