Genre: Sci-Fi/Mystery
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: John Malone
Based on the television series
Cast: Tom Hardy, Liam Neeson, Jessica Chastain, Nicholas Hoult, Elizabeth Olsen, Olivia Williams, Pedro Pascal, Mia Wasikowska, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Justin Theroux
Plot: After resigning from his job, Michael (Tom Hardy) wakes in the desert, disoriented and unsure of where he is. At the sound of a gunshot and barking dogs, he goes to the aid of an old man who is running from armed pursuers. Michael carries the old man into a cave, where, with his dying breath, the old man asks Michael to hide his body and tell someone named 554 that he got away. After burying the body, Michael follows a light in the distance and arrives in a small town. Michael hails a cab and asks the driver (Pedro Pascal) to take him to a train station. The driver tells him they are in The Village and that he only drives local fares. Michael jumps out of the moving cab and walks into a crowded nightclub, where a woman (Jessica Chastain) asks him to dance. At the sound of barking dogs, he runs back out to the cab. Unsure of where to go, he asks to be taken to 554. The driver identifies himself as 147 and takes Michael to a cafe. Inside, Michael finds 554 (Mia Wasikowska), a young waitress, and tells her the old man got away. 554 identifies the old man as 93, but is hesitant to get mixed up in any trouble.
Dogs appear and chase Michael to a nearby rooftop, where he gets a fleeting glimpse of a New York street before flashing back to The Village. At the approach of a man wearing a fedora, Michael faints and falls off the roof. Michael has a bizarre dream that he’s trapped, but wakes unharmed to find a doctor named 313 – the woman from the nightclub – tending to him. 313 tells him she wants to help him accept reality.
Michael is taken to see a mysterious man named Two (Liam Neeson). Michael demands to see the American consul and to be returned to New York, but Two – who calls Michael "Six" – tells him that's not possible, that there is no New York, only The Village. Two wants to know what Six did with 93's body, but Six remains obstinate. Six is driven to his Village apartment – labeled "6" – which is almost identical to his apartment in New York. The next day, Six notices two towers looming in the distance. Determined to find a way out, he purchases a map from the shopkeeper, steals 147’s cab and drives out to the desert.
The action cuts to New York where Michael sits alone at a diner. A woman (Elizabeth Olsen), Lucy, approaches and asks to borrow Michael's cell phone, claiming to have lost hers. They flirt with each other and Michael invites her back to his apartment.
The action returns to The Village. 313 approaches Six, who is passed out in the desert. Driving him back to The Village, she asks Six who he was talking to while he was unconscious, offering to help him with his delusions. At home, Two gathers pills from a cabinet and carries them on a tray upstairs.
147 and his wife, 21-16 (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), are summoned to The Village Clinic for having escorted a newcomer (Six) to The Village. Six goes to 93's apartment looking for clues. He finds a drawing of Big Ben in London, but is interrupted by Two, who again asks where 93's body is hidden. Six goes to 554 for an explanation of the drawing. After seeing it, 554 tells Six it was from his other life – “before The Village.” 147 and 21-16 report to the Clinic, where Two awards them medals for services to The Village. Two asks 147 his impression of the newcomer, and 21-16 presents Two with a cherry cake. Throughout The Village, a public broadcast announces that 93’s body was discovered in the sand dunes.
In the cafe, Six presses 554 for details about 93. He takes her to his apartment, where she speaks of 93’s dreams of his other life. She tells Six that 93 said that they were prisoners in The Village. 554 claims there are others who dream, and shows Six her own drawing culled from a recurring vision – the Statue of Liberty. Two feeds pills to a woman who appears to be asleep in bed. His son 11-12 (Nicholas Hoult) enters, and asks Two why Six believes there is another place. Two tells him that some people are just always trying to escape their situations.
