The Company You Keep
A former Weather Underground activist goes on the run from a journalist who discovers his identity.
Despite its limited budget of $2.0M, The Company You Keep became a commercial juggernaut, earning $20.0M worldwide—a remarkable 901% return. The film's unconventional structure attracted moviegoers, showing that strong storytelling can transcend budget limitations.
2 wins & 1 nomination
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%)
The Company You Keep (2012) reveals precise dramatic framework, characteristic of Robert Redford's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 1 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.0, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Jim Grant / Nick Sloan
Ben Shepard
Sharon Solarz
Mimi Lurie
Diana
Jed Lewis
Mac McLeod
Donal Fitzgerald
Main Cast & Characters
Jim Grant / Nick Sloan
Played by Robert Redford
Former Weather Underground activist living under assumed identity as a widowed lawyer and father, forced to run when his past is exposed.
Ben Shepard
Played by Shia LaBeouf
Ambitious young reporter who breaks the story of Jim Grant's true identity and relentlessly pursues the truth behind the decades-old case.
Sharon Solarz
Played by Susan Sarandon
Former Weather Underground member who turns herself in after thirty years underground, triggering the events that expose Jim Grant.
Mimi Lurie
Played by Julie Christie
Former radical activist and Jim's old flame, still committed to revolutionary ideals and living underground in Canada.
Diana
Played by Anna Kendrick
FBI agent leading the manhunt for Jim Grant, methodical and determined to bring him to justice.
Jed Lewis
Played by Richard Jenkins
Jim's former Weather Underground associate and old friend who helps him navigate the dangerous situation while harboring his own secrets.
Mac McLeod
Played by Sam Elliott
Former radical turned lumber company owner, cynical about the past but still connected to the old network.
Donal Fitzgerald
Played by Nick Nolte
Jim's college professor and mentor who understands the idealism that drove the radicals and provides wisdom about choices and consequences.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Jim Grant lives a quiet life as a widowed single father and small-town lawyer in Albany, New York, his radical past as Weather Underground member Nick Sloan completely hidden beneath decades of anonymity.. The analysis reveals that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 15 minutes when Ben Shepard discovers that Jim Grant is actually Nick Sloan, a wanted fugitive from the 1970s bank robbery that resulted in a guard's death. He confronts Jim with this information, shattering the carefully constructed life Jim has built over three decades.. 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 30 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Jim makes the agonizing decision to go on the run, leaving his daughter Isabel with his brother Daniel. He chooses to flee not to escape justice but to find Mimi Lurie, the only person who can prove he wasn't at the bank robbery and clear his name., moving from reaction to action.
At 61 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Notably, this crucial beat Jim finally locates Mimi Lurie, who has been living in hiding in Michigan. She refuses to help him, revealing she has built a new family and life. The truth emerges that Mimi was actually the one who participated in the robbery, not Jim - but she won't come forward., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 91 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Jim learns that Ben's exposé will run the next day, definitively branding him a murderer. Mimi still refuses to come forward. Jim faces the death of his identity and reputation - everything he built over 30 years destroyed, with no way to prove his innocence., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 97 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Mimi has a change of heart after learning how Jim's daughter is suffering. She contacts Jim and agrees to turn herself in and testify that Jim wasn't at the robbery, giving him the chance to clear his name and return to his daughter., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Company You Keep'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 The Company You Keep against these established plot points, we can identify how Robert Redford utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Company You Keep within the drama genre.
Robert Redford's Structural Approach
Among the 9 Robert Redford films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. The Company You Keep takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Robert Redford filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include After Thomas, South Pacific and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. For more Robert Redford analyses, see Quiz Show, Lions for Lambs and The Conspirator.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Jim Grant lives a quiet life as a widowed single father and small-town lawyer in Albany, New York, his radical past as Weather Underground member Nick Sloan completely hidden beneath decades of anonymity.
Theme
Sharon Solarz tells the FBI agent during her arrest that she's tired of running: "The past doesn't stay buried forever" - establishing the film's meditation on whether idealism can justify past actions and if redemption is possible for those who chose violence.
Worldbuilding
We meet Jim Grant as a respected lawyer, his daughter Isabel, and the newspaper world where ambitious young reporter Ben Shepard works. Sharon Solarz's arrest after 30 years on the run makes national news, and Ben begins investigating the Weather Underground connections.
Disruption
Ben Shepard discovers that Jim Grant is actually Nick Sloan, a wanted fugitive from the 1970s bank robbery that resulted in a guard's death. He confronts Jim with this information, shattering the carefully constructed life Jim has built over three decades.
Resistance
Jim desperately tries to contain the damage, consulting with his brother Daniel about what to do. He debates whether to run or face the charges, knowing that exposure means prison and losing his daughter. Ben continues digging, interviewing Sharon Solarz in prison.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Jim makes the agonizing decision to go on the run, leaving his daughter Isabel with his brother Daniel. He chooses to flee not to escape justice but to find Mimi Lurie, the only person who can prove he wasn't at the bank robbery and clear his name.
Mirror World
Ben's investigation leads him to Rebecca Osborne, a former radical now living as a respectable professor. Their conversations reveal the complexity of the 1960s idealism and how people reconcile their past beliefs with present lives, mirroring Jim's own journey.
Premise
Jim travels cross-country, reconnecting with former Weather Underground members now living under assumed identities. Each encounter reveals different ways people have dealt with their radical pasts. Meanwhile, Ben races to track Jim down while the FBI closes in from all sides.
Midpoint
Jim finally locates Mimi Lurie, who has been living in hiding in Michigan. She refuses to help him, revealing she has built a new family and life. The truth emerges that Mimi was actually the one who participated in the robbery, not Jim - but she won't come forward.
Opposition
FBI Agent Cornelius closes in on Jim while Ben publishes stories that make Jim look increasingly guilty. Jim's daughter is traumatized by the revelations. Former comrades refuse to help, protecting their own lives. Jim seems trapped between exposure and permanent exile.
Collapse
Jim learns that Ben's exposé will run the next day, definitively branding him a murderer. Mimi still refuses to come forward. Jim faces the death of his identity and reputation - everything he built over 30 years destroyed, with no way to prove his innocence.
Crisis
Jim contemplates turning himself in without proof of innocence, accepting that he'll be convicted for a murder he didn't commit. He grieves the life he's losing and the father he can no longer be to Isabel. The weight of the past finally crushes his present.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Mimi has a change of heart after learning how Jim's daughter is suffering. She contacts Jim and agrees to turn herself in and testify that Jim wasn't at the robbery, giving him the chance to clear his name and return to his daughter.
Synthesis
Mimi surrenders to authorities and provides testimony exonerating Jim. Ben, moved by what he's learned about complexity and consequence, writes a more nuanced story. Jim is cleared of the murder charge and faces lesser charges, finally able to stop running after 30 years.
Transformation
Jim reunites with his daughter Isabel, now able to be honest about who he was and who he has become. The man who lived in hiding can finally live in truth. The idealist who ran from consequences now faces them with the integrity he always claimed to have.