Bobby Deerfield
Bobby Deerfield, a Formula 1 driver, quits racing after his teammate dies in a crash. He meets Lillian at a medical facility, falls for her, and their relationship takes an unexpected turn when he learns why she's there.
Working with a modest budget of $6.4M, the film achieved a respectable showing with $9.3M in global revenue (+45% profit margin).
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%)
Bobby Deerfield (1977) exemplifies strategically placed plot construction, characteristic of Sydney Pollack's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 4 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.0, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Bobby Deerfield
Lillian Morelli
The Magician
Main Cast & Characters
Bobby Deerfield
Played by Al Pacino
A successful but emotionally detached Formula One race car driver who lives a controlled, isolated life focused entirely on racing and winning.
Lillian Morelli
Played by Marthe Keller
A free-spirited, terminally ill young woman who challenges Bobby's emotional barriers and teaches him to embrace life and vulnerability.
The Magician
Played by Anny Duperey
A mysterious performer who serves as a philosophical guide and catalyst for Bobby's transformation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Bobby races with precision and control on the track, winning races but living an emotionally detached, mechanical existence focused only on speed and victory.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when Bobby visits his injured teammate in the hospital and encounters Lillian, a mysterious and vibrant woman who challenges his emotional detachment with her directness and unconventional behavior.. 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 31 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Bobby makes the active choice to pursue Lillian, traveling to Switzerland to see her despite his fear of emotional involvement, crossing into a new world of feelings he has long suppressed., moving from reaction to action.
At 63 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat Bobby discovers Lillian is terminally ill, a false defeat that raises the stakes dramatically; what seemed like a liberating romance becomes a relationship shadowed by inevitable loss and death., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 92 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Lillian's health critically deteriorates and she pushes Bobby away to spare him pain, while Bobby faces the death of his hope for their future together; the "whiff of death" is both literal and emotional., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 99 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Bobby realizes that Lillian's lesson—to live fully in the present despite mortality—is the answer; he chooses to be with her completely in whatever time remains, integrating emotional openness with his previous discipline., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Bobby Deerfield's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Bobby Deerfield against these established plot points, we can identify how Sydney Pollack utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Bobby Deerfield within the drama genre.
Sydney Pollack's Structural Approach
Among the 13 Sydney Pollack films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.0, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Bobby Deerfield takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Sydney Pollack filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman. For more Sydney Pollack analyses, see Tootsie, Havana and The Interpreter.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Bobby races with precision and control on the track, winning races but living an emotionally detached, mechanical existence focused only on speed and victory.
Theme
After a fatal crash kills a fellow driver, someone remarks about truly living versus merely existing, foreshadowing Bobby's journey from emotional isolation to genuine human connection.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Bobby's world: the glamorous but shallow racing circuit, his controlled lifestyle, superficial relationships, fear of real emotion, and obsessive focus on technical perfection over human connection.
Disruption
Bobby visits his injured teammate in the hospital and encounters Lillian, a mysterious and vibrant woman who challenges his emotional detachment with her directness and unconventional behavior.
Resistance
Bobby resists Lillian's intrusions into his controlled life, debating whether to engage with this unpredictable woman who represents everything he avoids: spontaneity, emotion, and vulnerability.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Bobby makes the active choice to pursue Lillian, traveling to Switzerland to see her despite his fear of emotional involvement, crossing into a new world of feelings he has long suppressed.
Mirror World
Lillian becomes the thematic mirror, teaching Bobby about living fully in the present moment; she embodies the emotional openness and life embrace that contrasts with his controlled existence.
Premise
Bobby and Lillian's romance blooms as she draws him out of his shell through playful adventures, philosophical conversations, and emotional challenges that force him to confront his fear of intimacy.
Midpoint
Bobby discovers Lillian is terminally ill, a false defeat that raises the stakes dramatically; what seemed like a liberating romance becomes a relationship shadowed by inevitable loss and death.
Opposition
Bobby struggles between his growing love and his fear of loss; Lillian's condition worsens while Bobby grapples with whether to fully commit emotionally or retreat to his safe, controlled world.
Collapse
Lillian's health critically deteriorates and she pushes Bobby away to spare him pain, while Bobby faces the death of his hope for their future together; the "whiff of death" is both literal and emotional.
Crisis
Bobby confronts his darkest fear: that loving fully means risking devastating loss; he must decide whether the pain of losing Lillian is worth the gift of having truly lived and loved.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Bobby realizes that Lillian's lesson—to live fully in the present despite mortality—is the answer; he chooses to be with her completely in whatever time remains, integrating emotional openness with his previous discipline.
Synthesis
Bobby returns to Lillian and races again, but now transformed; he engages fully with life and death, bringing emotional presence to both his racing and his relationship in her final days.
Transformation
Bobby, now emotionally awakened and capable of genuine connection, carries forward the lesson Lillian taught him—he has transformed from a man who merely existed to one who truly lives, accepting both joy and grief.