Change of Plans
About to go dancing, Danielle Bridges' roommate goes to pick her up at her parents house. Hijinx ensue when the roommate gets the wrong house.
Working with a modest budget of $12.0M, the film achieved a modest success with $15.0M in global revenue (+25% profit margin).
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%)
Change of Plans (2009) exhibits precise dramatic framework, characteristic of Danièle Thompson's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 40 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.4, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Marie
Bernadette
Michel
Pierre
Jacques
Véro
Laurent
Katia
Main Cast & Characters
Marie
Played by Karin Viard
A woman whose dinner party becomes the setting for life-changing revelations among friends.
Bernadette
Played by Emmanuelle Seigner
Marie's close friend who arrives with unexpected news that disrupts the evening.
Michel
Played by Dany Boon
Bernadette's husband, a doctor dealing with his wife's shocking announcement.
Pierre
Played by Patrick Bruel
Marie's husband who tries to maintain normalcy as tensions rise during dinner.
Jacques
Played by Yaniss Lespert
A friend in the group whose own marital issues surface during the gathering.
Véro
Played by Marina Foïs
Jacques' partner who contributes to the evening's emotional revelations.
Laurent
Played by Christophe Barbier
Another guest whose presence adds to the complex relationship dynamics.
Katia
Played by Valérie Crouzet
A friend in the group navigating her own personal struggles.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Marie and her husband prepare an elaborate dinner party for their close friends, establishing the comfortable world of Parisian bourgeois friendships built over decades.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Marie receives devastating news that her son has been in a serious accident and is in emergency surgery, instantly transforming the celebratory dinner into a vigil of anxiety.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 25 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to The group collectively decides to stay together through the night rather than disperse, committing to face the crisis as a unit and entering a more intimate, vulnerable space than their usual social gatherings., moving from reaction to action.
At 50 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat Good news arrives from the hospital—Marie's son will survive. The relief briefly unites everyone, but the false victory raises stakes as the revelations have already gone too far to take back., 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 (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The most stable marriage in the group shatters as a decades-long affair is revealed, symbolizing the death of the illusion that any of them truly know each other or themselves., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 80 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Marie returns from the hospital with perspective: her son's near-death has shown her what truly matters. She challenges her friends to embrace the truth rather than retreat to comfortable lies., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Change of Plans'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 Change of Plans against these established plot points, we can identify how Danièle Thompson utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Change of Plans within the short genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional short films include This Is England, Chloe and What Remains.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Marie and her husband prepare an elaborate dinner party for their close friends, establishing the comfortable world of Parisian bourgeois friendships built over decades.
Theme
A guest mentions that 'the plans we make never turn out the way we expect,' foreshadowing how this evening will unravel everyone's carefully constructed lives.
Worldbuilding
The arrival of guests reveals the complex web of relationships: long-married couples, a recently divorced friend, hidden tensions, professional jealousies, and the polite facades that mask deeper dissatisfactions.
Disruption
Marie receives devastating news that her son has been in a serious accident and is in emergency surgery, instantly transforming the celebratory dinner into a vigil of anxiety.
Resistance
Unable to leave for the hospital immediately, the friends debate how to support Marie while waiting for news. The crisis forces them to drop their social masks and reveal their true selves and concerns.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
The group collectively decides to stay together through the night rather than disperse, committing to face the crisis as a unit and entering a more intimate, vulnerable space than their usual social gatherings.
Mirror World
The youngest guest, representing a newer generation with different values, begins asking direct questions that challenge the group's unspoken rules about honesty and authenticity in relationships.
Premise
The enforced intimacy of waiting reveals secrets: affairs past and present, professional betrayals, long-buried resentments, and the gap between who these friends pretend to be and who they really are.
Midpoint
Good news arrives from the hospital—Marie's son will survive. The relief briefly unites everyone, but the false victory raises stakes as the revelations have already gone too far to take back.
Opposition
With the immediate crisis resolved, the deeper personal crises intensify. Marriages confront infidelities, friendships face betrayals, and the comfortable lies that held the group together crumble under honesty's weight.
Collapse
The most stable marriage in the group shatters as a decades-long affair is revealed, symbolizing the death of the illusion that any of them truly know each other or themselves.
Crisis
In the wreckage of their evening, each character sits with the reality that the comfortable world they knew is gone, forced to decide whether honesty destroys or rebuilds.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Marie returns from the hospital with perspective: her son's near-death has shown her what truly matters. She challenges her friends to embrace the truth rather than retreat to comfortable lies.
Synthesis
The friends begin tentative steps toward authentic connection: some marriages end, others start honest conversations, friendships reconfigure on truthful foundations, accepting that change is painful but necessary.
Transformation
The group gathers again weeks later, their relationships fundamentally altered but more genuine. The careful social choreography is replaced by awkward but real human connection.