Nobody's Fool
Sully is a rascally ne'er-do-well approaching retirement age. While he is pressing a worker's compensation suit for a bad knee, he secretly works for his nemesis Carl, and flirts with Carl's young wife Toby. Sully's long-forgotten son and his family have moved back to town, so Sully faces unfamiliar family responsibilities. Meanwhile, Sully's landlady's banker son plots to push through a new development and evict Sully from his mother's life.
Working with a respectable budget of $20.0M, the film achieved a steady performer with $39.5M in global revenue (+97% profit margin).
Nominated for 2 Oscars. 5 wins & 10 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%)
Nobody's Fool (1994) demonstrates deliberately positioned dramatic framework, characteristic of Robert Benton's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 50 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 Sully Sullivan wakes up on his landlady Miss Beryl's couch, another day in his unchanging routine. At 60, he's still working construction with a bum leg, avoiding responsibility, and living day-to-day in small-town Bath, New York.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Sully's estranged son Peter unexpectedly arrives in town for Thanksgiving with his wife and two boys. Peter has lost his job as a college professor and his marriage is falling apart. This forces Sully to confront the family relationships he's avoided for decades.. 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 29 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 26% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Sully makes the active choice to spend time with his grandson Will, taking the boy with him on his construction work and errands. This decision to engage with family rather than avoid them marks his entry into a new world of responsibility and connection., moving from reaction to action.
At 56 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat False victory: Sully wins his lawsuit and receives a settlement check. It appears his financial problems are solved and he can help Peter and the grandkids. The stakes raise—now he has resources, but the question becomes whether he'll use them responsibly or squander them as he has everything else., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 82 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Miss Beryl, Sully's landlady and surrogate mother figure, suffers a stroke and is hospitalized. This brush with mortality (the "whiff of death") forces Sully to confront loss and the passage of time. He realizes he's running out of chances to make things right with the people who matter., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 87 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Miss Beryl wakes up and, in a moment of clarity, tells Sully she's leaving him her house. This gift of grace—unearned but freely given—shows Sully what real generosity looks like. He synthesizes what he's learned about responsibility with his natural improvisational skills, ready to make things right., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Nobody's Fool'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 Nobody's Fool against these established plot points, we can identify how Robert Benton utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Nobody's Fool within the comedy genre.
Robert Benton's Structural Approach
Among the 6 Robert Benton films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.1, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Nobody's Fool takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Robert Benton filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Robert Benton analyses, see The Human Stain, Kramer vs. Kramer and Twilight.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Sully Sullivan wakes up on his landlady Miss Beryl's couch, another day in his unchanging routine. At 60, he's still working construction with a bum leg, avoiding responsibility, and living day-to-day in small-town Bath, New York.
Theme
Wirf, the philosophy professor, tells Sully at the diner: "People don't change, Sully. They just get more like themselves." This establishes the central thematic question: can a man who's avoided family responsibility his whole life actually change?
Worldbuilding
Sully's world is established: his contentious relationship with boss Carl Roebuck, his illegal construction work while on disability, his flirtation with Carl's wife Toby, his estrangement from his son Peter, and his lawsuit against his former employer. Miss Beryl provides commentary on his irresponsibility.
Disruption
Sully's estranged son Peter unexpectedly arrives in town for Thanksgiving with his wife and two boys. Peter has lost his job as a college professor and his marriage is falling apart. This forces Sully to confront the family relationships he's avoided for decades.
Resistance
Sully resists engagement with Peter and his grandsons. He continues his routine: working for Carl, pursuing his lawsuit, flirting with Toby. Miss Beryl and others encourage him to connect with his family. He debates whether he should try after all these years of being absent. His one-legged philosophy teacher Wirf serves as a mentor figure.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Sully makes the active choice to spend time with his grandson Will, taking the boy with him on his construction work and errands. This decision to engage with family rather than avoid them marks his entry into a new world of responsibility and connection.
Mirror World
Sully's deepening relationship with his grandson Will becomes the emotional core that carries the theme. Will represents innocence and a second chance—Sully can be the grandfather he never was as a father. Through Will, Sully confronts what he missed and what he might still salvage.
Premise
Sully explores what it means to be a family man at 60. He bonds with Will, has awkward interactions with Peter, gets more involved in Carl's chaotic life and business, pursues Toby, and continues his quixotic lawsuit. The promise of the premise: watching a confirmed bachelor try to connect with family.
Midpoint
False victory: Sully wins his lawsuit and receives a settlement check. It appears his financial problems are solved and he can help Peter and the grandkids. The stakes raise—now he has resources, but the question becomes whether he'll use them responsibly or squander them as he has everything else.
Opposition
Complications mount: Sully impulsively buys Carl's truck, damaging their friendship. Peter's marriage completely dissolves and he leaves town. Carl's life spirals with financial and marital problems. Sully's leg worsens. His attempts to help people with his settlement money create new problems. His old patterns of irresponsibility catch up with him.
Collapse
Miss Beryl, Sully's landlady and surrogate mother figure, suffers a stroke and is hospitalized. This brush with mortality (the "whiff of death") forces Sully to confront loss and the passage of time. He realizes he's running out of chances to make things right with the people who matter.
Crisis
Sully sits with the unconscious Miss Beryl in the hospital, processing what she's meant to him and how he's let people down his whole life. He reflects on his failures as a father and as a man. Dark night of the soul: confronting a lifetime of avoidance.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Miss Beryl wakes up and, in a moment of clarity, tells Sully she's leaving him her house. This gift of grace—unearned but freely given—shows Sully what real generosity looks like. He synthesizes what he's learned about responsibility with his natural improvisational skills, ready to make things right.
Synthesis
Sully makes amends: he reconciles with Carl, helps him with his problems, and repairs their friendship. He tracks down Peter and has an honest conversation with his son, acknowledging his failures as a father. He uses his settlement money to help Peter get back on his feet. He accepts responsibility for the man he's been while choosing to be different going forward.
Transformation
Final image mirrors the opening: Sully on a couch. But now it's in the house Miss Beryl left him, and he's surrounded by his grandson Will and building a relationship with his family. The confirmed loner has become a man connected to others. He hasn't become perfect, but he has changed—proving Wirf's opening statement wrong.