Yellow Pages Antarctica

Plot points are linear links that make up the chain of traditional Aristotelian 3-act dramatic structure. This classic structure worked well in Hollywood for almost a century now. Although young movie makers are forcing the limits of this structure, plot points still rule the day as the “tent poles” that hold up of the circus of our dreams. Here are the plot points of Separate Lies (2005), as I see them.

Separate Lies (2005)

Starring: Tom Wilkinson (James Manning), Emily Watson (Anne Manning), Rupert Everett (William Bule)
Directed by: Julian Fellowes
Writers: Nigel Balchin (novel), Julian Fellowes (screenplay)

PROTAGONIST JAMES’S DILEMMA: James, a demanding solicitor general, loves his wife who is openly having sex with another man.

PROTAGONIST’S DESIRE: To be happy with his wife Emily.

HIS CHIEF OBSTACLE: His wife Emily sleeps with the undemanding and much younger artistocratic neighbor Bill Bule.

ESTABLISHING SHOT: An idyllic picture-perfect English village in the country with cottage houses, pretty gardens, and great weather.

INCITING INCIDENT: A bicyclist is hit by an SUV and the car just speeds away.

PLOT POINT 1: Emily confesses to James that, yes, just like James has suspected, the car that killed their maid Maggie’s bicycling husband belonged to Bule but… not only she was driving Bule’s car that day but also she is going to bed with Bill Bule.

MID POINT EVENT: Emily and Bill get James agree to lie to the police inspector in order to provide an alibi for Bill, thus making James an accessory to crime.

PLOT POINT 2: The murder is covered up thanks to Maggie’s sympathy for Emily and hatred of Bill.

3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Bill, who turns out to be cancer, dies at a young age. After Bill’s funeral, James and Emily get on with their lives.