Genre: Drama/Dark Comedy
Director: Tom Ford
Writer: Mo Buck
Based on the novel by Tonino Benacquista
Cast: Adrien Brody, Michael Stuhlbarg, Brendan Gleeson, Olivia Wilde, Allison Tolman, Rebecca Hall, Damian Lewis, Dean Norris, Angela Lansbury, Larry David, Oliver Platt
Plot: Stu Shepard (Adrien Brody) and Sam Wells (Michael Stuhlbarg), two middle-aged men who don’t know each other, a playing a game of tennis at their local private club. They never met each other before and have never played against one another before. The match is challenging for both players, but Sam, clearly the better player, gets the win after an ace. They shake hands and they retreat to the lockers. Since it’s pretty late, they are the only ones there and they start to small talk. While they are in the shower, Stu invites Sam for a beer at the bar just across the street. They agree to meet there.
Sam is surprised that he accepted the invitation, he never drinks alcohol, not even a single drop, and here he is, in a bar, having to share a beer with a complete stranger. They talk about their lives, and what they do for a living. Stu works as a frame manufacturer for people who want to frame picture. He has his own business and he hates it. He doesn’t have the passion he once had and the redundancy of the job was too much for him. Stu is married, with Diana, his wife and they share a house not far away from here. She works odd hours, so he doesn’t see her really often. The passion isn’t there anymore. She gained weight after the marriage and the desire isn’t there anymore. On his end, Sam is single and always has been. He’s married to his job, he works for the state, but he realises that working too much has been kind of negative for him and he feels like he wasted his life in a dead-end job that won’t get him any further. They both realise that they aren’t satisfied with their lives and they make a bet. They will meet again two months, at the bar and the one who has changed the most, the one who really became someone else, will have to buy the other a drink. They both swear they will do it. Stu looks at the time and he leaves, he must go to sleep, he has a long day tomorrow. On his way out, he realises that it’s time for him to change his life around. Sam liked his evening very much and he can’t believe he was able to sustain a conversation with someone other than his best friend, Harry.
When Stu gets back home, his wife Diana (Allison Tolman) is mad at him because he was late and they couldn’t watch their favorite program together. Stu then says that it’s her favorite program and he doesn’t really like it, to the surprise of Diana. She starts to argue, but Stu locks himself in the bathroom. He can’t believe what he just did. After three years, he finally had the guts to tell her he hates that show. That’s a step in the right direction. He looks at himself in the mirror and he can’t even dare to look at his nose. He always hated it. Too long, with a curve in it, simply, purely ugly. He doesn’t like his chin either. He once tried to hide it with a thick beard, but Diana hated it, so he shaved it off. He wants to be able to look at himself in the mirror again. He takes his cellphone and calls a plastic surgeon and sets a date in two days. Another step in the right direction. When he gets out, he goes straight to bed, while Diana watches the television.
The following day, Sam is at work and he’s bored. He asks his best friend Harry (Dean Norris) if he wants to head out early to the terrace across the street. Always ready to leave work early, Harry accepts. When they get there, Sam orders a beer, to the surprise of Harry, who has never seen Sam drink. He talks about what happened the last night and how he proposed a bet to this random guy, but he will not take it seriously. It was probably the alcohol making him say weird things, he’s not used to it after all and he had more than just a drink. It’s a school night and Harry has to pick up the kids, so he leaves Sam on the terrace and has he leaves, his friend orders another glass of beer.
Stu is almost done for the day. He owns his own shop and works with his single employee, Hannah (Rebecca Hall), who has a true passion for what she thinks is an art, a passion Stu lost a long time ago. He announces to her that he won’t be here tomorrow and when asked why, he says things aren’t going well with Diana as of late, hell he might even take a few days off. Hannah says it’s a shame, she likes having him around, but they aren’t drenched in work, so she’ll be alright. He locks himself in his office and he starts thinking, browsing the internet, trying to find another job, something he’ll like, something he’ll be passionate about. Frame manufacturer just sounds boring, he wants something out of the ordinary, something cool and this is why he’ll go with private detective. He picks up the phone and calls the agency of Wilson Kennedy (Brendan Gleeson), a renowned private investigator who operates a couple of blocks away from there. He noticed they’re looking for another employee and he applies, despite having no qualifications. This is something he omits mentioning, but he gets the interview, set for tomorrow. He really wants to turn his life around. When he’s about to leave, he decides to flip a coin. It lands on tails and he’s happy. On his way out, he kisses Hannah, a kiss she accepts, even if she’s surprised by it. He leaves without saying a word.
