I think the protagonist (in most cases) is a kind of double for the audience:

"In their lives leading up to FADE IN, the Protagonist has been making do. But they have a sense of discomfort, whether they are conscious of it or not."

is also a description of the audience:

"In their lives leading up to the first scene in the movie / script, the audience has been making do. But they have a sense of discomfort, whether they are conscious of it or not. They have chosen to watch a movie / read a script in order to alleviate / mitigate this sense of discomfort."

The odd paradox of movie watching is that even if the protagonist fails to achieve wholeness, the audience can achieve wholeness from watching the protagonist pursue the quest.