Tenth Circle - Director's Cut
Genre: Drama
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Writer: H.G. Hansen
Based on the novel The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Katherine Langford, Julianne Moore, Dacre Montgomery, Joey King, Stephan James, Rory Culkin, Jon Bernthal, Jerry Wolf, Forrest Goodluck, Martha Higareda, Janeane Garofalo
Plot: Laura Stone (Julianne Moore) has her undergraduate students sit perfectly still for a full minute as part of teaching Dante's "Inferno." Laura likes the story because it's filled with demons graphic enough to hold the students' attention. Laura also knows the story is about a guy who's reevaluating his life's choices, a character she sympathizes with.
Meanwhile, Daniel (Viggo Mortensen) is about to drop Trixie (Katherine Langford) off at school. They've grown apart, and Daniel hates that their relationship has changed. Daniel is struggling on this particular morning to make conversation. Trixie has a boyfriend, and though Daniel wants to keep Trixie safe, Laura feels that keeping her too close will only make her rebel. Daniel's sought to give Trixie room and says there's now too much distance between them.
Trixie goes into school, but there's an obvious problem. She's heard other students making bets about when she might fall apart in public. Trixie and Jason (Dacre Montgomery) have actually broken up. Trixie feels a hand on her shoulder and expects to see Jason but sees Moss Minton (Stephan James), Jason's best friend, who assures her that Jason's friends think Jason "is an idiot" for breaking up with her. Trixie's called on in class to relate a dream, but she doesn't remember her dreams. Trixie's going to be sick and rushes to the bathroom. She breaks the mirror, then uses a shard of the glass to cut the inside of her arm, quickly regretting it.
At school, Trixie turns a corner in the hall to see Jason kissing his new girlfriend. Trixie's best friend, Zephyr (Joey King), appears and pulls Trixie away from the scene. Bethel High is located in Bethel, Maine, and there is an open campus. Zephyr and Trixie leave campus. Zephyr asks Trixie why she cares so much about Jason, and Trixie says she feels she's supposed to be with Jason. Zephyr says boys want "friends with benefits," but Trixie thinks she can't "be like that."
Daniel's currently working on a comic book called "The Tenth Circle." In this story, the hero, Duncan, is seeking his daughter, who's lost in Hell. He has to use all kinds of powers to get to her, and each time he loses a little more of himself. Growing up in Alaska. Daniel was the "only white boy in a native Alaskan village." Daniel's only childhood friend was Cane (Jerry Wolf), a native whose grandfather had stepped in to teach Daniel the things Daniel's father should've taught him. He'd been getting in trouble from an early age, but he'd always been able to lose himself in drawing comics. Daniel admits that Duncan's facing the same troubled past and that Daniel's own identity is emerging in the comic he's currently working on.
After school that day, Trixie waits for Jason to come out of hockey practice. She asks him for a ride home. Trixie asks how Jason gets through the days without showing any pain over their breakup. Jason says their relationship had mattered to him but that it's over.
As Laura heads home, she plans to break off her relationship with Seth (Rory Culkin), a student. When she gets home, she tells Daniel she can't stay for dinner because of a school meeting. Trixie tells Zephyr she'd talked to Jason on the phone later. Zephyr says it's time for Trixie to take another course of action. Trixie goes downstairs, where Daniel has dinner ready and announces she's going to Zephyr's. Daniel's disappointed but doesn't object. Trixie stops behind a neighbor's fence and changes into some super-low jeans without panties.
Seth's lying on his futon, reeling from the fact that Laura's just told him their affair's over. Laura's in the bathroom when the doorbell rings. Seth answers to find "the kid" there, expecting to buy drugs. He has nothing to sell, but she insists and pulls out more money. He gives in, giving her a stash he hadn't intended to sell. Later, Laura calls Daniel to say she's going to spend the night in her office to get more work done. Daniel is under no illusions and knows that Laura is having an affair but doesn't know what to do.
At Zephyr's house, she's handing out lipstick for a sex game called Rainbow. Trixie participates, performing oral sex. Amid the act, she becomes ill and rushes outside. At two-thirty the following morning, Trixie, Zephyr, Jason, and Moss are playing strip poker. Trixie loses a hand, trying to decide what to pull off. Zephyr offers to "pinch strip" for her, but Trixie suddenly remembers why she's trying to make Jason jealous and removes her bra. Moss snaps a photo of her with his camera. There's an argument as Trixie demands it back. Trixie runs from the room. Moss and Jason have a physical fight. Trixie returns to the living room, where she finds Jason is still there.
Later, Daniel's awakened by a crash. His first thought's that Laura's returned home, but he finds Trixie in the bathroom. He finally breaks it in, asking what's wrong. Trixie's first words are that "he raped me."
Trixie & Jason must have fallen asleep because she woke with him on top of her, kissing her neck. In the present, her father's driving her to the hospital, and he keeps remembering Trixie's words, that Jason Underhill raped her. Trixie asks where's her mother. Daniel can't seem to reach her. Trixie asks where her mother could be at three-thirty in the morning. He leaves a message, saying Trixie's at Stephens Memorial Hospital and raped. He concludes with, "Please come."
