Script Analysis: “Knives Out” — Part 2: Plot
Read and analyze the script for the hit crime comedy starring an all-star cast including Chris Evans, Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.
Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Dialogue
Saturday: Takeaways
Today: Plot.
In every scene, something happens. A plot point is a scene or group of scenes in which something major happens, an event that impacts the narrative causing it to turn in a new direction.
A relevant anecdote. Years ago, I was on the phone with a writer discussing a script project. My son Will, who was about four years old at the time, must have been listening to me talking about “plot points” during the conversation because after I hung up, he asked, “Daddy, what’s a plop point?”
That’s in effect what a plot point is. It’s an event that ‘plops’ into the narrative and changes its course. So when you think Plot Point, think Plop Point!
The value of this exercise:
- To identify the backbone of the story structure.
- To examine each major plot point and see how it is effective as an individual event.
- To analyze the major plot points in aggregate to determine why they work together as the central plot.
This week: Knives Out. You can download the script here.
Written by Rian Johnson.
Plot Summary: A detective investigates the death of a patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.
Major kudos to Dan Gorski for doing this week’s scene-by-scene breakdown.
To download a PDF of the breakdown for Knives Out, click here.
For Part 1, to read the Scene-By-Scene Breakdown discussion, go here.
I hope to see you in the RESPONSE section about this week’s script: Knives Out.
