A Perfect World
After escaping from a Huntsville prison, convict Robert "Butch" Haynes (Kevin Costner) and his partner Terry Pugh (Keith Szarabajka) kidnap a young boy, Phillip Perry (T.J. Lowther), and flee across Texas. As they travel together, Butch and Phillip discover common bonds and suffer the abuses of the outside "Perfect World". In pursuit is Texas Ranger "Red" Garnett (Clint Eastwood) and Criminologist Sally Gerber (Laura Dern).
Despite a mid-range budget of $30.0M, A Perfect World became a financial success, earning $135.1M worldwide—a 350% return.
2 wins & 1 nomination
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
A Perfect World (1993) reveals deliberately positioned narrative architecture, characteristic of Clint Eastwood's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 13-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 18 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.8, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Butch Haynes
Phillip Perry
Red Garnett
Sally Gerber
Terry Pugh
Main Cast & Characters
Butch Haynes
Played by Kevin Costner
An escaped convict who kidnaps a young boy but develops a protective father-son bond during their journey across Texas.
Phillip Perry
Played by T.J. Lowther
A sheltered 8-year-old Jehovah's Witness who is kidnapped by Butch but finds freedom and adventure he never experienced.
Red Garnett
Played by Clint Eastwood
A weathered Texas Ranger leading the manhunt who has a troubled history with Butch from his past as a prison supervisor.
Sally Gerber
Played by Laura Dern
A sharp criminologist assigned to advise the manhunt who challenges Red's traditional methods with modern profiling techniques.
Terry Pugh
Played by Bradley Whitford
An inexperienced but eager FBI sharpshooter who joins the pursuit team and becomes increasingly trigger-happy.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Young Phillip Perry lives in a strict Jehovah's Witness household in 1963 Texas, denied Halloween and normal childhood experiences. His mother works multiple jobs to support her family in poverty.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 17 minutes when Butch and Terry break into the Perry home seeking refuge. When things go wrong, Butch takes young Phillip hostage at gunpoint, forcing the boy into the car as they flee.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
At 70 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat At a farmhouse, Butch violently confronts the abusive farmer who mistreats his family. The encounter reveals Butch's own childhood trauma and capacity for violence, raising stakes and showing his dangerous instability., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 104 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Butch accidentally shoots Phillip during a tense moment. The boy who trusted him is now wounded because of him. The fantasy of escape and surrogate fatherhood dies as Butch faces what he's truly done., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 110 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Butch arrives at a farmhouse seeking medical help for Phillip. He understands this is the end - he must face Red Garnett and the consequences of his life, but he can still try to save the boy., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
A Perfect World's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 13 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping A Perfect World against these established plot points, we can identify how Clint Eastwood utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish A Perfect World within the crime genre.
Clint Eastwood's Structural Approach
Among the 31 Clint Eastwood films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.5, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. A Perfect World represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Clint Eastwood filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Batman Forever and 12 Rounds. For more Clint Eastwood analyses, see True Crime, Hereafter and Changeling.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Young Phillip Perry lives in a strict Jehovah's Witness household in 1963 Texas, denied Halloween and normal childhood experiences. His mother works multiple jobs to support her family in poverty.
Theme
Butch Haynes tells Terry that "A man's gotta have a code" - establishing the film's exploration of flawed fatherhood, moral codes, and what it means to be a good man despite a bad past.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of 1963 Texas, the escaped convicts Butch and Terry, the impoverished Perry household, and Texas Ranger Red Garnett organizing the manhunt with FBI criminologist Sally Gerber.
Disruption
Butch and Terry break into the Perry home seeking refuge. When things go wrong, Butch takes young Phillip hostage at gunpoint, forcing the boy into the car as they flee.
Resistance
Butch removes Terry from the equation after he threatens Phillip. The relationship between captor and hostage begins tentatively as they drive through Texas. Red Garnett pursues, haunted by his past connection to Butch.
Act II
ConfrontationPremise
The road trip as surrogate father and son. Butch teaches Phillip about being a man while revealing his own damaged past. They experience moments of bonding, freedom, and the fantasy of escape, while Red pursues relentlessly.
Midpoint
At a farmhouse, Butch violently confronts the abusive farmer who mistreats his family. The encounter reveals Butch's own childhood trauma and capacity for violence, raising stakes and showing his dangerous instability.
Opposition
The net tightens as law enforcement closes in. Butch's desperation grows and his violence becomes more unpredictable. Phillip is increasingly aware of the danger, yet remains loyal to the only father figure he's known.
Collapse
Butch accidentally shoots Phillip during a tense moment. The boy who trusted him is now wounded because of him. The fantasy of escape and surrogate fatherhood dies as Butch faces what he's truly done.
Crisis
Butch rushes the wounded Phillip toward help, desperate and panicked. He confronts the impossibility of redemption - he cannot undo his past, cannot truly save this boy, cannot be the father he wanted to be.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Butch arrives at a farmhouse seeking medical help for Phillip. He understands this is the end - he must face Red Garnett and the consequences of his life, but he can still try to save the boy.
Synthesis
The final confrontation. Red Garnett arrives and faces Butch, the boy he once failed who became this broken man. Butch is shot by a panicked sniper. Phillip is saved but traumatized. Red grapples with cycles of violence and failure.
Transformation
Phillip, physically saved but forever changed, is returned to his mother. Red is left contemplating the tragedy - a perfect world is impossible, damaged men cannot fully escape their pasts, and the best intentions still lead to harm.