Daniel returns to Trixie's bedside, and they're joined by Janice (Janeane Garofalo), a sexual assault advocate. She begins by assuring Trixie that she isn't to blame, regardless of the situation or the circumstances. Trixie says she's changed her mind, wanting to go home. She's urged to have a doctor examine her. The doctor sees the bandages around Trixie's arm where she's been cutting herself. The doctor asks if the attacker used a knife, and Trixie says she thinks he scratched her. Laura arrives during the examination and holds Trixie. She says they'll get through the coming ordeal. Trixie says she knows they will, but she secretly believes they are both lying.
Daniel goes home to get Trixie some clean clothes. When he returns, he meets Laura in the hallway. Laura makes a reference to Trixie's clothing and her trip to Zephyr's house. Daniel counters, saying if Laura's going to make an accusation, she'd do it outright. Daniel asks why Laura hadn't answered her phone, which Laura almost makes an excuse. Daniel says if she's going to make this a habit, she might give him a new phone number. Their argument's interrupted by the arrival of a police officer, Mike Bartholemew (Jon Bernthal). Trixie's taken to the Bethel Police Station. Trixie says she'd been drinking and hadn't used any drugs. After Trixie's announcement, Mike tells Daniel the case will be challenging to prosecute. At home, Laura remakes Trixie's bed. When Daniel comes in to say to Trixie good-night, she asks him to stay awhile, remembering Jason say, "Don't tell me you don't want this."
Mike hates rape cases because the result is that a rape victim is "gone forever," though "going through the motions of being alive." At home, Mike recalls Daniel asking if Mike has children.
Daniel parks far from the hockey rink and waits. Before he can find Jason, he spots Mike and knows Mike's seen him. Laura asks if he'd gone to the hockey rink at home, and he admits that he had. Laura and Daniel have a fight about Laura's affair. She insists it's over, but the conflict grows briefly physical before Daniel regains control. Mike arrests Jason after the hockey game, and word spreads quickly. Jason appears in court and is ordered to have no contact with Trixie or her family, begin substance abuse counseling, and be home by ten each night. However, the judge says there's no need to ruin the Buccaneers' "chance for a repeat state championship" by granting a request for house arrest.
Laura remains at home for a while, but Daniel suggests it'll be better for Trixie to return to their regular routines. Trixie gets a dramatically different haircut. Laura has trouble returning to the classroom because her students know about the rape. Daniel and Laura argue again about the affair. Laura offers to move out, but Daniel says it wouldn't be suitable for Trixie.
Daniel takes Trixie to school for her first day back. To comfort her, he begins talking about his life in the Eskimo village of Akiak. He says the house he shared with his mother was attached to the school and was where the previous principal had hanged himself. Daniel says the school and the house were haunted. He says the Eskimos were afraid of the ghosts. Though they tormented him, the one thing they'd never say was that he's scared. Trixie counters, saying that Jason isn't a ghost, but Daniel responds that she has nothing to fear.
Trixie arrives at school and is told by the principal that she can go to the office if she needs to get out of the limelight. She endures the day without talking with anyone. She's at lunch when Zephyr & Moss arrives, saying Trixie's gotten Jason's attention and should drop the story that he raped her, making Trixie storm away.
Mike's beginning to work with Marita Soorenstad (Martha Higareda), a prosecutor arguing the case might not be easy to prosecute. Mike points out that on the record, Trixie told Jason "no." Marita says Trixie had been drinking and playing strip poker, which may indicate she hadn't said "no" until after the sexual act was completed. Also, the fact Trixie lied to Daniel about where she was going is another strike.
Daniel's fame is growing, and he's listed as number nine of the top ten comic book artists. Daniel's goal for this particular day is to draw a level of hell in which there are adulterers, bound together for eternity. Laura and Daniel meet in an embrace, and the problem grows heated until Daniel asks if Laura's thinking "about him." Laura assures Daniel she isn't, but he says he can't stop thinking about "him," and Laura leaves the room. Daniel picks up Trixie, who's devasted. He pulls over to comfort her. A car drives by, which throws a beer bottle, striking their vehicle.
Spending the afternoon with an attorney, Jason says Trixie hadn't taken the breakup well. He recounts the events that night. He says he'd found Trixie in the bathroom and hugged her. Trixie had responded by "coming on" to him, kissing him. Then Trixie began oral sex, which he didn't reciprocate. Trixie had lost her virginity months earlier. Zephyr's questioned by the police, saying there's no music playing when Trixie claimed to be raped. Also says she never heard Trixie scream for help. Mike interviews Dr. Roth, who examined Trixie. Dr. Roth says there's a good chance Trixie inflicted the cuts on her arm. Dr. Roth says she'll testify that Trixie was raped.
In her session with Janice, Trixie recounts segments of her relationship with Jason, including the night she'd told him she loved him, which he hadn't said it back, and the way he'd told her it would be good for them to "see other people." Trixie admits that she'd begun cutting herself after the breakup. A letter to the Portland Press Herald editor expresses outrage over the accusation against Jason and predicts that Bethel's people would find him innocent. Seth calls Laura, but Laura refuses to talk to him.
