Delicacy
A French woman mourning over the death of her husband three years prior is courted by a Swedish co-worker.
The film earned $9.7M at the global box office.
1 win & 3 nominations
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%)
Delicacy (2011) showcases precise narrative design, characteristic of David Foenkinos's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 48 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.0, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Nathalie and François share a perfect moment of playful intimacy in bed, establishing their deeply loving marriage and her complete happiness.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when François is killed instantly in a car accident while running to meet Nathalie, shattering her world completely and leaving her in devastating grief.. 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 24% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to In an inexplicable moment, Nathalie spontaneously kisses Markus, a quiet Swedish janitor in her office, making an unconscious choice to reconnect with feeling and life., moving from reaction to action.
At 53 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat Nathalie and Markus share their first genuine intimate connection, and she experiences real joy for the first time since François' death, a false victory as external pressures will soon threaten this fragile new happiness., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 80 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Under the weight of social pressure and her own fear, Nathalie pushes Markus away, rejecting their relationship and retreating into her safe, numb existence—a death of hope and second chances., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 86 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Nathalie realizes that honoring François' memory doesn't mean refusing to live again, and that choosing Markus isn't betrayal but the courage to embrace unexpected love—she decides to fight for him., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Delicacy'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 Delicacy against these established plot points, we can identify how David Foenkinos utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Delicacy within the comedy genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Nathalie and François share a perfect moment of playful intimacy in bed, establishing their deeply loving marriage and her complete happiness.
Theme
François tells Nathalie that love can come when you least expect it, foreshadowing the film's exploration of unexpected second chances and the unpredictability of the heart.
Worldbuilding
Establishing Nathalie's perfect life: her successful career, loving marriage to François, their playful relationship, and her role at a consulting firm where she's respected and valued.
Disruption
François is killed instantly in a car accident while running to meet Nathalie, shattering her world completely and leaving her in devastating grief.
Resistance
Three years pass. Nathalie exists in emotional numbness, going through the motions at work, rebuffing advances from her charming boss Charles, mechanically living without truly being alive.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
In an inexplicable moment, Nathalie spontaneously kisses Markus, a quiet Swedish janitor in her office, making an unconscious choice to reconnect with feeling and life.
Mirror World
Markus, bewildered but hopeful, represents a completely different world from François—unglamorous, simple, earnest—embodying the film's theme that love doesn't follow logic or social expectations.
Premise
Nathalie tentatively explores this strange new relationship with Markus while her colleagues gossip, her family questions her choices, and she herself can't explain why she's drawn to this unlikely man.
Midpoint
Nathalie and Markus share their first genuine intimate connection, and she experiences real joy for the first time since François' death, a false victory as external pressures will soon threaten this fragile new happiness.
Opposition
Opposition mounts from all sides: office gossip intensifies, Charles confesses his love and creates professional tension, Nathalie's grandmother questions the relationship, and Nathalie herself struggles with guilt over moving on from François.
Collapse
Under the weight of social pressure and her own fear, Nathalie pushes Markus away, rejecting their relationship and retreating into her safe, numb existence—a death of hope and second chances.
Crisis
Nathalie returns to her emotionally dead state, realizing the emptiness of her existence without Markus, while he prepares to leave France and return to Sweden, accepting her rejection.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Nathalie realizes that honoring François' memory doesn't mean refusing to live again, and that choosing Markus isn't betrayal but the courage to embrace unexpected love—she decides to fight for him.
Synthesis
Nathalie races to find Markus before he leaves, confronting her fears and social expectations, declaring her love openly and choosing authentic feeling over the safety of emotional numbness.
Transformation
Nathalie and Markus embrace, and she is truly alive again—no longer the woman frozen in grief from the opening, but someone who has learned that the heart can expand to hold both profound loss and unexpected new love.