On My Way
Deneuve plays sassy grandmother Bettie who takes to the road after being betrayed by her lover and learning her business is on the verge of bankruptcy on the same day. During a weeklong odyssey across France, she spends time with a grandson she hardly knows and reconnects with her past as former Miss Brittany through a reunion for former beauty queens.
The film earned $5.5M 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%)
On My Way (2013) exhibits meticulously timed narrative design, characteristic of Emmanuelle Bercot's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 40 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.3, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Bettie manages her small-town restaurant in Brittany, putting on makeup and maintaining appearances while her life feels stagnant and unfulfilling.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Bettie's married lover definitively ends their affair, and her daughter appears with news that she's leaving her young son with Bettie to deal with her own crisis.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 25 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Bettie impulsively gets in her car and drives away from everything—her restaurant, her responsibilities, her grandson—choosing escape over confrontation., moving from reaction to action.
At 51 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat Bettie reaches the beauty pageant reunion she'd been avoiding, confronting her past glory and the woman she used to be, realizing she can't recapture youth but can choose who to become., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 75 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Bettie must return Charly to his mother and face the damage her escape has caused. The fantasy road trip ends, and she confronts the possibility that running away solved nothing., demonstrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 80 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Bettie realizes that freedom isn't about running away but about choosing how to live authentically. She decides to return and face her life with newfound clarity and self-acceptance., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
On My Way'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 On My Way against these established plot points, we can identify how Emmanuelle Bercot utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish On My Way within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Bettie manages her small-town restaurant in Brittany, putting on makeup and maintaining appearances while her life feels stagnant and unfulfilling.
Theme
A customer or employee mentions something about running away or finding yourself, establishing the theme of self-discovery and escape from stagnation.
Worldbuilding
We see Bettie's routine life: her struggling restaurant, her relationship with her daughter, her vanity about her aging beauty queen past, and her affair with a married man who won't leave his wife.
Disruption
Bettie's married lover definitively ends their affair, and her daughter appears with news that she's leaving her young son with Bettie to deal with her own crisis.
Resistance
Bettie resists responsibility for her grandson and her failing life. She drinks, argues with her mother, and contemplates her limited options in the small town.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Bettie impulsively gets in her car and drives away from everything—her restaurant, her responsibilities, her grandson—choosing escape over confrontation.
Mirror World
Bettie encounters her grandson Charly, who has stowed away in her car. His innocent perspective and unconditional acceptance begin to mirror what Bettie needs to learn about herself.
Premise
Bettie and Charly embark on an unexpected road trip together. She rediscovers spontaneity, meets colorful characters, and begins to let go of her vanity and bitterness while bonding with her grandson.
Midpoint
Bettie reaches the beauty pageant reunion she'd been avoiding, confronting her past glory and the woman she used to be, realizing she can't recapture youth but can choose who to become.
Opposition
Reality intrudes: family members search for them, Bettie must face consequences of her abandonment, and her attempts to extend the escapist fantasy become increasingly difficult as responsibilities close in.
Collapse
Bettie must return Charly to his mother and face the damage her escape has caused. The fantasy road trip ends, and she confronts the possibility that running away solved nothing.
Crisis
Bettie processes her choices in solitude, reflecting on what she learned from Charly and the journey. She faces the question of whether to return to her old life or truly change.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Bettie realizes that freedom isn't about running away but about choosing how to live authentically. She decides to return and face her life with newfound clarity and self-acceptance.
Synthesis
Bettie returns to Brittany and confronts her responsibilities with a transformed perspective. She makes peace with her daughter, her mother, and her own aging, choosing connection over vanity.
Transformation
Bettie stands in her restaurant or with her family, no longer performing or hiding, but present and genuine—showing she's learned that running toward life is better than running away.