Lovesick
A psychiatrist, who falls in love with a patient, is visited by the spirit of Sigmund Freud, who gives him advice on how to handle it.
Working with a tight budget of $10.0M, the film achieved a respectable showing with $10.1M in global revenue (+1% 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%)
Lovesick (1983) reveals carefully calibrated narrative design, characteristic of Marshall Brickman's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 36 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.3, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Dr. Saul Benjamin
Chloe Allen
Sigmund Freud
Nymphia Benjamin
Larry Geller
Otto Jaffe
Main Cast & Characters
Dr. Saul Benjamin
Played by Dudley Moore
A successful psychiatrist who falls in love with his patient, violating professional ethics and jeopardizing his career and marriage.
Chloe Allen
Played by Elizabeth McGovern
A young, beautiful patient who becomes the object of Dr. Benjamin's romantic obsession, struggling with her own emotional issues.
Sigmund Freud
Played by Alec Guinness
The ghost of the famous psychoanalyst who appears to counsel and critique Dr. Benjamin through his ethical crisis.
Nymphia Benjamin
Played by Christine Baranski
Saul's wife, a patient woman whose marriage crumbles as her husband becomes emotionally distant and obsessed with his patient.
Larry Geller
Played by Wallace Shawn
Saul's best friend and colleague, a fellow psychiatrist who provides support and attempts to keep Saul grounded.
Otto Jaffe
Played by Alan King
Another psychiatrist colleague who observes Saul's professional and personal deterioration with concern.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Dr. Saul Benjamin conducts therapy sessions in his Upper East Side Manhattan office, presenting a picture of a successful, respected psychiatrist with a comfortable but emotionally stagnant marriage.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Chloe Allen walks into Saul's office as a new patient, referred by a colleague. Saul is immediately captivated by her beauty and vitality, feeling an instant attraction that disrupts his professional composure.. 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 24 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Saul decides to continue treating Chloe despite his feelings, rationalizing that he can maintain professional boundaries. This choice to keep her as a patient while harboring romantic feelings crosses an ethical line he cannot uncross., moving from reaction to action.
At 48 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. The analysis reveals that this crucial beat Saul and Chloe share their first kiss outside the therapeutic context. This false victory marks the consummation of their mutual attraction, but it also seals Saul's professional and marital transgression., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 73 minutes (76% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Saul faces a professional ethics committee investigation. His marriage crumbles. Chloe, feeling she was taken advantage of in a vulnerable state, breaks off their relationship. Saul's entire carefully constructed life falls apart., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 78 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Saul realizes that his love for Chloe is real and worth fighting for. He accepts the professional consequences and decides to pursue her honestly, no longer as doctor and patient but as equals willing to take a risk on love., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Lovesick's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Lovesick against these established plot points, we can identify how Marshall Brickman utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Lovesick within the comedy genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Bad Guys, Ella Enchanted and The Evening Star.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Dr. Saul Benjamin conducts therapy sessions in his Upper East Side Manhattan office, presenting a picture of a successful, respected psychiatrist with a comfortable but emotionally stagnant marriage.
Theme
A colleague remarks on the irony that psychiatrists who help others with their emotional lives often neglect their own, foreshadowing Saul's inability to recognize his own need for genuine passion and connection.
Worldbuilding
Saul's orderly professional life is established through his practice, interactions with patients, and his polite but passionless relationship with his wife. The world of Manhattan psychoanalysis is depicted with its rigid professional ethics.
Disruption
Chloe Allen walks into Saul's office as a new patient, referred by a colleague. Saul is immediately captivated by her beauty and vitality, feeling an instant attraction that disrupts his professional composure.
Resistance
Saul struggles with his growing feelings for Chloe during their sessions. The ghost of Sigmund Freud first appears to him, offering sardonic advice about love and professional ethics. Saul debates whether to transfer her to another analyst.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Saul decides to continue treating Chloe despite his feelings, rationalizing that he can maintain professional boundaries. This choice to keep her as a patient while harboring romantic feelings crosses an ethical line he cannot uncross.
Mirror World
Chloe reveals her artistic nature and free-spirited approach to life, representing everything Saul's controlled existence lacks. Her openness about emotions contrasts with his analytical detachment, showing him what authentic living looks like.
Premise
Saul and Chloe's relationship deepens through their sessions. Freud continues to appear, commenting on Saul's situation with wit and wisdom. Saul begins to fall deeply in love while trying to maintain the pretense of professional objectivity.
Midpoint
Saul and Chloe share their first kiss outside the therapeutic context. This false victory marks the consummation of their mutual attraction, but it also seals Saul's professional and marital transgression.
Opposition
Saul's dual life becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. His wife becomes suspicious. Colleagues notice changes in his behavior. The psychiatric community begins to whisper about impropriety. Chloe questions the authenticity of their relationship given how it started.
Collapse
Saul faces a professional ethics committee investigation. His marriage crumbles. Chloe, feeling she was taken advantage of in a vulnerable state, breaks off their relationship. Saul's entire carefully constructed life falls apart.
Crisis
Saul wanders through the aftermath of his choices. Freud appears one final time, challenging Saul to decide what really matters: his reputation or authentic love. Saul must confront whether his feelings for Chloe were genuine or just midlife escapism.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Saul realizes that his love for Chloe is real and worth fighting for. He accepts the professional consequences and decides to pursue her honestly, no longer as doctor and patient but as equals willing to take a risk on love.
Synthesis
Saul finds Chloe and confesses his genuine love, free from the power dynamic that tainted their beginning. He demonstrates his transformation by accepting vulnerability and uncertainty rather than control and analysis.
Transformation
Saul and Chloe reunite, beginning a relationship as equals. Saul has transformed from a man who analyzed emotions from a safe distance to one who embraces the beautiful chaos of genuine love, having chosen passion over propriety.