Plot points are linear links that make up the chain of traditional Aristotelian 3-act dramatic structure. This classic structure worked well in Hollywood for almost a century now. Although young movie makers are forcing the limits of this structure, plot points still rule the day as the “tent poles” that hold up of the circus of our dreams. Here are the plot points of Dead of Winter (1987), as I see them.

Dead of Winter (1987)

STARRING: Mary Steenburgen (Julie Rose/Katie McGovern/Evelyn), Roddy McDowall (Mr. Murray), Jan Rubes (Dr. Joseph Lewis)
DIRECTED BY: Arthur Penn
WRITERS: Marc Shmuger & Mark Malone

PROTAGONIST KATE’S DILEMMA: To succeed as an actor without starving for her art.

PROTAGONIST’S DESIRE: To run away from Dr. Joseph Lewis’s mansion.

HER CHIEF OBSTACLE: Fierce winter and lack of communication with the outside world.

ESTABLISHING SHOT: A lonely train station on a snowy winter night.

INCITING INCIDENT 1: A woman waiting for someone in a car with a suitcase full of money is murdered and then her middle finger is cut off.

INCITING INCIDENT 2: Kate, an aspiring actress, auditions with Mr. Murray and gets a job to replace a lead actor in a film currently shot up in Canada.

PLOT POINT 1: Mr. Murray delivers Kate’s videotaped audition tape to an unknown woman’s house.

MID POINT EVENT: Kate realizes she is actually held hostage in Dr. Joseph Lewis’s mansion. . PLOT POINT 2: After being drugged one night, Kate wakes up the next morning with her middle finger cut off.

3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Kate kills both Mr. Murray and Dr. Joseph Lewis and wins back her freedom.