Every single story you’ve ever been told follows this structure (I’m sure there’s an exception — but it probably wasn’t very good). This includes films, books, games etc—
One day the hero had a problem. She struggled against the problem, ultimately overcoming it and changing something about herself in the process.
In a film, you can actually chart this against the run time. In a 100 minute film for example:
0–25 minutes: Setting the scene. At 25 minutes the hero will encounter her problem.
25–50 minutes: The hero will struggle against her problem, unsuccessfully. At 50 minutes she will have some kind of revelation which will ultimately help her solve her problem.
50–75 minutes: Armed with this new revelation (internal or external) she will battle against her problem, ultimately developing herself in the process.
75–100 minutes: Resolution
Adapted from Story Engineering by Larry Brooks