Henry & June
While traveling in Paris, author Henry Miller and his wife, June, meet Anais Nin, and sexual sparks fly as Nin starts an affair with the openly bisexual June. When June is forced to return to the U.S., she gives Nin her blessing to sleep with her husband. Then, when June returns to France, an unexpected, and sometimes contentious, threesome forms.
The film earned $11.6M 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%)
Henry & June (1990) exhibits deliberately positioned plot construction, characteristic of Philip Kaufman's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 16 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.2, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Anaïs Nin writes in her diary in her Parisian apartment, living a comfortable but emotionally restrained life with her banker husband Hugo. She appears refined, proper, and constrained by conventional marriage.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when Anaïs meets Henry Miller and his wife June at a café. She is immediately captivated by their raw, uninhibited energy and authenticity—everything her polished life lacks. June's magnetic sensuality particularly mesmerizes her.. At 11% 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 33 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Anaïs makes the active choice to pursue a sexual relationship with Henry Miller, crossing from her safe married life into the bohemian world of passion and artistic freedom. She enters his shabby apartment and they make love., moving from reaction to action.
At 69 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat False defeat: June discovers Anaïs's affair with Henry. The triangle collapses as June confronts Anaïs about her betrayal. June leaves Paris, and the stakes are raised—Anaïs must now face the consequences of her choices and what she truly wants., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 102 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Anaïs reaches her emotional low point when she realizes she's been living for others—Hugo, Henry, June—rather than herself. The dream of perfect liberation dies as she confronts the pain she's caused and her own self-deception about who she is., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 110 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Breakthrough: Anaïs realizes that her true liberation comes not from any relationship but from honest self-expression in her writing. She synthesizes her experiences into artistic truth, choosing to embrace complexity rather than seeking simple answers., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Henry & June'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 Henry & June against these established plot points, we can identify how Philip Kaufman utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Henry & June within the romance genre.
Philip Kaufman's Structural Approach
Among the 8 Philip Kaufman films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.0, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Henry & June represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Philip Kaufman filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional romance films include South Pacific, Last Night and Diana. For more Philip Kaufman analyses, see Quills, Rising Sun and The Right Stuff.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Anaïs Nin writes in her diary in her Parisian apartment, living a comfortable but emotionally restrained life with her banker husband Hugo. She appears refined, proper, and constrained by conventional marriage.
Theme
Hugo or another character mentions that writing requires courage and honesty, that one must be willing to expose oneself completely. This foreshadows Anaïs's journey toward creative and sexual liberation.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of 1931 Paris bohemian literary scene. Anaïs lives a double life: proper banker's wife by day, aspiring writer seeking artistic authenticity. She attends literary gatherings and is drawn to the expatriate American writer community.
Disruption
Anaïs meets Henry Miller and his wife June at a café. She is immediately captivated by their raw, uninhibited energy and authenticity—everything her polished life lacks. June's magnetic sensuality particularly mesmerizes her.
Resistance
Anaïs debates crossing the line from observer to participant. She visits Henry and June, reads Henry's scandalous manuscript "Tropic of Cancer," and becomes their patron. She's drawn to both but hesitates to act on her desires, caught between convention and liberation.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Anaïs makes the active choice to pursue a sexual relationship with Henry Miller, crossing from her safe married life into the bohemian world of passion and artistic freedom. She enters his shabby apartment and they make love.
Mirror World
June returns to Paris and Anaïs becomes deeply infatuated with her. June represents the ultimate mirror—the liberated woman Anaïs wishes to become. Their charged relationship explores themes of female desire, identity, and artistic truth.
Premise
The promise of the premise: Anaïs explores her sexuality and creative voice through relationships with both Henry and June. She experiments with liberation, writes more honestly in her diary, and navigates the thrilling complexity of desire and jealousy.
Midpoint
False defeat: June discovers Anaïs's affair with Henry. The triangle collapses as June confronts Anaïs about her betrayal. June leaves Paris, and the stakes are raised—Anaïs must now face the consequences of her choices and what she truly wants.
Opposition
Anaïs's double life becomes increasingly unsustainable. Hugo grows suspicious, Henry becomes more demanding, and Anaïs struggles with guilt. Her attempts to balance everyone's needs while finding her authentic voice create mounting pressure and internal conflict.
Collapse
Anaïs reaches her emotional low point when she realizes she's been living for others—Hugo, Henry, June—rather than herself. The dream of perfect liberation dies as she confronts the pain she's caused and her own self-deception about who she is.
Crisis
Dark night of the soul: Anaïs retreats into her diary, processing the wreckage of her relationships. She confronts the gap between her romantic fantasies and reality, between who she pretended to be and who she actually is.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Breakthrough: Anaïs realizes that her true liberation comes not from any relationship but from honest self-expression in her writing. She synthesizes her experiences into artistic truth, choosing to embrace complexity rather than seeking simple answers.
Synthesis
Anaïs makes peace with Hugo, establishes new boundaries with Henry, and commits fully to her diary as her primary creative outlet. She integrates her experiences into a more mature understanding of herself as both artist and woman.
Transformation
Final image mirrors the opening: Anaïs writes in her diary, but now she writes with complete honesty and freedom. She has transformed from constrained wife to liberated artist who has found her authentic voice through experience.