Flesh and Bone
Around thirty years after Arlis witnessed his father murdering a family, he runs into Kay, who happens to be the family's baby, who was spared. Kay and Arlis suspect nothing about each other, but when his father returns, old wounds are reopened.
The film earned $9.7M at the global box office.
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%)
Flesh and Bone (1993) exemplifies strategically placed narrative architecture, characteristic of Steve Kloves's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 6 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.5, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Opening flashback: Young Arlis watches as his father Roy commits a brutal home invasion and murders a family in rural Texas, establishing the traumatic past that haunts the protagonist.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when Arlis encounters Kay when her car breaks down. This chance meeting disrupts his carefully maintained emotional isolation and begins drawing him toward human connection.. 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 24% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Arlis actively chooses to pursue a relationship with Kay, inviting her into his life. This is his decision to risk emotional vulnerability and step out of his self-imposed isolation., moving from reaction to action.
At 64 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat Roy (James Caan), Arlis's father, reappears after decades. This false defeat raises the stakes enormously - the past Arlis has been running from literally returns. The fragile new world he's building is now threatened., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 94 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The truth is revealed: Kay discovers Arlis is the son of her family's murderer. Their relationship shatters. Arlis loses the one person who offered him redemption. His hope for a different life dies., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 101 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Arlis realizes he must confront Roy directly - not to escape the past, but to break its hold by taking responsibility. He chooses action over paralysis, facing his father to protect Kay and end the cycle of violence., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Flesh and Bone'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 Flesh and Bone against these established plot points, we can identify how Steve Kloves utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Flesh and Bone within the drama genre.
Steve Kloves's Structural Approach
Among the 2 Steve Kloves films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.0, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Flesh and Bone represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Steve Kloves filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman. For more Steve Kloves analyses, see The Fabulous Baker Boys.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Opening flashback: Young Arlis watches as his father Roy commits a brutal home invasion and murders a family in rural Texas, establishing the traumatic past that haunts the protagonist.
Theme
A character mentions "You can't escape your blood," foreshadowing the central theme of whether we are defined by our past and family sins or can forge our own identity.
Worldbuilding
Present day: Adult Arlis (Dennis Quaid) lives a solitary, emotionally detached life selling vending machines in West Texas. He is isolated, haunted, and unable to form connections. We meet Kay (Meg Ryan), a drifter fleeing an abusive relationship, and see the lonely landscape both characters inhabit.
Disruption
Arlis encounters Kay when her car breaks down. This chance meeting disrupts his carefully maintained emotional isolation and begins drawing him toward human connection.
Resistance
Arlis tentatively helps Kay, fighting his instinct to remain alone. Kay debates whether to trust this stranger. Both characters circle each other warily, testing whether connection is possible for two damaged people.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Arlis actively chooses to pursue a relationship with Kay, inviting her into his life. This is his decision to risk emotional vulnerability and step out of his self-imposed isolation.
Mirror World
Arlis and Kay begin a fragile romantic relationship. Kay becomes the mirror showing Arlis what redemption and human connection might look like - she represents the possibility of escaping the past.
Premise
Arlis and Kay explore their tentative relationship, sharing moments of intimacy and vulnerability. The promise of the premise: Can two broken people find redemption together? Arlis begins to hope he can escape his past.
Midpoint
Roy (James Caan), Arlis's father, reappears after decades. This false defeat raises the stakes enormously - the past Arlis has been running from literally returns. The fragile new world he's building is now threatened.
Opposition
Roy manipulates his way into Arlis's life and begins pursuing Kay, unaware of her connection to Arlis. The terrible irony tightens: Kay is revealed to be the daughter of the family Roy murdered in the opening. Arlis is caught between his guilt, his father's evil, and his love for Kay. The past closes in.
Collapse
The truth is revealed: Kay discovers Arlis is the son of her family's murderer. Their relationship shatters. Arlis loses the one person who offered him redemption. His hope for a different life dies.
Crisis
Arlis confronts the darkest truth: he can never escape what his father made him complicit in as a child. He wrestles with whether redemption is even possible or if he is damned by blood.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Arlis realizes he must confront Roy directly - not to escape the past, but to break its hold by taking responsibility. He chooses action over paralysis, facing his father to protect Kay and end the cycle of violence.
Synthesis
Arlis confronts Roy in a tense finale. He must decide whether to kill his father or break the cycle another way. The confrontation is psychological and physical - Arlis fights for his soul and Kay's safety.
Transformation
Closing image: Arlis, alone again, but transformed. Unlike the opening isolation born of avoidance, this is chosen solitude born of acceptance. He has faced his past, taken responsibility, and freed himself from being defined by his father's sins - even if redemption means loneliness.