Vice
George W. Bush picks Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co., to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election. No stranger to politics, Cheney's impressive résumé includes stints as White House chief of staff, House Minority Whip and Defense Secretary. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world.
Working with a respectable budget of $60.0M, the film achieved a modest success with $76.1M in global revenue (+27% profit margin).
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%)
Vice (2018) showcases precise story structure, characteristic of Adam McKay's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 13-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 2 hours and 12 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.5, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Young Dick Cheney as a drunken lineman in Wyoming, arrested for DUI, establishing his rock-bottom starting point as an aimless alcoholic with no direction or ambition.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 17 minutes when Nixon's resignation and the fall of the administration disrupts Cheney's rising trajectory, forcing him to navigate the sudden power vacuum and uncertainty of the Ford transition.. 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 Collapse moment at 99 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The literal "whiff of death": Cheney's daughter Mary is rejected by the family for political expediency over gay marriage, his heart continues failing requiring transplant, and the Iraq War's true cost in lives and lies becomes undeniable. Everything he built is tainted., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 106 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Cheney receives a heart transplant, gaining new life. The realization: he remains utterly unrepentant, synthesizing his entire philosophy that power justifies all costs and he would do it all again., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Vice's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 13 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Vice against these established plot points, we can identify how Adam McKay utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Vice within the drama genre.
Adam McKay's Structural Approach
Among the 7 Adam McKay films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Vice takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Adam McKay filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman. For more Adam McKay analyses, see The Big Short, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Young Dick Cheney as a drunken lineman in Wyoming, arrested for DUI, establishing his rock-bottom starting point as an aimless alcoholic with no direction or ambition.
Theme
Lynne Cheney tells Dick: "You have a choice. You can be someone or you can be nobody." The theme of ambition, power, and the costs of pursuing it at any price is established.
Worldbuilding
Establishment of young Cheney's transformation from dropout to ambitious political intern, his relationship with Lynne, entry into Washington working for Rumsfeld, and introduction to the machinery of political power during the Nixon era.
Disruption
Nixon's resignation and the fall of the administration disrupts Cheney's rising trajectory, forcing him to navigate the sudden power vacuum and uncertainty of the Ford transition.
Resistance
Cheney becomes Ford's Chief of Staff, learning to consolidate power, working with Rumsfeld to expand executive authority, and debating with Lynne about how far to pursue political ambition versus family life.
Act II
ConfrontationMirror World
Deepening focus on Cheney's relationship with Lynne as his partner and strategist, showing how their marriage becomes the thematic mirror - she represents ambition and ruthlessness that he increasingly embodies.
Premise
Cheney's rise through Congress, becoming House Minority Whip, serving as Secretary of Defense during Gulf War I, building relationships with neoconservatives, and establishing himself as a major power player - the "fun" of watching him master political maneuvering.
Opposition
9/11 response, Iraq War launch, torture authorization, warrantless surveillance, and Valerie Plame scandal. Cheney's unchecked power grows as opposition mounts - legal challenges, public criticism, and the Iraq War deteriorates. His methods become increasingly extreme.
Collapse
The literal "whiff of death": Cheney's daughter Mary is rejected by the family for political expediency over gay marriage, his heart continues failing requiring transplant, and the Iraq War's true cost in lives and lies becomes undeniable. Everything he built is tainted.
Crisis
Cheney faces the consequences: his family fractured, his health failing, his legacy defined by war and torture. The narrator (revealed as a heart donor) questions whether any of it was worth it.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Cheney receives a heart transplant, gaining new life. The realization: he remains utterly unrepentant, synthesizing his entire philosophy that power justifies all costs and he would do it all again.
Synthesis
Cheney's final years, his direct-to-camera monologue defending his actions without apology, and the revelation that the narrator died to give Cheney his heart. The legacy of the War on Terror and expanded executive power continues.
Transformation
Closing image mirrors opening: Cheney is still alive with his transplanted heart, but instead of the drunk nobody from Wyoming, he's now an unrepentant architect of war and torture - a transformation into something darker, not redeemed.