Sam entered the bar when the sun set and he drank casually, watching the basketball game on television. At one point, the bartender brings a glass of whiskey to Sam, even if he didn’t ask for it. It’s paid by a woman (Olivia Wilde), who waves at him. Sam nods and internally struggles with the decision if he wants to go see her or not. He never had confidence with woman, never had a serious girlfriend. It’s so serious that he decided not to talk to any girls until he resolves his confidence issues and his shyness. But tonight, part of him wants to go talk to the woman. He finally decides against it, after he remembers a time he made a fool of himself in front of a woman. He leaves the glass the whiskey untouched and leaves the bar, to the disappointment of the woman. When he gets back to his apartment, he regrets his decision and falls asleep on the sofa, mad at himself that he didn’t make a move.
The next day, Stu leaves his place early in the morning, before Diana wakes up. He sneaks out and goes to his interview with the PI, Wilson Kennedy. Then, the man learns that Stu doesn’t have the qualifications required to be a private detective at his agency. Stu insists and argues with Mr. Kennedy, to a point where Wilson is really annoyed. Stu keeps insisting Wilson finally agrees to give him a shot at this and Stu will follow him for one day. He warns him though, this is not a job for him, for his attitude, and he won’t like it, although he does look the part. Stu doesn’t seem like someone who attracts attention when in public. Stu says he’ll be just fine, he always wanted to do that anyways. He decided to leave his old life behind and to start over. Wilson sighs and welcomes him aboard, but only for the day.
Sam is immensely bored when lunch time comes. He throws his calculator in the drawer and goes all the way across the office to get Harry. He wants to go down to the terrace again. Harry didn’t bring anything to eat, so he doesn’t object. He’s curiously surprised to see Sam order a pint, then another. He has so much that he suspects his friend of being drunk, but he doesn’t really care.
Wilson and Stu have been waiting for someone to come out of his house for hours now. They listened to old CDs, ate tasteless sandwiches and chips while talking about the job of PI. Wilson says it’s far from the glorified job Hollywood makes it look like and today is a typical day for someone like Wilson Kennedy. Stu says he doesn’t care, so Wilson asks him why he decided to become a PI so late in life and Stu says he likes to know people, to uncover their secrets and how they really feel. Wilson says it’s a good basis. They listen to the radio for the rest of the day, not speaking to one another, while Stu makes up scenario about the person they’re investigating in his mind. When the night comes and they head back home, Stu says he won’t be coming tomorrow, but he will hear from him soon. Wilson doesn’t really care.
Sam’s boss, Antonio (Oliver Platt) called him in his office for his performance review and right from the start, he notices something different about Sam, but can’t quite put the finger on it. It’s time for Sam’s performance review. Sam has always been a reliable employee, but Antonio, knowing that Sam has always been someone who will break when you bend it a little, says Sam could still have done a little bit more. Expecting Sam to say he’s sorry and will work more, Antonio is surprised to see Sam stepping up for himself and say Antonio is wrong as he’s been the best employee out there every day. All facts considered, Sam thinks he even deserves a promotion. Mad at this unexpected defiance, Antonio throws Sam out of his office. Sam is satisfied with himself and he wonders why he feels confident all of a sudden. He decides to take the rest of the day off and he goes back to the bar.
The same evening, Stu has his plastic surgery appointment to get rid of his nose and chin. The surgeon, Dr. Lewis (Damian Lewis) initially refuses to operate Stu has he thinks he didn’t really think the whole thing through. As Dr. Lewis is about to throw him out of his office, Stu takes out a pile of cash from his pocket and says that he’s ready to pay cash, no receipt, if he operates on him tonight. Lewis, always ready to do something shady, accepts, but makes sure Stu knows the consequences of the surgery, there’s no coming back, it’s permanent. Stu says he’s sure and Lewis takes out his marker and draws on Stu’s face. Stu feels a shiver down his spine, his lifelong dream will finally come through. When Lewis is done, he gives Stu a mirror and he approves the suggested changes. Stu walks in the usual surgery room, but Lewis says that since he paid cash and he wants to keep it lowkey, they go down in the basement in a locked room, where Lewis as another surgery room, but smaller and poorly lit. Lewis tells Stu to trust him as he’s done this in the past. Stu, still feeling the joy of getting rid of the nose that bothered him for all his life, lays down on the table and closes his eyes.