Six visits an empty grave at The Village cemetery where 93 will be buried. 313 approaches, and the two discuss Village history. 313 asks Six about the woman he dreamed of. Back in New York, Michael tells the woman he resigned today. She tells him her name is Lucy. The next day, Six crashes 93’s funeral. He tells the mourners that there is another place outside of The Village and that 93 found a way out. Six heads to the cafe to see 554, but is stopped by 147, who tells him he’ll always be there if Six needs him. Moments later, the cafe explodes. Clinging to life, 554 tells Six that 93 told her to "follow the towers." 554 dies at the hospital. Six asks 313 if the bomb was an act of terrorism. 313 begs him to stop meddling. Six runs into the desert toward the towers, but is stopped by an enormous white hovering ball – Rover.
In New York, Michael tells Lucy, the woman from the diner, that he watched her use his phone. He knows she didn't make a call. Lucy admits she lied -- she didn't really use Michael's cell phone. She was trying to pick him up in the diner. Michael thinks it curious they met on the night he resigned from his job. Lucy says it's a coincidence. Michael tells Lucy he worked at a company called Summakor, observing security footage and collecting data on people.
That night, 11-12 asks his father about his childhood since he can't remember it. Two tells him that he should never doubt his family. Six has another dream about being on the beach. Six takes 313 to the ruins and tells her that he feels a strange connection to the place. Following his instincts, he uncovers an old box with a note he wrote as a child. 313 holds it as proof The Village is real. Six claims it's a trick, but now he's not so sure.
Michael begins to tell Lucy why he resigned from Summakor: He noticed too many people changing. When Lucy presses him for details, she admits that she too works for Summakor, and that even though he quit, they still control him.
Six drives toward them. He's struck with a violent vision of the ocean. The vision shifts: Six is now tied to a post while Two places a grenade in his mouth. Six brings 313 back to the ocean, but finds only more sand dunes. Two arranges for Six to work with a Village "undercover" spy named 909 (Justin Theroux). An undercover's job is to find and report people who dream of another place. Six is wary it's a trap.
Six and 909 are assigned to watch a history teacher who has been turned in by one of his students. Six goes undercover as a surveillance teacher. 313 fears for her own well-being when she starts to sketch dreams of another place. She decides to distance herself from Six. At night, 909 and Six observe the teacher. A group of joggers run by; 909 explains that they're good candidates for dreamers. Six notices 313 running ahead of the group. 909 and Six perch themselves on the roof of the teacher's house and watch him using the Village's special "Roach Cam." 909 receives a mysterious call, and asks Six to fetch coffee from his truck. Six snoops through 909's surveillance log and discovers he is 909's real mission – and that 313 is suspect.
Two is with his wife, M2, who is the sleeping woman. M2 wants to know how 11-12 is doing. Two gives her a sip of wine, and she goes catatonic again. At the sound of drilling, Two notices a roach cam being placed in his garden. The next day, 147 plays with his daughter in his backyard. Nearby, a massive hole in the ground looms. Fearing the undercovers are watching her, Six searches 313's roof and finds a roach cam. A nearby camera catches him in the act. Two meets with 909. He notes 11-12 has been acting oddly and wonders if Six has had any contact with him. 909 denies it, but Two doesn't trust him. Six begins to trail 909, following him to a bar, where he discovers 909 is romantically involved with 11-12.
Six is summoned by Two and given a new assignment: To spy on 909. Six goes to 313 and tells her to be careful. She shows Six photos of him on her roof and accuses him of being an undercover before walking away. At his house, 909 suggests that he and 11-12 take a break -- Two is suspicious. Six walks in and finds them embracing. Six tells 11-12 to take all surveillance off of 313, or he'll go public with knowledge of their affair. Two tells 11-12 he doesn't trust 909. 11-12 goes to 909 with a knife. 909 turns his back to allow 11-12 to stab him. Six arrives at 313's house just as she's being taken away by a black van. He runs to 909 for help, only to find him bleeding to death.
Six finds 11-12 drinking at the bar. He wants help finding 313, or he'll tell Two about 909. 11-12 sends Six to the tunnels, a dark cavernous place inhabited by exposed dreamers. In the tunnels, Six finds 313. As they search for a way out, Rover appears. Six springs awake in his apartment, then drifts back to sleep. Men in white coats scurry out his front door. Two tells 11-12 to forget 909 and find someone his own age.
