Wow, I just looked at all the negative reviews and laughed.
First, knowing structure and how narrative works is essential for writers, even if they are going to write all over the place and break any rule they see. Understanding structure and how narrative works is even better, and so I use Syd Field in a writing class for fiction. Laughing. Because once you know and completely understand and YES!—master the art of basic narrative structure, you can manipulate it to your own needs. That little paradigm is worth its weight in pure gold.
We have been telling stories for thousands of years and basically, we are still telling them the same way. People are drawn to a sort of ritual in fiction and yes, in film. I do admit that style is important and bending rules is important, how else would we get books that transform narrative and lead to change, if not beginning with the core idea. But let me say this, art is transforming right now and has been. Postmodernism is over. One day soon, along will come a novel that will shift how we view fiction. I think Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell has probably done that for this generation, and the author looked back toward old methods in order to move forward.
The paradigm is something I love, and I use it to block out the plot of all my stories. And then, I manipulate the block to my inner visions. If you use Syd Field, you are going to learn so many tools, pacing among them, but just one of many.
We wouldn't know how to write a film like Memento if we did not really understand the paradigm and how structure affects story. But hey, who am I trying to convince? No one. I use it. It's great book and I pass them out to students all the time.
Highly recommended for all writers of fiction.