The Courier
Cold War spy Greville Wynne and his Russian source try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The film earned $26.0M 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%)
The Courier (2020) showcases deliberately positioned narrative design, characteristic of Dominic Cooke's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 11-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 52 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.3, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Greville Wynne is an ordinary British businessman and salesman, working modest deals, living a comfortable but unremarkable suburban life with his wife Sheila and son Andrew.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Greville is recruited by MI6 and CIA to serve as a courier between Soviet colonel Oleg Penkovsky and Western intelligence. His comfortable, safe life is about to be upended.. 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.
At 56 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat The Cuban Missile Crisis erupts. The stakes become nuclear-level real. Penkovsky warns that surveillance is intensifying and they're being watched. False victory turns to danger - the intelligence they provided may have prevented war, but they're now in grave peril., 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, Greville and Penkovsky are both arrested by the KGB. The mission has failed catastrophically. Greville faces brutal interrogation and imprisonment, witnessing the "death" of his old safe life and his friend's fate., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 90 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Diplomatic negotiations secure Greville's release in a prisoner exchange. He returns home physically broken but spiritually transformed. He reunites with his wife and son, who now understand what he sacrificed for the greater good., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
The Courier's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 11 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping The Courier against these established plot points, we can identify how Dominic Cooke utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish The Courier within the thriller genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional thriller films include Eye for an Eye, Lake Placid and Operation Finale.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Greville Wynne is an ordinary British businessman and salesman, working modest deals, living a comfortable but unremarkable suburban life with his wife Sheila and son Andrew.
Theme
CIA agent Dickie Franks tells Greville: "Sometimes we need to do things that are uncomfortable, things we're not trained for." Theme of ordinary people doing extraordinary things is established.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of 1960s Cold War tensions, Greville's ordinary business life, his family dynamics with Sheila, and the initial approach by MI6 and CIA who need an "ordinary" businessman for a covert operation.
Disruption
Greville is recruited by MI6 and CIA to serve as a courier between Soviet colonel Oleg Penkovsky and Western intelligence. His comfortable, safe life is about to be upended.
Resistance
Greville debates whether to accept, receives minimal training, struggles with the danger involved. His handlers Emily Donovan and Dickie Franks prepare him for Moscow, though he remains a reluctant amateur spy.
Act II
ConfrontationPremise
The "fun and games" of being a spy: Greville makes multiple successful trips to Moscow, passes intelligence about Soviet missiles, his friendship with Penkovsky deepens, and he becomes more confident in his role.
Midpoint
The Cuban Missile Crisis erupts. The stakes become nuclear-level real. Penkovsky warns that surveillance is intensifying and they're being watched. False victory turns to danger - the intelligence they provided may have prevented war, but they're now in grave peril.
Opposition
KGB surveillance tightens, Greville becomes paranoid and exhausted, his marriage deteriorates under the strain of lies, and Penkovsky becomes increasingly desperate. The walls close in on both men as Soviet intelligence narrows in.
Collapse
Greville and Penkovsky are both arrested by the KGB. The mission has failed catastrophically. Greville faces brutal interrogation and imprisonment, witnessing the "death" of his old safe life and his friend's fate.
Crisis
Greville endures psychological and physical torture in Lubyanka prison, deteriorating mentally and physically. He hits his darkest emotional point, broken and seemingly abandoned, questioning whether his sacrifice meant anything.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
Diplomatic negotiations secure Greville's release in a prisoner exchange. He returns home physically broken but spiritually transformed. He reunites with his wife and son, who now understand what he sacrificed for the greater good.