Lucy says that she hears the name Curtis whispered on the Solutions floor, and insists they go to Summakor immediately. Michael kicks her out. She writes her number down and tells him to call her if he changes his mind. Later, Michael calls Lucy's cell phone. He hears a phone ringing outside of his door and finds Lucy passed out in the hallway. She feels out of sorts and asks to go in his apartment, but before they do, she wraps her arms around him and they kiss.
In The Village, Six wakes to the sound of a woman on his television, announcing it's time for him to be romantically matched. At the hospital, 313 avoids conversation about her dreams and encourages Six to try the matching service. At Palais Two, Two shows 11-12 a large hole in the ground, but dismisses its presence as being due to the weather. Six goes to the Modern Love Bureau. Skeptical at first, he is surprised when the system matches him with 4-15, a blind woman who looks just like Lucy in New York.
Michael is haunted with visions of a black van. He and Lucy decide to go to Summakor, but they can't keep their hands off of each other.
Two speaks with 313 in the Clinic. He knows she is a dreamer, and that's why she's going to help him betray Six. Six meets 4-15 at the cafe. She explains her blindness is the result of a childhood trauma. Six tries to convince her they've met before in another life.
Lucy and Michael snuggle in bed. Lucy tries to explain she's normally not so impulsive.
At Palais Two, 11-12 steals samples of M2's pills. Two, watching on video, catches him in the act. 11-12 takes the samples to 313 in the Clinic, and asks her to determine their contents. The next day, Two warns 11-12 that once he knows the truth about the holes and his mother there will be no going back. 11-12 insists he wants to know. Six and 313 visit with 147 and his family. 147 points out the hole in his backyard. At first he's not sure if he should report it, but then he decides to call the authorities. While the adults are distracted with champagne, 147's daughter falls in the hole and vanishes. In The Village, loudspeakers announce that to combat ambient weather anomalies, every home should be given a pig.
Six confronts Two about the holes, hoping to help 147 find his daughter. Two asks Six if he wouldn't rather be preoccupying himself with 4-15. Six almost takes the bait, but demands answers. Two tells him the girl is gone. Later that night, 313 injects a clear liquid into Six and 4-15 under Two's supervision. The next day, Six continues to bond with 4-15. He presses her father to learn more about her blindness, while her father urges him to consider marriage.
313 meets with 11-12 and reveals the ingredients in his mother's pills: One is a heavy sedative, another a hallucinogen, and the third is of an unknown origin. The disappearance of their daughter wears heavily on 147 and 21-16's relationship. 21-16 blames 147 for not watching their daughter more closely. Two invites 313 to Palais Two, where he shows her a sedated M2. Two asks if there is any way to reverse love. 313 says it must be possible. That night, 313 confesses her feelings for Six as he falls asleep. Men from the Clinic arrive and take him away. At the clinic, 313 injects Six with a different syringe, just as Two approaches. Six wakes, and Two reveals that his feelings for 4-15 have been artificially created using Gene Symmetry Therapy. Two asks if Six would still like to marry 4-15. Six smiles and says yes.
Lucy and Michael wake up together the next morning. Lucy knows she's behaving out of character and tries to leave, but Michael wants to get breakfast for her. Lucy wants oranges.
Six asks 4-15 to marry him. On their wedding day, 313 shows up at the church to tell Six his feelings for 4-15 won't last. As 4-15 approaches, 313 kisses Six. 4-15 runs into the desert. Six catches up to her, moments before Rover attacks. Six runs to an unconscious 4-15. When she wakes he tells her that her name is Lucy and that they met in place called New York. She tries to deny it, but eventually relents saying that Two brought her to The Village to love Six, and to break his heart. Later, Six approaches a distraught 147, who wants to jump in another hole to find his daughter. Six convinces him to do so would be suicide. As he holds 147 back, 4-15 jumps into the hole.
Michael walks down the street with a bag of oranges. As he approaches his building, his apartment explodes. Michael finds a recorded message on his phone from Lucy. It says that whatever he does, he needs to stay away from Summakor.
