Official Secrets
A morality tale for the 21st century, Official Secrets tells the true story of British Intelligence whistle-blower Katharine Gun who, during the immediate run-up to the 2003 Iraq invasion, leaked a top secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council. The memo proposed blackmailing smaller, undecided member states into voting for war. At great personal and professional risk, journalist Martin Bright published the leaked document in The Observer newspaper in London, and the story made headlines around the world. Members of the Security Council were outraged and any chance of a UN resolution in favour of war collapsed. But within days, Bush declared he no longer needed UN backing and invaded anyway. As Iraq descended into chaos, Katharine was arrested and charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act. Martin faced potential charges too. Their legal battles exposed the highest levels of government in both London and Washington with having manipulated intelligence in order to sell an illegal war.
The film earned $10.1M at the global box office.
5 wins & 16 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%)
Official Secrets (2019) exhibits carefully calibrated narrative design, characteristic of Gavin Hood's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 13-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 52 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.9, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Katharine Gun works as a translator at GCHQ, living a quiet, ordinary life with her husband Yasar in Cheltenham, performing routine intelligence work.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Katharine receives the leaked NSA memo requesting GCHQ's help in blackmailing UN Security Council members to secure votes for the Iraq War, forcing her to confront institutional corruption.. 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 27 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Katharine makes the irreversible choice to leak the NSA memo to The Observer, crossing the point of no return and becoming a whistleblower., moving from reaction to action.
At 57 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Katharine is formally charged under the Official Secrets Act and faces the reality that she could go to prison for years, raising the stakes to their maximum and making her sacrifice concrete., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 84 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Katharine's lawyers tell her the case looks hopeless and suggest she plead guilty to avoid a harsher sentence, representing the symbolic death of hope and justice., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 89 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. The trial preparation and climactic courtroom sequence where the prosecution, unable to defend the legality of the war, drops all charges against Katharine, vindicating her stand., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Official Secrets's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 13 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Official Secrets against these established plot points, we can identify how Gavin Hood utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Official Secrets within the biography genre.
Gavin Hood's Structural Approach
Among the 3 Gavin Hood films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.5, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Official Secrets represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Gavin Hood filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional biography films include Lords of Dogtown, Ip Man 2 and A Complete Unknown. For more Gavin Hood analyses, see Ender's Game, Rendition.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Katharine Gun works as a translator at GCHQ, living a quiet, ordinary life with her husband Yasar in Cheltenham, performing routine intelligence work.
Theme
A colleague discusses the questionable legality of the impending Iraq War, introducing the film's central question: when does following orders become complicity in wrongdoing?
Worldbuilding
Establishment of Katharine's world at GCHQ: her work translating intercepted communications, her marriage to Turkish Kurd Yasar, the tense political climate leading up to the Iraq invasion, and the moral unease among intelligence staff.
Disruption
Katharine receives the leaked NSA memo requesting GCHQ's help in blackmailing UN Security Council members to secure votes for the Iraq War, forcing her to confront institutional corruption.
Resistance
Katharine wrestles with what to do about the memo, debates the consequences with herself, and ultimately decides to leak it to the press despite the enormous personal and legal risks.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Katharine makes the irreversible choice to leak the NSA memo to The Observer, crossing the point of no return and becoming a whistleblower.
Mirror World
Introduction of journalist Martin Bright and The Observer team who will pursue the story, representing the free press that embodies the democratic values Katharine is trying to protect.
Premise
The leak's aftermath unfolds: The Observer publishes the story, Katharine watches anxiously as it gains traction, GCHQ launches an investigation, and Katharine confesses to the leak, getting arrested under the Official Secrets Act.
Midpoint
Katharine is formally charged under the Official Secrets Act and faces the reality that she could go to prison for years, raising the stakes to their maximum and making her sacrifice concrete.
Opposition
The government builds its case against Katharine while her legal team struggles to mount a defense; her marriage strains under pressure; Yasar faces deportation; and the establishment closes ranks to make an example of her.
Collapse
Katharine's lawyers tell her the case looks hopeless and suggest she plead guilty to avoid a harsher sentence, representing the symbolic death of hope and justice.
Crisis
In her darkest hour, Katharine faces the possibility of losing everything—her freedom, her husband, her future—while contemplating whether her sacrifice was worth it.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
The trial preparation and climactic courtroom sequence where the prosecution, unable to defend the legality of the war, drops all charges against Katharine, vindicating her stand.