Plenty
Susan Traherne has been irreparably changed by her wartime experiences as a Resistance fighter. She sets out in the post-war world to make her way to what she wants, no matter who is hurt, or how.
The film underperformed commercially against its limited budget of $10.0M, earning $6.1M globally (-39% loss). While initial box office returns were modest, the film has gained appreciation for its unconventional structure within the drama genre.
Nominated for 2 BAFTA 2 wins & 5 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%)
Plenty (1985) reveals carefully calibrated narrative design, characteristic of Fred Schepisi's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 4 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Susan Traherne sits in a barren room with Raymond Brock's unconscious body, appearing hollow and distressed. The opening image establishes her emotional devastation before flashing back to explain how she arrived at this point of spiritual emptiness.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when The war ends and Susan returns to England, facing the prospect of ordinary civilian life. The disruption is not an event but an absence - the loss of wartime purpose and intensity that gave her existence meaning, forcing her to navigate a world she finds spiritually barren.. 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 31 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to Susan decides to have a child outside of marriage with Mick, a working-class man she selects specifically because he represents an unconventional choice. This deliberate rejection of bourgeois norms marks her active commitment to living outside society's structures., moving from reaction to action.
At 62 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat The Suez Crisis unfolds and Susan witnesses British diplomats, including Raymond, defending the indefensible. This false victory for establishment values becomes Susan's false defeat - she sees definitively that the England she fought for has betrayed its ideals, confirming her alienation is justified rather than pathological., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 93 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Susan completely destroys Raymond in an act of psychological cruelty, leaving him broken. The scene from the film's opening is now contextualized - Raymond lies drugged while Susan prepares to abandon him. The death here is metaphorical: the murder of her marriage and any pretense of normalcy., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 99 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Susan decides to track down Lazar, the agent from her wartime past, hoping to reconnect with the one person who shared her most meaningful experience. This represents a final attempt at synthesis - using the past to find peace rather than continuing to be destroyed by it., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Plenty'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 Plenty against these established plot points, we can identify how Fred Schepisi utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Plenty within the drama genre.
Fred Schepisi's Structural Approach
Among the 7 Fred Schepisi films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Plenty takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Fred Schepisi filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include After Thomas, South Pacific and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. For more Fred Schepisi analyses, see Six Degrees of Separation, Mr. Baseball and I.Q..
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Susan Traherne sits in a barren room with Raymond Brock's unconscious body, appearing hollow and distressed. The opening image establishes her emotional devastation before flashing back to explain how she arrived at this point of spiritual emptiness.
Theme
During the 1944 France sequence, a fellow Resistance operative tells young Susan that the extraordinary times they're living through will spoil them for ordinary life afterward. This foreshadows Susan's inability to find meaning in peacetime Britain.
Worldbuilding
The film establishes Susan's wartime experience in occupied France as a young courier for SOE, her intense encounter with agent Lazar during a supply drop, and the electrifying purpose she finds in dangerous work. This idealized past becomes the standard against which all future life will be measured.
Disruption
The war ends and Susan returns to England, facing the prospect of ordinary civilian life. The disruption is not an event but an absence - the loss of wartime purpose and intensity that gave her existence meaning, forcing her to navigate a world she finds spiritually barren.
Resistance
Susan struggles to adjust to postwar life, taking a job in shipping and befriending Alice Park. She oscillates between attempts at normalcy and acts of defiance, debating whether to conform to society's expectations or reject them entirely. Her restlessness and inability to settle foreshadow deeper troubles.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Susan decides to have a child outside of marriage with Mick, a working-class man she selects specifically because he represents an unconventional choice. This deliberate rejection of bourgeois norms marks her active commitment to living outside society's structures.
Mirror World
Raymond Brock enters Susan's life as a potential partner. A diplomat who represents the establishment Susan despises, Brock offers stability and genuine affection. Their relationship becomes the thematic counterpoint - his patient devotion versus her corrosive restlessness, exploring whether love can heal spiritual wounds.
Premise
Susan's attempts to conceive with Mick fail, leading to a violent confrontation. She marries Raymond Brock and enters diplomatic society, but her contempt for its superficiality grows. The section explores Susan trying various paths - motherhood, marriage, social status - none of which restore the purpose she felt during the war.
Midpoint
The Suez Crisis unfolds and Susan witnesses British diplomats, including Raymond, defending the indefensible. This false victory for establishment values becomes Susan's false defeat - she sees definitively that the England she fought for has betrayed its ideals, confirming her alienation is justified rather than pathological.
Opposition
Susan's mental state deteriorates as her marriage crumbles. She creates public scenes at diplomatic functions, sabotaging Raymond's career. Her search for meaning becomes increasingly desperate and destructive, alienating Alice and pushing Brock toward breakdown. The opposition is both external (society) and internal (her own psychology).
Collapse
Susan completely destroys Raymond in an act of psychological cruelty, leaving him broken. The scene from the film's opening is now contextualized - Raymond lies drugged while Susan prepares to abandon him. The death here is metaphorical: the murder of her marriage and any pretense of normalcy.
Crisis
Susan confronts the aftermath of her destruction. She is alone, having burned every bridge. Alice attempts one final intervention but Susan's self-awareness offers no redemption - she knows what she is but cannot change. The dark night reveals that her wartime self cannot coexist with peacetime reality.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Susan decides to track down Lazar, the agent from her wartime past, hoping to reconnect with the one person who shared her most meaningful experience. This represents a final attempt at synthesis - using the past to find peace rather than continuing to be destroyed by it.
Synthesis
Susan finds Lazar, now living an ordinary life. Their reunion is bittersweet - he has moved on while she remains trapped in 1944. The encounter forces Susan to confront that the past cannot be recaptured. The section resolves nothing; it simply reveals the impossibility of her quest.
Transformation
The final image returns to France, 1944 - Susan young, hopeful, gazing at the sunrise after a successful operation, declaring there will be "days and days like this." The tragic irony completes her arc: there will be plenty of days, but none will ever match this moment. She is frozen in time, transformed by an experience she can never transcend.