A distraught Six yells at the gates of Palais Two, vowing revenge for 4-15's death. Across the street, another man – who looks just like Six – looks on. Two confronts 11-12 at the bar. 11-12 accuses Two of being a liar, and demands to know where The Village is. Two tells him The Village is inside of the mind of 11-12's mother, and that she did it all for him. Two hands 11-12 the key to the pill cabinet, offering his son a day with M2.
313 dreams of a Gothic church and a girl with a box over her head. She wakes from the nightmare to find Six sitting in her bed. He asks why she kissed him at the church; she says she couldn't help herself. Six kisses 313; she's struck with more visions, and asks Six to stop. The next day at the Clinic, a melancholy Six bemoans the loss of 4-15 to 313. 313 wonders why Six wasn't worried about 4-15 last night. Confused, Six claims he never went to 313's house. Six runs into 147, who tells Six he doesn't want another fight. A bewildered Six returns home. His apartment is in shambles, and a receipt from the Village Shop lies on the floor. On the mirror, someone has written "Be Seeing You."
Michael's Summakor building entry pass has been deactivated, but he convinces a security guard to let him go to the basement to get a new one.
Six goes to the Village Shop and asks the shopkeeper what the receipt is for. The shopkeeper admits it was for a knife. Six tries to convince 147 that his earlier fight was with an impostor. The other Six appears, and Six chases him into a building. Holding a knife to Six's throat, Six's alter ego – who calls himself 2x6 --says he's going to kill Two. 2x6 punches Six in face, then disappears. Two prepares to leave the Palais and finds Six forcing his way through his bodyguards. Six warns Two that 2x6 is out to kill him. Walking through The Village, Two sheds his gentlemanly attire. In Palais Two, 11-12 watches a message of Two warning Villagers of a Two impersonator. 11-12 gets a black pill and wakes M2. In shirtsleeves, Two goes into The Village shop and asks for cigarettes. The shopkeeper reluctantly hands him one, then smokes with him. As Two leaves, the shopkeeper phones the Clinic.
11-12 and M2 bond over lunch. 11-12 wants to understand the other place. M2 hopes that 11-12 will see The Village has all he needs. A disheveled Two sits outside. Six approaches to try and warn him about 2x6, but Two denies he is Two, saying he is Untwo. 147 meets Untwo and takes him to his house to protect him from being caught as a numberless wanderer.
Michael goes to get a new card and recognizes the "Access Guy" as the Village shopkeeper. The Access Guy is skeptical until Michael proves they have a shared memory. Michael tells him he needs to get up to the Purpose Floor.
147 and his wife eat cake with Untwo, until Dogs looking for the impersonator arrive and chase Untwo away. Untwo asks 313 if she would like to see the Other Place. 313 doesn't want to go anywhere, but Untwo says he will grant her wish -- whether she wishes it or not. 313 seeks comfort in Six, but realizes it's 2x6. She runs away, haunted by more visions, and finds herself in the middle of the desert. As M2 spends time with 11-12, more holes appear throughout The Village. 11-12 asks M2 if he can go to the Other Place; she reveals it isn't possible: People born in The Village cannot leave. Distraught, 11-12 runs out to the desert and hurls the key to the pill cabinet.
In the Village Church, 2x6 approaches Untwo with the knife. Untwo explains why he created The Village: He wanted a fresh start from the apathy and cruelty of the real world. 2x6 goes to kill Untwo, but Six stops him. 2x6 disappears. 11-12 finds the key in the sand, and puts M2 back to sleep. Two returns home, explaining that his impersonator has been found and detained. The shopkeeper is dragged into the Clinic. In the middle of the desert, 313 finds a glass door with a Summakor logo on it. She goes inside.
Michael and the Access Guy go to the Purpose Floor. A room filled with monitors displays profiles of Village residents. Michael recognizes the people as subjects from his reports. On one monitor, he watches Lucy's recorded warning.
313 follows a long corridor until she she's confronted with her vision. She runs back to the desert.
