Genre: Drama/Crime
Director: Todd Haynes
Writer: James Morgan
Cast: Cate Blanchett, Tim Roth, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christopher Plummer, Gabourey Sidibe, June Squibb, China Anne McClain, Emma Watson, Hannah Murray, Denzel Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg
Plot: Plot: Susan (Cate Blanchett) was once a powerful woman with a promising future, but all of her previous accomplishments didn't matter for Robert (Tim Roth), her husband. He fell in love with her the second they met and they were married a couple of months later. They live in Beverly Hills, in a relatively bug house that serves as a testament to their previous success. But, today, Susan's life turned upside down. She looks at herself, naked, in front of the mirror, with numerous bruises and cuts all over her body. Robert is asleep in the bed in the next room, Susan has a knife in her hands and has vowed to use it in the next hours, she wants to end. She cries in the mirror while looking at herself and after she regains her seemingly unshakable focus, she runs into her bedroom, one she was happy to go into for the last twelve years and sinks her knife into her husband's heart. His eyes open and in his last breath, he looks at her and all he can see in the eyes of his naked, vulnerable wife, is a deep feeling of hatred. She lets go of the knife, leaving it planted into Robert's chest as she puts a night gown on, as the screen fades to black.
Brittany (Gabourey Sidibe) has never been a great student. She's 30 now and her previous attempts at going back to school to finish her high school were cut short when she fell into depression once again since that night. It is a night she's going to remember for the rest of her life. The night that practically forced her to drop out of high school in the first place and the one that caused her important weight gain. She has flashbacks of that night and she's dragged out of her thoughts by Mr. Sherman (Michael Stuhlbarg), her teacher. Sherman really has a hard time to maintain the group's attention. He never trained for this type of class, he wanted to become a primary school teacher when he was in college. He was happy once, but it was a long time ago and now, he's a drunk teacher, tasked to teach drop outs who still have glimpses of hope that their life can be turned around by obtaining the piece of paper that is a diploma. Jordan (Denzel Whitaker), an ex-inmate, pokes fun at Brittany's weight again and he has another shouting match with Mr. Sherman. He really knows how to get on people's nerves and he's good at it. While they argue and there's nothing to listen to for Brittany, she's once again dragged into her head, thinking of that night again.
Joy (Hannah Murray) is waiting in her living room, a glass of wine in one hand, lying on her sofa. She's not in her home though, always at the hotel. She's already high, heroin is her favorite. She's been a secret heroin addict for a while now. She hears a knock, she opens the door and Emily (Emma Watson) is standing outside the room. She rapidly enters and they start to kiss. They go in the bedroom still kissing, undressing each other and the screen fades to black.
Daniel (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is driving on a dark avenue, always going faster than the speed limit. He's crying.
Gregory (Christopher Plummer) is crying too, tears of joy. Anne (June Squibb) nearly spoke to him today, the first time since the accident. He loves his life, an unconditional love he has for her. She's given him two sons that he loved more than anything in the world, but today, only Anne remains by his side. His sons left their life after their mother had her accidents, that's what he trying to tell her today. His tears of joy quickly become tears of sadness as he's telling the story, but Anne doesn't flinch. She's quadriplegic and mute since the day of the accident. He's not able to feed her anymore, sadness getting the better of him.
All the family is sitting around the table, they discuss about the black girl that was assaulted by a man in downtown LA in the middle of the night. Anne and Gregory are sitting next to each other, as always, like they were trying to protect each other. Robert and Susan on the other side, they were still happy at the time, both of them had great jobs, Anne and Gregory love to tell their son how great of a man he became. Emily and Daniel were also present, albeit not sitting next to each other, their relation hasn't been the best since Daniel went through a nasty divorce with his cheating wife. He lost almost everything in the legal battle, but he was happy his daughter was still beside him, but she secretly hated him and wished the judge granted her the right to remain with her mother, but she was mentally unstable, that what that old judge said. They were about to change the subject on Daniel's request when Susan dropped the bomb, she knew how assaulted the girl, none other than Daniel, her brother-in-law, Robert's brother, Emily's father and Anne and Gregory's son, it instantly broke the mood, like a hot knife through butter.
Let's go get some cocaine, those were the last words of Emily, before she died in Joy's arms, the following morning, after a night of intense sex and in which she tried heroine for the first time. She had other drugs in her blood, that's for sure, that's what Joy told the paramedics, after she carefully threw away of the drugs she had in her possession after she found Emily's corpse. When they asked Joy if she knew if Emily had any family, she thought of Daniel, but she ultimately said no to the lady who asked.
After he heard what Susan just said, Gregory had to ask again, he heard her correctly, but he couldn't ultimately think that his son could have done such an horrible act. She said it again. That's when it happened, the accident as he calls it. Anne started to feel sloppy and she felt on the floor. Everyone went next to her, but Daniel, the accused, left, he never came back to his parents house. Susan called an ambulance. While she was calling she saw the anger in Robert's eyes, but it was not directed to his brother, but to her and she knew why.
Two nights ago, that's when she told him what she saw what his brother did to that black girl in his apartment in Los Angeles. They were about to go to bed and that's when she dropped the bomb for the first time. He couldn't believe it. His brother did it and somehow he felt guilty of what his brother did, but he didn't tell her. He asked her why she was in his apartment and she didn't answer. He never thought about it much afterwards, only his brother's actions stayed in his mind. He begged her not to tell anyone and she reluctantly accepted.
You got to let that frustration out, that's what Robert told Daniel. They went to a firing range together, a desperate attempt from Robert to try to calm down his brother, a hot mess of emotions after his nasty and overly long divorce. Sometime I just want to hit someone in the face is what he answered and Robert didn't answer back. Daniel tried boxing, but it didn't fit him well. He wanted to hit someone in and that person wouldn't be able to answer back. He would imagine that this person was his ex-wife, that's what he did when he hit Brittany and she didn't hit him at all.
