Klute
Six months after the disappearance of Tuscarora, PA businessman Tom Gruneman, his boss, Peter Cable, and his wife, Holly Gruneman, hire Tom's friend, private detective John Klute to find out what happened to Tom, as the police have been unable to do so, and despite John having no expertise in missing persons cases. The only lead is a typewritten obscene letter Tom purportedly wrote to Manhattan actress/model/call girl Bree Daniel, who admits to having received such letters from someone, and since having received several mysterious telephone calls as well. The suggestion/belief is that Tom was one of Bree's past johns, although she has no recollection of him when shown his photograph. Bree's tricking is both a compulsion and a financial need. In their initial encounters, John and Bree do whatever they can to exert their psychological dominance over the other, especially as Bree initially refused to even speak to him. Despite their less than friendly start, they embark on a personal relationship based on emotional need, but it is a relationship Bree tries to sabotage because of those same issues which causes her to turn tricks. As they follow the leads through Bree's call girl world, they know they're getting close to finding the truth when someone continues to torment Bree. They believe the key to Tom's disappearance is a violent john who tried to kill her a few years earlier when Tom disappeared but who she doesn't remember. The questions become whether John and Bree can discover his identity and stop him before he tries to kill Bree again, and whether there is a future for them together.
Despite its limited budget of $2.5M, Klute became a financial success, earning $12.5M worldwide—a 401% return. The film's unconventional structure attracted moviegoers, illustrating how strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
1 Oscar. 9 wins & 5 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%)
Klute (1971) exemplifies precise dramatic framework, characteristic of Alan J. Pakula's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 54 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Bree Daniels
John Klute
Peter Cable
Frank Ligourin
Main Cast & Characters
Bree Daniels
Played by Jane Fonda
A high-class call girl struggling for independence and haunted by paranoia, who becomes the key to solving a missing person case.
John Klute
Played by Donald Sutherland
A small-town Pennsylvania detective investigating the disappearance of his friend, methodical and emotionally reserved.
Peter Cable
Played by Charles Cioffi
A corporate executive and former associate of the missing man, outwardly respectable but harboring dark secrets.
Frank Ligourin
Played by Roy Scheider
A menacing pimp who represents the threatening underworld Bree is trying to escape.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Bree Daniels in her New York apartment, preparing for a modeling audition while working as a call girl, living a controlled, emotionally distant life.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Klute appears at Bree's door, revealing she's connected to a missing person case through obscene letters, disrupting her carefully controlled existence.. 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 28 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Bree chooses to actively help Klute investigate after realizing she's in genuine danger, accepting that her controlled world is collapsing and she needs his protection., moving from reaction to action.
At 57 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Bree and Klute consummate their relationship, a false victory as Bree experiences genuine intimacy for the first time, but the stalker intensifies, recording their conversations., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 85 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Bree discovers her friend Arlyn has been murdered, the "whiff of death" that makes the danger horrifyingly real and personal, stripping away her illusions of control., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 90 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Bree realizes Cable is the killer when pieces fall into place about his connection to the victims, and she chooses to help trap him despite her fear, actively embracing risk for resolution., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Klute's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Klute against these established plot points, we can identify how Alan J. Pakula utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Klute within the crime genre.
Alan J. Pakula's Structural Approach
Among the 11 Alan J. Pakula films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.3, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Klute takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Alan J. Pakula filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Rustom and The Whole Ten Yards. For more Alan J. Pakula analyses, see Presumed Innocent, The Pelican Brief and All the President's Men.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Bree Daniels in her New York apartment, preparing for a modeling audition while working as a call girl, living a controlled, emotionally distant life.
Theme
Bree's therapist asks about her inability to form real connections: "Why do you think you keep men at a distance?" The theme of intimacy vs. control is stated.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to Bree's dual life as call girl and aspiring actress/model, her therapy sessions revealing emotional walls, and the investigation into Tom Gruneman's disappearance by his friend John Klute.
Disruption
Klute appears at Bree's door, revealing she's connected to a missing person case through obscene letters, disrupting her carefully controlled existence.
Resistance
Bree resists Klute's investigation, lies about knowing Tom, tries to maintain control of her life while Klute methodically investigates, following her and uncovering her connections.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Bree chooses to actively help Klute investigate after realizing she's in genuine danger, accepting that her controlled world is collapsing and she needs his protection.
Mirror World
Bree and Klute begin forming an unexpected connection as they work together, his quiet patience and genuine care contrasting with her transactional relationships.
Premise
Bree and Klute investigate together, tracking down leads through the call girl underworld, while their relationship deepens and Bree begins lowering her emotional defenses despite her fear of vulnerability.
Midpoint
Bree and Klute consummate their relationship, a false victory as Bree experiences genuine intimacy for the first time, but the stalker intensifies, recording their conversations.
Opposition
The investigation leads to Peter Cable, Gruneman's employer. Bree's emotional walls resurface as intimacy terrifies her. The killer escalates, murdering another call girl who had information, closing in on Bree.
Collapse
Bree discovers her friend Arlyn has been murdered, the "whiff of death" that makes the danger horrifyingly real and personal, stripping away her illusions of control.
Crisis
Bree confronts her terror and vulnerability, torn between fleeing back to her old controlled life or trusting Klute, processing the reality that she cannot control everything or everyone.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Bree realizes Cable is the killer when pieces fall into place about his connection to the victims, and she chooses to help trap him despite her fear, actively embracing risk for resolution.
Synthesis
Cable lures Bree to his garment factory, revealing himself as the killer. The confrontation exposes his need for control through violence. Klute arrives, Cable dies by suicide, and the case resolves.
Transformation
Bree packs to leave New York with Klute, transformed from someone afraid of vulnerability into someone willing to risk intimacy, though her voiceover reveals lingering uncertainty about whether she can sustain it.