Act 1, beginning that establishes the background and introduces the characters. It is in equilibrium and the intention is informative.
Act 2, where climax builds up and events unfold. Act 2 usually brings threads together and generates more complex plots.
Act 3, the end, the final resolution plays out and everything returns to an equilibrium.
CASABLANCA
Casablanca is a very good example of the three act approach to narrative. The narrative is broken by a flash back in the middle of Act 2, but aside from that, the pattern is mostly followed.
As opposed to Casablanca, The Big Sleep has a quite complicated plot. I had actually to read out the wikipedia storyline before finalising the exercise. The three acts are somewhat followed, and we can easily identify a first act, until the action (and the music) rump up. There is a "false" act 3, where detective Philip Marlow gets paid for his services and apparently the film is coming to an end, but then the plot complicates even more until the very end, where we find a very short and not quite closed act 3.
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