Open Range
A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
Despite a respectable budget of $22.0M, Open Range became a solid performer, earning $68.3M worldwide—a 210% return.
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%)
Open Range (2003) reveals precise plot construction, characteristic of Kevin Costner's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 19 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 Free grazers Boss Spearman and Charley Waite tend their cattle on the open range with Mose and Button, living a peaceful nomadic existence away from civilization and trouble.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 18 minutes when Mose returns badly beaten by Marshal Poole and Baxter's men. The crew learns that land baron Denton Baxter controls the town and violently opposes free grazers.. 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 35 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Boss and Charley make the active choice to go into Harmonville despite the danger, entering Baxter's controlled territory to stand up for their rights and get medical help for Mose., moving from reaction to action.
At 68 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat Baxter's men attack the camp at night. Button is killed and Mose is critically wounded. False defeat: the violence Charley tried to escape has found him, and innocent blood has been spilled. The stakes become life and death., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 102 minutes (73% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Mose dies from his wounds despite Doc's efforts. The whiff of death is literal. Charley faces the death of innocence (Button) and friendship (Mose), confronting the cost of the violence he's tried to leave behind., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 111 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Boss and Charley make the conscious decision to confront Baxter and his men directly. They combine their skills with moral clarity from Sue and Doc's support. Percy, a townsman, chooses to help them, showing courage can spread., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Open Range'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 Open Range against these established plot points, we can identify how Kevin Costner utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Open Range within the western genre.
Kevin Costner's Structural Approach
Among the 3 Kevin Costner films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.8, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Open Range represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Kevin Costner filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional western films include Cat Ballou, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and All the Pretty Horses. For more Kevin Costner analyses, see The Postman, Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Free grazers Boss Spearman and Charley Waite tend their cattle on the open range with Mose and Button, living a peaceful nomadic existence away from civilization and trouble.
Theme
Boss tells Charley: "There's nuthin' like bein' your own man." Theme of freedom versus the encroaching constraints of civilization and personal codes of justice.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of the crew's dynamics, their free-grazing lifestyle, and the world of 1882 open range cattle driving. Mose goes to town for supplies in Harmonville.
Disruption
Mose returns badly beaten by Marshal Poole and Baxter's men. The crew learns that land baron Denton Baxter controls the town and violently opposes free grazers.
Resistance
Boss and Charley debate their options. Boss wants to avoid trouble and move on, but Charley's violent past makes him wary. They need supplies, so Boss decides to go to town himself.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Boss and Charley make the active choice to go into Harmonville despite the danger, entering Baxter's controlled territory to stand up for their rights and get medical help for Mose.
Mirror World
Charley meets Sue Barlow, the strong-willed sister of Doc Barlow. She represents civilization, domesticity, and the possibility of a life beyond violence—the thematic counterpoint to Charley's gunfighter past.
Premise
The promise of the premise: honest men standing up to corruption. Charley and Sue's relationship develops. Tensions escalate with Baxter. The crew navigates the dangerous political landscape of Harmonville.
Midpoint
Baxter's men attack the camp at night. Button is killed and Mose is critically wounded. False defeat: the violence Charley tried to escape has found him, and innocent blood has been spilled. The stakes become life and death.
Opposition
Boss and Charley get Mose to Doc Barlow. They discover Baxter controls the law through Marshal Poole. The town is paralyzed by fear. Boss and Charley realize they must face Baxter alone, with no legal recourse.
Collapse
Mose dies from his wounds despite Doc's efforts. The whiff of death is literal. Charley faces the death of innocence (Button) and friendship (Mose), confronting the cost of the violence he's tried to leave behind.
Crisis
Charley and Boss grieve and process their loss. Charley reveals his dark past as a killer in the Civil War. They contemplate revenge versus justice, and whether they can ever escape violence.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Boss and Charley make the conscious decision to confront Baxter and his men directly. They combine their skills with moral clarity from Sue and Doc's support. Percy, a townsman, chooses to help them, showing courage can spread.
Synthesis
The climactic gunfight in Harmonville. Boss, Charley, and Percy face Baxter, Poole, and their gunmen in an extended, brutal shootout. Charley must embrace his violent skills one last time for a just cause. Baxter is killed.
Transformation
Charley, wounded but alive, prepares to leave with Sue Barlow for a new life. The closing image mirrors the opening: a man on the range. But now Charley has chosen connection over isolation, a future over the past.