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 The Handmaid's Tale (1990), as I see them.

The Handmaid's Tale (1990)

Starring: Natasha Richardson (Kate/Offred), Faye Dunaway (Serena Joy), Aidan Quinn (Nick), Elizabeth McGover (Moira), Victoria Tennant (Aunt Lydia), Robert Duvall (Commander)
Directed by: Volker Schlöndorff
Writers: Margaret Atwood (novel), Harold Pinter (screenplay)

PROTAGONIST KATE'S DILEMMA: She wants to run away from the Bible-inspired male-dominated dictatorship of the future but does not want to leave her daughter behind.

PROTAGONIST'S DESIRE: To get back her freedom.

HER CHIEF OBSTACLE: The iron-clad brain-washing control of the system backed up by a Nazi-like security apparatus.

ESTABLISHING SHOT: An SUV winding its way up a desolate snowy mountain road.

INCITING INCIDENT: Kate is taken prisoner by the System.

PLOT POINT 1: Kate is forced to have sex with the Commander as his handmaid while his wife Serena Joy holds Kate tight in her lap. It's all heartless reproductive business.

MID POINT EVENT: Since the Commander cannot impregnate her, Kate makes love to Nick, the commander's driver, in order to survive as a fertile handmaid.

PLOT POINT 2: Kate slashes Commander's throat and kills him.

3rd ACT RESOLUTION: Kate, carrying Nick's child, runs away to a mountain top trailer with the help of Nick and the rebels, finding satisfaction in the hope that one day she'll rejoin her daughter.