Once Upon a Time in America poster

Once Upon a Time in America

1984229 minutesR
6.9
Arcplot Score
📊 Solid
Unverified
⭐ 8.3IMDb
🍅 85%Rotten Tomatoes
Ⓜ️ 75/100Metacritic
🎬 8.4TMDb
📊 6.3Popularity
🏆Won 2 BAFTA 11 wins & 13 nominations total
Genre: Crime, Drama
Directed by: Sergio Leone
With the vivid memory of his long-gone childhood friends Max, Patsy, and Cockeye etched in his mind, his ferociously loyal partners-in-crime during their rise to prominence in New York's Prohibition-era Lower East Side, the defeated, penniless, and guilt-ridden former gangster David "Noodles" Aaronson returns to Manhattan. Not knowing what to expect on his mission to shed light on his opaque past, grizzled Noodles reunites with his only living friend Fat Moe after 35 haunted years of self-exile. However, the relentless, piercing sound of culpability stands in the way of finding closure, as the inscrutable content of a well-worn leather suitcase further complicates matters. And now, against the backdrop of a torn conscience, the sad, bittersweet recollections of more than 50 years of love, death, and everything in-between become inextricably intertwined, leading to even more puzzling questions. But what are a man's options when he is left with nothing?

Box Office

Budget:$30.0M
Revenue:$5.5M
Profit:$-24.5M

Arcplot Score Breakdown

Beat Timing Precision3.7/10
Emotional Arc Impact10/10
Thematic Consistency7/10
Overall Score6.9/10

Beat Sheet

15 plot points

Once Upon a Time in America Arcplot
1
Opening Image
1 min
2
Theme Stated
10 min
3
Set-Up
30 min
4
Catalyst
55 min
5
Debate
85 min
6
Break Into Two
110 min
7
B Story
130 min
8
Fun and Games
150 min
9
Midpoint
175 min
10
Bad Guys Close In
190 min
11
All Is Lost
200 min
12
Dark Night of the Soul
215 min
13
Break Into Three
220 min
14
Finale
225 min
15
Final Image
229 min

Emotional Arc

+100-10

Plot Points

#1

Opening Image

1 min

Young Noodles and friends playing in 1920s New York. Innocence and friendship established amid poverty and gang culture.

#2

Theme Stated

10 min

Noodles: "Friendship, loyalty, betrayal." Theme of time, regret, and the cost of ambition introduced.

#3

Set-Up

30 min

Noodles joins Max and the gang. Small-time crime escalates. Relationships and dynamics set. Childhood to adolescence. Aspirations, desires, and morality outlined.

#4

Catalyst

55 min

Noodles involved in gang heist with Max. Success, wealth, and the thrill of crime spark ambitions. Life-changing event.

#5

Debate

85 min

Noodles questions loyalty, betrayal, and love. Complex relationship with Deborah. Rivalries and internal moral conflicts emerge. Can he trust Max? Should he continue life of crime?

#6

Break Into Two

110 min

Gang moves into major organized crime. Noodles’ life transformed. Power and wealth tempt. Entry into adult world of consequence.

#7

B Story

130 min

Romantic subplot with Deborah. Love and personal longing complicated by crime life. Emotional stakes intertwined with loyalty and betrayal.

#8

Fun and Games

150 min

Rise in organized crime. Big heists, lavish lifestyle, tension and excitement. Characters’ arcs deepen. Audience sees thrills and darkness of ambition.

#9

Midpoint

175 min

Tragic betrayal. Max disappears. Noodles shot. False victory/crisis: dreams collapsing. Stakes heightened. Regret, loss, and moral compromise realized.

#10

Bad Guys Close In

190 min

Noodles in hiding. Adult life of regret. Haunted by past. Life choices revisited. Betrayal cuts deep. Crime world closing in.

#11

All Is Lost

200 min

Deborah married to another. Noodles isolated. Lost youth and friends. Failure and remorse overwhelm.

#12

Dark Night of the Soul

215 min

Noodles reflects on life, choices, betrayals. Haunted by memory of Max and lost friends. Time, mortality, and regret weigh heavily.

#13

Break Into Three

220 min

Noodles plans one last act of reckoning. Confrontation and resolution of past. Moral and emotional closure approaching.

#14

Finale

225 min

Truth of Max revealed. Noodles’ final reckoning. Emotional, moral, and narrative resolution. Life lessons and consequences fully realized.

#15

Final Image

229 min

Older Noodles alone. Reflection on past. Nostalgia, regret, and the passage of time conclude story. Legacy of friendship, betrayal, and ambition highlighted.