Sam is still at the bar, drunk, he’s had a couple of drinks, when he sees the same woman who paid him his drink the other night. He decides to offer her a drink this time and she smiles and accept. He observes her from a distance, wishing he had the confidence to go talk to her. He orders another vodka on the rocks and he shoves it down his throat and he decides to make a move. He goes over and he asks her name. She refuses to give it, but she says he can call her Mrs. X. They enjoy their evening together and talk a lot, but Mrs. X keeps a mysterious attitude and doesn’t really reveal herself. Sam goes to the bathroom and when he gets back, Mrs. X is nowhere to be found, but she left a napkin with lip marks on it and wrote thank you on it. Sam decides that it’s time to go home.
The next morning, Sam thinks about last night and confident he felt when talking to her. He never felt that way before. He puts two and two together and realises that alcohol is giving him his much-needed confidence. He remembers the past couple days and the moments he’d had alcohol were the same moments that he felt confident, defiant. On his way to work, he stops by the store and buys a pack of beer cans and a bottle of vodka. He pours vodka in his thermos and doesn’t feel bad about it. He goes to work, happy, thinking about Mrs. X, although a bit hangover.
During the day, Sam is getting drunker and drunker, but he isolates himself in his office, so nobody really notices. He hides a can of beer in his drawer and drinks from it in secret. He gets mad when he notices that his thermos is empty. When he hides to drink beer, he notices a can of soda on his desk and an idea comes to him. He takes the rest of the day off and leaves for the store, where he buys a pack of soda cans. On his way home, he forgets about his idea and turns right abruptly to go to the bar. He sits at the table and orders his favorite drink. Mrs. X comes in and sits with him. They talk together once again, but this time, they leave together. Mrs. X and Sam make love all night, but the next morning, when, Sam gets up, she’s gone.
When Sam gets back to work, he finally remembers his idea. He downs a can of soda and he grabs his pair of scissors. He carefully cuts the perimeter of the can and he covers his can of beer with it, so it appears to be a can of soda. He can now leave it on his desk and he’s happy about it. He repeats the process over and over again and he builds a nice collection of fake soda cans. Happy about work, he downs another can of beer and he celebrates with the secretary, who doesn’t understand what’s happening and says that Sam has changed.
Sam keeps the same routine over the following weeks and he meets Mrs. X every night and they make love to each other everyday, but he still doesn’t know her name.
A man is seen applying spray tan on his face and he leaves his apartment. He drives to Wilson Kennedy’s office and he enters, presenting himself as Johnny Cruz (Adrien Brody), here to see Wilson. Wilson is surprised to learn that this man says he worked with him a couple of weeks back, but when Johnny says his real name is Stu Shepard, it rings a bell in Wilson’s mind. The latter is furious at Johnny as he “looked” the part before; someone you don’t really notice in a crowd, discreet, but now, he looks like a Jersey Shore character, but older and not really in shape. That will catch someone’s attention. Johnny begs Wilson to let him work a case and once again, Wilson accepts, because he still needs someone to replace him when he leaves.
They go over to Juliette’s (Angela Lansbury) house, because she wants to know what her husband George (Larry David) is doing all day. They learn which car he drives and which way he goes and Juliette says she found this ticket in his things the other day. Johnny quickly identifies that it’s a parking ticket on a street they passed on their way here. Wilson tells Juliette they’ll do their best, as Johnny is already out with the car running. They drive on the street and Johnny spots the car from a distance. It’s parked in a half-hour motel with a shady sign and frankly, everybody knows what’s going on in there. They wait until he comes out and Johnny grabs his camera and does his job. They drive back to Juliette’s house, as George entered another room with another girl, and show Juliette what they learned. Johnny didn’t go in the car, as he wanted to let the feeling sink in. He really thrived on the feeling of invading someone else’s private life. When they go back to the offices, Wilson congratulates him on a good job and says he’s hired, but he should let go of the spray tan. He tells Johnny that he can grab a case, whichever one he likes, as Wilson falls asleep on his chair. Johnny check the mail and a letter grabs his attention, it’s titled: the disappearance of Stu Shepard. He hides in the bathroom and opens it. Diana is inquiring about what happened to Stu, has he disappeared without leaving a trace. He looks at his new self in the mirror and compares it with an old picture of himself. He will take on the case and he set a meeting with Diana over the phone.
