Accident (1967) Plot Summary Explained

Stephen hides Anna upstairs to conceal her presence from the police and protect her from the immediate aftermath of the crash. However, this act of apparent kindness quickly reveals his true intentions, as he later exploits her vulnerable state. The concealment also suggests Stephen wants to control the narrative and keep Anna isolated, away from others who might intervene or learn about his personal involvement with her.

• stephen
• anna
• crash
• police
• hiding
• rescue

Stephen assaults Anna while she remains in shock from the accident, exploiting her psychological vulnerability and physical helplessness. This act reveals the depths of his moral corruption - he has progressed from secret desire to infidelity to actively preying on a traumatized woman he just rescued. The assault demonstrates how his obsessive fixation on Anna, combined with the chaos of the night and his own sense of power, culminate in a predatory act that exposes his fundamental character flaws.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes establish Stephen's growing obsession with Anna and his willingness to act on impulse, especially during his London affair while his wife is away.

• stephen
• anna
• assault
• shock
• crash
• moral failure

While his wife was away expecting their third child, Stephen pursued an affair with an old flame in London. This infidelity establishes his pattern of seeking outside satisfaction and demonstrates his willingness to betray marital vows. The affair foreshadows his later behavior with Anna, showing that his moral boundaries have already begun to erode before the tragic night of the crash.

• stephen
• wife
• affair
• london
• infidelity

Anna agrees to drive because William is too intoxicated to do so safely after the party. This decision directly leads to the crash that kills William. Anna's willingness to take the wheel, despite possibly being affected herself, sets the tragic chain of events in motion and places her in the vulnerable position that Stephen later exploits.

Foreshadowing: The plan for Anna to drive is established earlier in the flashback when William declares he'll visit Stephen after the party.

• anna
• william
• drunk driving
• crash
• party

Charley, Stephen's pushy colleague, has been using Stephen's house to have sex with Anna while Stephen is away. This discovery by Stephen threads jealousy and power dynamics through the household. Charley's casual use of Stephen's home for these encounters, and Anna's apparent willingness, creates a tangled web of sexual politics among the four characters that prefigures the night's moral collapse.

• charley
• anna
• affair
• house
• jealousy

Anna privately tells Stephen about her engagement to William rather than announcing it openly. This secret-telling creates tension and suggests Anna may be using her position strategically, maintaining Stephen's interest while securing her future with William. The revelation also deepens Stephen's sense of possessiveness and frustration, knowing he cannot have her as she prepares to marry another man.

• anna
• william
• engagement
• secret
• marriage

Stephen's moral breakdown follows a progression: from infidelity in London, to discovering Charley's affair with Anna, to secret desire for his student, to hiding Anna after the crash, and finally to assaulting her. The cumulative weight of these secrets, desires, and the chaos of the accident erodes his ethical boundaries completely. The night becomes a catalyst that strips away his civilized facade, revealing a man who will exploit trauma for personal gratification.

Foreshadowing: Stephen's London affair and his jealousy over Charley establish his declining moral state before the crash occurs.

• stephen
• moral breakdown
• desire
• corruption
• character arc

Anna prepares to return to Austria the morning after the crash, signaling her desire to escape the traumatic events and the complicated relationships in Oxford. The crash has cost her her fiancé, and the assault by Stephen has violated her further. Her departure represents a breaking of ties with all the men involved and her attempt to distance herself from the scene of her trauma.

• anna
• austria
• leaving
• departure
• trauma

The film uses flashbacks to gradually reveal how the characters' lives intersected before the crash, exposing hidden affairs, secret desires, and rivalries. This non-linear structure allows the audience to understand Stephen's motivations piecemeal, building toward the devastating reveal of his assault. The structure also creates dramatic irony, as viewers witness Stephen's moral decline leading up to his worst act.

• flashback
• structure
• narrative
• revelation
• non-linear

William dies in the car crash outside Stephen's gate while Anna is driving. He is found dead in the wreckage by Stephen, who then pulls the shocked but uninjured Anna from the car. William's death serves as the catalyst for the night's events - Stephen's opportunity to be near Anna, and ultimately his assault of her while she's in a vulnerable psychological state.

• william
• death
• crash
• car accident
• fatal