She spoke to him today, however, Gregory didn't like what he heard. She repeatedly whispered to him to kill her, but Gregory doesn't have the force to do it himself. He's still trying to make her eat her dinner, has he did every single day since the accident, but today, she doesn't want to eat, she's just whispering the same thing over and over again. He cries again, just like he did everyday since the day he heard what his son did.
Brittany was once again dragged out of her thoughts by Mr. Sherman who's repeatedly saying her name. He's tired of arguing with Jordan when he pokes fun at Brittany. Sherman asks her if she wants to tell what happened to the class and she declines. He asks to speak with her in private, and she accepts. In the corridor, he asks her if Jordan's bothering her and she admits that yes, he's indeed bothering her very much. He insists that she should tell the class what happened to her in order for the mockery to stop. She finally accepts and when she enters the class, the entire room sits quietly at their desk. She proceeds to describe what happened to her, that she was raped and she was assaulted repeatedly by a man in his apartment. She then tells that she was once slim and happy, but since that night, she's gained weight and she's not happy anymore, even after she heard her aggressor died. She then tells them about her depression and her other desperate attempts at getting her life back on track and show she was constantly dragged down the same obscure path after she reminds herself of what happened. When she's done, crying, a mess, Jordan gets up and hugs her, both of them crying in front of the class and their other classmates can't hold back their tears.
Brittany (China Anne McClain) was sitting in a bar that night, all alone after her friend denied her invitation. She went alone, because she always kind of like being alone. She didn't intent of getting out of the bar with someone, it was never the intent, but if the occasion rose, she would gladly take it. She may look like an innocent girl, but she can become wild in an instant if the occasion fits. She was sipping her cocktail at the bar, she always hated dancing, when she witnesses a man, albeit older, but she liked him. She stared at time repeatedly, hoping to catch his attention. She went to the bathroom to ensure she was presentable and when she came back, he wasn't there anymore. That's a shame she thought. She sat down again and he came from behind her and started flirting with her. She thought he was cute, he always liked more mature man and she played along with him. After a while, he offered her to go back to his apartment and she reluctant at first, but she eventually said yes. She will regret that choice for the rest of her life. He presented himself as Daniel and she said she was named Brittany. They left in a taxi.
They started to kiss as soon as they entered his apartment building. She noticed he was somehow different from when they left the bar, more hesitant, is what she would say later. They entered his small, shitty apartment, but it didn't bother her, she wanted him and she knew it. They were on his bed and he excused himself and went to the bathroom. He saw a framed picture of his ex-wife. He remembered the discussion he had with his brother at the firing range and the feeling of rage came back to him in an instant. When he came back to his bedroom, he was even more different than before, angrier it seemed. He snapped at her, repeatedly hitting her with his belt. She thought it was a game at first and told him to calm down a bit, it wasn't fun for her and he continued to hit her with great force and that's when she realized it wouldn't be a pleasant night, for her, at least. He then hit her, with his fists, turning her around so she could see her face and he hit her in the face, then all over her body. It is only after that he forced himself into her. In what seemed to be an eternity, she cried and tried to scream, but she wasn't able to. That's when she saw a woman looking through the window, after she used the emergency stairway. Susan looked in horror as she saw Daniel raping the girl. She left, completely in shock. Brittany eventually passed out and when she woke up the next morning, she was outside, rain pouring down.
When she heard what her father did, Emily went to see her fried Joy and they made love that night. That's when she asked her to introduce her to the world of drugs. She admitted to Joy what happened with her father and her grandmother. They both passed out from an incorrect use of morphine.
When he put his wife to sleep, as he did every night since the accident, kissed her goodnight and stood still, remembering what she whispered to him all day long. He started to cry and he took a pillow. He remembered what happened the day of the accident, Susan saying his son, Daniel, raped a girl and she saw from her own eyes. He puts the pillow on his wife's face and grants her wish. When she stops moving, he goes to the garage, still thinking about the day that would change his life. He took out his gun lied on his bed, next to his wife. He thinks back about what happened to the day of the accident and he shots himself in the head, dying next to his wife.
The day after she revealed what she saw at the family diner, Susan was now living in peace with herself, but Robert wasn't happy. She was lying on her bed when he came and started to beat her with his belt. She tried to defend herself, but she couldn't. He asks him if that's what she saw. He tears up her clothes and she's lying there, naked. He mounts her and she starts to hit her, just like her brother did to that girl. She able to reach the light on the table and she hits him straight in the head with it. He backs down and he starts to throw things at her. He cuts her with a plate once they reach the kitchen and he hurts her again once he reaches the shoes. She then screams that she's sorry and Robert tells her that she ruined her family and that she accepted not to tell anyone. Robert finally calms down after she falls on the ground, naked, vulnerable. Later that night, he went to sleep.
Susan looks at herself, naked, in front of the mirror, with numerous bruises and cuts all over her body. Robert is asleep in the bed in the next room, Susan has a knife in her hands and has vowed to use it in the next minute, she wants it to end. She cries in the mirror while looking at herself and after she regains her seemingly unshakable focus, she runs into her bedroom and sinks her knife into her husband's heart. His eyes open and in his last breath, he looks at her and all he can see in the eyes of his naked, vulnerable wife, is a deep feeling of hatred. She lets go of the knife, leaving it planted into Robert's chest as she puts a night gown on, as the screen fades to black.
After Daniel left his parents' house after Susan outed him as an aggressor, he drove down a dark avenue, going way over the speed limit. He's crying, thinking back at what he did. He sees a tree and thinks about he did. He goes even faster and crashes into the tree, killing himself.
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