Sam took a couple of weeks of from work, tired of their pragmatism and just wanting to develop his invention a bit more. He buys a lot of soda cans and dedicates his day to cut out different brands so his inventory is more diversified. Satisfied with his work, he heads over to the Patents Offices where he presents his project to a lady at reception. She looks at him and pities him a bit, he looks drunk, and looks like he’s constantly hangover. She hopes he won’t scream at her for this, but it already exists, therefore, there’s no way he can patent it. Sam lashes out at her and he says she doesn’t understand. She ends out calling security and they escort him out of the building. He heads over to the bar to drink, hoping to forget his rejection.
Johnny and Diana meet at Stu’s old shop and Hannah is also there, along with a couple of friends he had. He carefully takes the time to listen to each of them and learn how they miss him. Diana says he was distant the last time she saw him, he didn’t speak very much and he didn’t want to watch their favorite show. The surprise of the evening comes when Hannah reveals Stu kissed her the last time she saw him and it angers Diana, because she hid it from her. He also learned that they looked everywhere for him, but they never found anything, he disappeared without leaving any trace. Diana says he wouldn’t do this on his own, his shop was his own baby, he loved it like a child and he enjoyed framing very much. She said they were really close and doesn’t understand why he would leave her like that, so he must have been kidnapped. He realises that Diana had no idea what was going on, as if she was disconnected from the reality and it saddens him a bit. Diana tears up and Hannah takes over. She says Stu was less and less interested in framing as time went by, but he didn’t seem like an unhappy man, he was active, he was often smiling, so she rules out the suicide option, so she says he must have been kidnapped. Johnny asks for a moment alone to look in the place in case they missed anything. Hannah takes Diana with her and they go outside to smoke, hoping to calm themselves. Johnny goes in his old office and grabs a piece of paper and a pen and writes a letter to Diana, saying he’s sorry to leave her like that, but he wants to start his life somewhere else, somewhere where he’ll be happy and he doesn’t regret his decision. He ends it by saying he doesn’t want her to try to contact him, although she would understand why she would want to. He goes outside and shows her what he “found”. Diana reads it and cries again. Johnny hugs her, for the last time.
The following morning, Sam decides to get up before Mrs. X. He stares at her, at her body, until she wakes up and then, he fakes being asleep. When she leaves, he dresses up and follows her from a distance. She enters in a convenience store and Sam waits a bit. When he sees her behind the counter, he gets in and confronts her. Mrs. X doesn’t agree and says they should do this somewhere else. Sam wants to know her name and he wants her in his life. She says she doesn’t want him in his life, because she’s ashamed of her pathetic life as a convenience store cashier. She says her night life and her day life are separated and she built an entire persona, Mrs. X, for when she goes out at night. Sam says he did the same thing with alcohol. He’s two different entities, the shy, sober and unconfident Sam and there’s the drunk and confident Sam and he wants her to know both of his identities, just like he wants to know hers. She says she doesn’t and end their relationship. The manager throws him out as he made her cry and on his way out, she says she never wants to see him again.
When Johnny woke up in the morning, he practiced the speech he’s going to give to Sam tonight, to show him how he really changed. It’s been two months since he decided to turn his life around and he doesn’t regret it. He spends all day practicing it and finally, when the sun sets down, heads over to the bar. He notices Sam, who hasn’t changed at all, sitting at the counter, drunk. He sits next to him and says he’s Stu Shepard and Sam says he remembers him. Sam downs his vodka and orders a whiskey, as Johnny does the same thing. They look at each other in silence, as nobody wants to break the silence. They drink silently and watch time go by, both realising that they changed in their own way. Johnny is happy to think that he won the bet, as Sam can’t believe he really changed his life around. They order another round and drink silently.
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