Blitz
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
George
Rita
Jack
Gerald
Ife
Mickey
Marcus
Main Cast & Characters
George
Played by Elliott Heffernan
A 9-year-old biracial boy who embarks on a perilous journey across London during the Blitz to return home to his mother.
Rita
Played by Saoirse Ronan
George's devoted single mother who works in a munitions factory and desperately searches for her son across war-torn London.
Jack
Played by Paul Weller
Rita's father and George's grandfather, a resilient East End resident who helps in the search for George.
Gerald
Played by Harris Dickinson
Rita's estranged father who runs an air raid shelter and embodies moral complexity during wartime.
Ife
Played by Benjamin Clementine
A Nigerian air raid warden who befriends George and represents the diverse community of wartime London.
Mickey
Played by Kathy Burke
A charismatic looter who exploits the chaos of the Blitz for personal gain and represents moral decay.
Marcus
Played by CJ Beckford
Rita's musician boyfriend and George's father figure who provides emotional support during the crisis.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Rita and her son George live in wartime London. Despite the nightly air raids, they maintain routines - Rita works in a munitions factory while George attends school. Their small flat represents safety and normalcy amid chaos.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 11 minutes when Rita makes the painful decision to evacuate George to the countryside for his safety. At the train station, George is visibly angry and hurt, feeling abandoned by his mother despite her tearful explanations that it's for his protection.. At 9% through the film, this Disruption arrives earlier than typical, accelerating the narrative momentum. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 24 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 20% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Rita receives word that George never arrived at the evacuation destination - he's missing. She makes the active choice to search for him despite authorities telling her to wait. George, simultaneously, commits fully to his journey home through the war-torn city., moving from reaction to action.
At 50 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 42% of the runtime—significantly early, compressing the first half. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat False defeat: George is captured by a gang of looters who exploit children during air raids. He's forced into their criminal operation, stealing from bombed homes. Meanwhile, Rita receives a false lead that suggests George may have been killed in a recent bombing. Both are at their lowest point of separation., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 75 minutes (62% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, During a massive air raid, the building George is trapped in takes a direct hit. He's buried in rubble and water floods in from broken pipes. This is his darkest moment - literal near-death. Rita, at the same time, suffers a breakdown, believing she's lost her son forever., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 80 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 67% of the runtime. The finale: George makes his final push through the burning city toward home. Rita races back to their flat. Air raid sirens wail. Bombs fall. The neighborhood is ablaze. Both mother and son navigate the inferno with singular purpose - to reunite at the place where their love lives., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Blitz's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 12 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Blitz against these established plot points, we can identify how the filmmaker utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Blitz within its genre.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Rita and her son George live in wartime London. Despite the nightly air raids, they maintain routines - Rita works in a munitions factory while George attends school. Their small flat represents safety and normalcy amid chaos.
Theme
George's grandfather tells him: "Home isn't a place, it's the people you love." This establishes the film's central theme about what truly constitutes home and family during displacement and war.
Worldbuilding
We see the rhythm of life during the Blitz: air raid sirens, bomb shelters, rationing, Rita's factory work, and the close-knit community. George resents being treated as a child and rebels against the restrictions. Rita's protective nature clashes with George's desire for independence.
Disruption
Rita makes the painful decision to evacuate George to the countryside for his safety. At the train station, George is visibly angry and hurt, feeling abandoned by his mother despite her tearful explanations that it's for his protection.
Resistance
George, overwhelmed by feelings of rejection, makes a rash decision and jumps from the moving evacuation train. Meanwhile, Rita returns to her daily life, finding it hollow without her son. She doesn't yet know he's missing. George begins his dangerous journey back to London, navigating bombed landscapes.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Rita receives word that George never arrived at the evacuation destination - he's missing. She makes the active choice to search for him despite authorities telling her to wait. George, simultaneously, commits fully to his journey home through the war-torn city.
Premise
Dual journey: George navigates the dangerous streets of bombed London, encountering both helpers and exploiters. He experiences the war's horror firsthand - looters, collapsed buildings, fires. Rita searches frantically, retracing possible routes, checking shelters and hospitals, while continuing factory work to maintain normalcy.
Midpoint
False defeat: George is captured by a gang of looters who exploit children during air raids. He's forced into their criminal operation, stealing from bombed homes. Meanwhile, Rita receives a false lead that suggests George may have been killed in a recent bombing. Both are at their lowest point of separation.
Opposition
Pressure intensifies on both sides. George must escape the looters while bombs continue falling. Rita faces bureaucratic indifference and dead ends. She confronts her own trauma and fears of loss. The nightly raids worsen, making both their journeys increasingly dangerous. Time is running out.
Collapse
During a massive air raid, the building George is trapped in takes a direct hit. He's buried in rubble and water floods in from broken pipes. This is his darkest moment - literal near-death. Rita, at the same time, suffers a breakdown, believing she's lost her son forever.
Crisis
George, underwater and trapped, has visions of his mother and memories of home. He finds the will to survive, drawing on his mother's love even in her absence. Rita, in her grief, finally understands what her grandfather meant - home is not safety, it's love, and love means being together.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
The finale: George makes his final push through the burning city toward home. Rita races back to their flat. Air raid sirens wail. Bombs fall. The neighborhood is ablaze. Both mother and son navigate the inferno with singular purpose - to reunite at the place where their love lives.