Beat-by-beat Plotly.js charts tracking protagonist control across 29 films, grouped by the shape of the arc. Each chart scores how much control the protagonist has over their situation on a 0–100 scale, with hover tooltips showing the dramatic event at each beat, color-coded act bands, and key-moment annotations.
High Noon (1952)
How Much Control Does Kane Have?
Steady decline with failed recovery attempts. Every door Kane knocks on is a bump of hope followed by a steeper drop when they refuse. The church scene kills the last hope, and the will-writing is the nadir. Amy's intervention is a late, desperate bump.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
How Much Control Does Matthew Have?
From a routine day as a respected health inspector, through the invasion that strips every layer of authority, to the pointing scream. The decline is steady and irreversible.
Rashomon (1950)
How Much Grip on Moral Truth Remains?
Four contradictory testimonies erode faith in human truth to zero, then an act of compassion -- adopting an abandoned baby -- restores it higher than it began.
The Untouchables (1987)
How Much Control Does Ness Have?
From a naive agent humiliated by an umbrella raid, through the team Malone builds, to the losses that strip it away and the trial that requires abandoning the law he swore to uphold.
Blow Out (1981)
How Much Control Does Jack Have?
From an ordinary night recording sound, through the peak when Jack holds every piece of evidence, to the systematic destruction that leaves him with nothing.
Carrie (1976)
How Much Control Does Carrie Have?
From absolute zero through the slow accumulation of power and self-possession, to the prom crowning that gives her everything and the blood dump that takes it all away.
Scarface (1983)
How Much Control Does Tony Montana Have?
From a refugee with nothing, through the systematic construction of a drug empire, to the cocaine-fueled collapse that strips everything away. The rise is deliberate; the fall is self-inflicted.
Carlito's Way (1993)
How Much Control Does Carlito Have?
From prison freedom through the steady accumulation of escape money, to the two fatal decisions -- sparing Benny Blanco, committing to Kleinfeld -- that destroy him.
The Prestige (2006)
How Close Is Angier to Surpassing Borden?
Sawtooth climb through rivalry and sabotage, a Colorado trough at beat 19 when the diary trap is sprung, a steep ascent to 98 at beat 30 when Angier tears up Borden's secret -- then the twin reveal collapses everything to zero.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
How Much Dominion Does Plainview Have?
Steady rise to empire, baptism humiliation at the trough, then a final savage peak at "I drink your milkshake" that collapses into pyrrhic isolation.
Outland (1981)
How Much Control Does O'Niel Have?
From a new posting through the investigation that peaks at confronting Sheppard, to total isolation against professional hitmen.
Speed (1994)
How Much Control Does Jack Traven Have?
W-shape: high competence in the elevator, a long oscillating decline as the bus eliminates every option, a sharp recovery through camera-loop ingenuity, a second collapse when Payne kidnaps Annie, and a final climb on the subway.
Dante's Peak (1997)
How Much Control Does Harry Have?
From a respected volcanologist overruled by institutional caution, through the eruption that proves him right but strips every resource, to survival endurance.
Air Force One (1997)
How Much Control Does President Marshall Have?
Deep V with sawtooth oscillations. Peak presidential authority collapses when the plane is hijacked, then a guerrilla recovery through the fuselage leads to "Get off my plane."
Training Day (2001)
How Much Control Does Jake Hoyt Have?
V-curve. A rookie stripped of agency by a corrupt mentor, bottoming out at the bathtub execution, then clawing back through the wallet payoff and the neighborhood's refusal.
Dunkirk (2017)
How Much Control Does the Evacuation Have?
Deep U-shape across three timelines. Five beats at zero when the trawler floods and Gibson drowns. The little ships arrive and pull the line to 75 -- a victory, but Bolton stays for the French.
F1 (2025)
How Much Control Does Sonny Hayes Have?
U-curve from exile to victory. Builds twice to 65, sabotage craters to zero, then a near-vertical Abu Dhabi recovery to 100. Settles to 85 -- chosen departure, not collapse.
The Sting (1973)
How Much Control Do Hooker and Gondorff Have?
The line crashes when Luther is murdered, then climbs steadily as the crew builds the wire con, with threat-driven dips that never break the upward arc toward a triumphant 95.
Rocky (1976)
How Much Control Does Rocky Have?
Opening from zero through the love story and training arc, peaking at the museum steps and the "going the distance" speech, then tested by the fight. Ends at 75 -- he lost the decision but gained everything that matters.
Logan's Run (1976)
How Much Control Does Logan Have?
From peak Sandman authority through the computer's mission that strips his identity, to fugitive status and the testimony that crashes the system. Ends at 60 -- moral victory, not restored power.
The Truman Show (1998)
How Much Control Does Truman Have?
Opening from zero. Truman starts with no actual autonomy -- his entire life is manufactured. Each glitch noticed and experiment run is a step up, each countermeasure a dip. The sailboat escape and door walk-through are a near-vertical climb to 95.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
How Much Control Does Garber Have?
Full control of a functioning system collapses in a single beat. The rest of the film is the long institutional grind to recover it -- the ransom, the bluff, the breakthrough, the sneeze.
Coma (1978)
How Much Control Does Susan Have?
A competent resident whose evidence is systematically dismissed discovers an organ-harvesting conspiracy, then the system tries to process her as its next victim.
Daylight (1996)
How Much Control Does Kit Have?
From a disgraced rescuer rejected at the staging area, through the tunnel descent that oscillates between command and catastrophe, to the blowout that turns disaster into escape.
Magnolia (1999)
How Much Control Does the Ensemble Have?
Nine interwoven storylines erode from moderate agency to collective crisis. The "Wise Up" nadir and frog rain force physical reckoning. Ends at 33 -- not restoration, but the possibility of connection.
Miami Vice (2006)
How Much Control Do Crockett and Tubbs Have?
Control oscillates as Crockett and Tubbs earn cartel trust then watch it cost them everything -- Trudy in a hospital, Isabella in Cuba, Montoya untouched.
Dressed to Kill (1980)
How Much Control Does the Investigation Have?
Kate's moderate autonomy collapses to zero when she's murdered in beat 8, and Liz Blake builds from nothing toward identifying the killer. The protagonist changes but the question persists.
Body Double (1984)
How Much Control Does Jake Have?
A claustrophobic actor manipulated into witnessing a murder he cannot prevent. The investigation rebuilds him, and the grave forces him to act for the first time.
Rental Family (2025)
How Much Control Does Phillip Have?
Opening from near-zero with sawtooth complications. Phillip builds control through rental work that produces real connections, peaks when Mia gets into school, then the arrest and exposure crater him before the shrine mirror settles him at 55.