Michael approaches a window on the Purpose Floor and sees Six in The Village. He bangs on the window to get Six's attention.
In The Village, Six looks towards the Towers, then disappears. The Village is expanding as newcomers arrive. Six asks one of them where she boarded the bus to get to The Village. She says she boarded in The Village.
On the Purpose Floor of Summakor, a woman tells Michael a car is waiting to take him for his appointment with Mr. Curtis.
Six is doubled over in pain. He receives a summons to the Clinic, where 313 diagnoses him. Surveying The Village expansion, Two tells 11-12 he will one day inherit The Village, and that it will stay in their family for generations. Six confronts Two with his Certificate of Dying. Two tells Six that Village Death offers clarity of choice: This life, or no life. 313 continues to be haunted with visions of herself from another life. She wants to find a way to help Six. Two tells her there is something she can do, but that she must not let the girl from the Other Place control her. At the cemetery, 11-12 places flowers on 909's grave. Six challenges 11-12 to give him the information he needs to get out of The Village. 11-12 asserts that his mother cares for him. Six collapses in front of 147, who offers to take Six to see someone who may be able to cure him.
Michael is escorted to Mr. Curtis' car, where he recognizes the driver as The Village's 147. En route, the driver explains how he used to be an angry person, but Mr. Curtis helped him turn his life around.
147 takes Six to a Village prophet, and tells Six that deliverance is coming -- they just need to wait. Waiting is giving up, says Six. Six approaches 11-12, who is drinking alone. Six asks him about his mother and the pills. He asks 11-12 to leave The Village with him, but 11-12 rejects his offer.
In New York, Michael meets Mr. Curtis and Helen – Two and M2 in The Village. Helen is in a dreamlike state. Mr. Curtis explains that The Village is an experiment happening in Helen's mind. She sacrificed herself so that broken people could have better lives.
In Palais Two, 11-12 enters his parents' bedroom and smothers M2 to death. In the Clinic, Two taunts a dying Six with the details of his upcoming funeral. 313 listens from afar. Two returns home to discover M2 dead and 11-12 nowhere to be found. Two and the Dogs search the bar, and find 11-12 has hanged himself. Two carries his dead son out, and places his body in state. Holes begin to open in The Village. Two visits 147, who he knows can empathize with the pain of losing a child. Two tells 147 there is something he can do to end the pain, but 147 must help: When the moment arrives he must call out that Six "is the one."
Mr. Curtis takes Michael into the city and shows him the positive effects The Village has had on suffering people. Michael claims Mr. Curtis doesn't have the right to help people without their consent. Mr. Curtis offers Michael an opportunity to help him with The Village experiment, and gives him a pass to the Purpose Floor of Summakor. Before Michael can respond, they arrive at a church.
The effects of Village Death begin to overtake Six. Two concedes the plan was not enough to crack him. Two has decided Six's desire to do the right thing will force him to assimilate to The Village. He makes a deal with 313: She will give herself to Six to save him.
In the Clinic, Two confronts Six with Rover. Unable to face his deepest fear, Six runs away. Villagers gather for 11-12's funeral. Six attends, his fever from Village Death miraculously gone. Two confesses to the crowd that 11-12's death was a suicide and that they are all prisoners. A child throws a stone that hits Two in the face. Two tells the crowd to look to Six for answers. 147 steps forward and proclaims "Six is the one," inciting the crowd to join him. Two tells Six the only way to shut the holes is for a dreamer to take M2's place. 313 steps forward and takes one of M2's pills.
At the church in New York, Mr. Curtis introduces Michael to Sarah – 313 in The Village. She is nearly delusional, suffering from the aftermath of childhood abuse. Mr. Curtis tells Michael he can save her. Michael takes Sarah's hand, catching her as she collapses.
In The Village, Two places a grenade in his mouth.He tells Two he is giving him the Village before pulling the pin. Two explodes.
Mr.Curtis returns home to Helen, and finds her well. On the Purpose Floor, Michael takes a seat as the new head of Summakor.
In the Village, Six and a sedated 313 look out on The Village. Six tells her that together they can make a good Village.
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