All the Old Knives
In Vienna, Veteran CIA agent Henry is reunited with his former colleague and lover Celia.
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%)
All the Old Knives (2022) demonstrates meticulously timed narrative design, characteristic of Janus Metz's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 14-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 41 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.2, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Henry Pelham
Celia Harrison
Vick Wallinger
Bill Compton
Ilyas Shushani
Main Cast & Characters
Henry Pelham
Played by Chris Pine
CIA operative tasked with investigating a former colleague and ex-lover about a deadly hostage crisis eight years prior.
Celia Harrison
Played by Thandiwe Newton
Former CIA operative who left the agency after a traumatic mission, now living quietly in California with her family.
Vick Wallinger
Played by Laurence Fishburne
CIA station chief in Vienna who orders the investigation into the past mission and suspects a mole within the agency.
Bill Compton
Played by Jonathan Pryce
CIA operative and colleague who was involved in the Vienna hostage crisis operation.
Ilyas Shushani
Played by Ahd Kamel
Chechen terrorist who led the 2012 airplane hijacking in Vienna that resulted in mass casualties.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Henry Pelham drives through Carmel-by-the-Sea to meet his former lover Celia Harrison for dinner, establishing his current life as a CIA operative tasked with investigating a mole from an 8-year-old operation.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Henry's boss Vick Wallinger assigns him to re-investigate the Vienna station mole, revealing that new intelligence suggests someone from their team betrayed the rescue operation. Henry realizes he must interrogate Celia, his former lover who left the agency.. 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.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Henry sits down with Celia at the restaurant and begins the interrogation disguised as a reunion dinner. He makes the active choice to pursue the truth even if it destroys their shared past and confirms his worst fears about the woman he loved., moving from reaction to action.
At 51 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat Celia reveals that she knew the rescue operation would fail—a devastating admission that shifts the power dynamic. What seemed like a romantic reunion dinner is confirmed as a deadly interrogation. The stakes become life and death rather than merely professional., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 77 minutes (76% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Celia fully confesses to being the mole, explaining she was trying to save lives through Ilyas but was manipulated. The whiff of death: Henry realizes he must kill her—the woman he loved, the mother of her children, now confirmed as a traitor who caused a massacre., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 82 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Henry makes the choice to execute the assassination. He poisons Celia's wine with a toxin that will make her death appear natural. The revelation: Celia knows what he's done and drinks anyway, a final act of mutual understanding and tragic love., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
All the Old Knives's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 14 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping All the Old Knives against these established plot points, we can identify how Janus Metz utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish All the Old Knives within the mystery genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional mystery films include Oblivion, From Darkness and American Gigolo.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Henry Pelham drives through Carmel-by-the-Sea to meet his former lover Celia Harrison for dinner, establishing his current life as a CIA operative tasked with investigating a mole from an 8-year-old operation.
Theme
Vick Wallinger tells Henry, "The past never stays buried," foreshadowing the central theme about how betrayal and love intertwine, and how seeking truth about the past destroys the present.
Worldbuilding
Establishes the dual timeline structure: present-day dinner conversation between Henry and Celia, and flashbacks to the 2012 Vienna CIA station during Flight 127 hijacking crisis. Introduces the failed operation that killed 120 hostages and the suspicion of a mole.
Disruption
Henry's boss Vick Wallinger assigns him to re-investigate the Vienna station mole, revealing that new intelligence suggests someone from their team betrayed the rescue operation. Henry realizes he must interrogate Celia, his former lover who left the agency.
Resistance
Henry debates whether he can objectively investigate Celia while still harboring feelings for her. He reviews the case files, re-interviews Bill Compton in London, and prepares for the Carmel dinner meeting. Flashbacks show the intensity of Henry and Celia's affair during the Vienna operation.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Henry sits down with Celia at the restaurant and begins the interrogation disguised as a reunion dinner. He makes the active choice to pursue the truth even if it destroys their shared past and confirms his worst fears about the woman he loved.
Premise
The dinner interrogation unfolds as a cat-and-mouse conversation where Henry probes Celia's memories while she deflects with charm and nostalgia. Intercut flashbacks reveal the Vienna crisis in detail: the hijacking, the failed rescue, and the aftermath that destroyed their relationship.
Midpoint
Celia reveals that she knew the rescue operation would fail—a devastating admission that shifts the power dynamic. What seemed like a romantic reunion dinner is confirmed as a deadly interrogation. The stakes become life and death rather than merely professional.
Opposition
The truth emerges piece by piece: Celia was feeding information to her asset Ilyas, who betrayed the operation to the terrorists. Henry must confront that the woman he loved was responsible for 120 deaths. Celia explains her motivations while Henry wrestles with his orders to eliminate her.
Collapse
Celia fully confesses to being the mole, explaining she was trying to save lives through Ilyas but was manipulated. The whiff of death: Henry realizes he must kill her—the woman he loved, the mother of her children, now confirmed as a traitor who caused a massacre.
Crisis
Henry processes the full weight of what he must do. Celia accepts her fate with quiet dignity. Their final moments together are tender and tragic—two people who loved each other destroyed by the machinery of espionage and the consequences of betrayal.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Henry makes the choice to execute the assassination. He poisons Celia's wine with a toxin that will make her death appear natural. The revelation: Celia knows what he's done and drinks anyway, a final act of mutual understanding and tragic love.
Synthesis
Celia dies peacefully at the table. Henry stages the scene and leaves. A final twist reveals the conspiracy went deeper—Bill Compton may have been involved. Henry completes his mission but is forever changed, having killed the woman he loved for duty and country.
Transformation
Henry drives away alone through the same Carmel streets, mirroring the opening but now hollow and destroyed. He has achieved his mission but lost everything human within himself—transformed from a man capable of love into a weapon of the state.