Daniel and Laura had been dating when Laura discovered she's pregnant. She'd initially planned to preclude Daniel from her life and raise the baby alone, but he finds out and is furious, recounting his own life without a father. His mother had told him his father died, but Daniel discovered that wasn't the truth. Daniel says his mother had wanted to protect him, saying it might be easier to have no father than to find his father didn't want him. Laura says she isn't sure she wants her child to have Daniel as a father.
Daniel learns that Jason's lawyer has subpoenaed Janice's records related to her time with Trixie and that she'll have to comply with the order. Mike reveals some inconsistencies in Trixie's testimony and that the case will continue to be complicated. One aspect is Trixie's statement that she's a virgin until the night of Zephyr's party. She now admits that she wasn't but says she couldn't know that because her father was in the room at the time. One day, Seth arrives at the house. Trixie answers the door, but Laura sends her upstairs, slamming the door on Seth.
A few days later, Trixie's on the computer in the school newspaper class when all the screens go dark, then pictures of Trixie without her bra appear on computers across the school community. Daniel goes directly to Mike's house to complain about it. Mike says the image's been traced back to Moss.
Later, Laura steps into the bathroom to discover Trixie has tried to commit suicide. Daniel remains at the hospital until Trixie regains consciousness. He then sets out to find Jason. Jason gets into his car and almost immediately feels the knife at his throat. Daniel forces Jason to drive to a place near the river. Daniel shreds Jason's clothes, leaving him naked. He makes it apparent that he's going to kill Jason, who pleads for his life. Daniel suddenly realizes what he's doing. He stands up and leaves.
Jason manages to cut through the duct tape that binds him and returns to his car. He heads to the police station to report the attack but keeps remembering that Daniel had said he'd kill Jason if he told anyone.
Daniel arrives home. When Laura asks where he'd been, he says only that he'd been driving. Daniel and Laura make love that night though things are still tense between them.
The next day, Trixie's released from the hospital. When they arrive home, Zephyr's waiting. Laura and Daniel allow Trixie to decide whether to talk to her, and Trixie invites Zephyr inside. Trixie asks Zephyr if someone had dared her to approach Trixie. Zephyr says she's sorry and that she feels the entire situation's her fault. Trixie relents but knows she doesn't truly trust Zephyr.
Laura, Daniel, and Trixie meet with Marita, who points out problems with the case, including Trixie having lied about having oral sex that night. She also points out Trixie's instability, evidenced by her suicide attempt. Trixie now having no memory of returning and had thought it'd "come back" with time. She says she still can't remember those details but does say she had a headache the following day. Added to the fact that the ER doctor indicated that Trixie exhibited a "dissociated mental state" on the night of the rape, Mike suggests Trixie may have been drugged. A test of Trixie's blood taken after the rape indicates she'd ingested PCP. Jason's father reveals that he's heard the result of Trixie's blood work. Seth arrives at Laura's office, revealing to her that he'd sold the drugs to Trixie.
Trixie and her father make a trip into town. It's crowded for an event, and Trixie suddenly realizes she can't face going into the grocery store, deciding to wait outside. She's soon frightened of being alone and decides to go in but encounters Jason. He's furious, demanding to know what she told the police to prompt these new charges. Trixie screams, and Daniel appears, hitting Jason. He beats on Jason for several minutes and says he'll kill Jason if he ever again approaches Trixie. Then Daniel looks for Trixie, realizing she's gone. Daniel calls Laura, and she arrives in town. They agree to find Trixie themselves.
Laura arrives at the home, but Trixie isn't there. Daniel comes later with Trixie, who's unhurt but asleep. The next morning Laura learns that Jason committed suicide the previous night.
Mike continues to work the crime scene where Jason died. A wallet and cell phone are discovered, and Mike takes Jason's death to his parents. The following Monday, grief counselors are on hand at the school. The medical examiner in charge of the autopsy on Jason Underhill tells Mike Jason's alcohol levels indicated he was incredibly drunk when he died. However, Jason has bruising on his temple and a black eye that only became evident several hours after his death. The fracture lines indicate Jason was hit before the fall that killed him. Other clues were added to the wood slivers under Jason's fingernails, making it Jason was pushed and tried to catch himself.
Daniel hears Laura crying and tries to comfort her. She says she's thinking about "him," and Daniel immediately thinks it's the man she'd had an affair with, but Laura's referring to Jason. Mike examines Jason's phone and discovers a memo recording the fight between Jason and Daniel, including Daniel's threat. Mike questions Daniel, who denies having seen Jason the evening before his death. Mike later talks with Trixie. She instinctively pulls her shirt sleeves down to hide the fresh cuts she'd made in the shower. Mike questions Trixie and hints that her father's already told him about the fight he had with Jason. Trixie confirms the fight but says they went directly home afterward. She doesn't say she wasn't with her father. Mike learns there's blood on Jason's hand and that it wasn't Jason's. The lab technician agrees to give Mike a preliminary report but warns that the full DNA testing will take time. It's later revealed that the blood on Jason's hands was from a female.
Trixie learns that Jason's funeral will be at the Bethel Methodist Church with burial at Westwind Cemetery. Trixie gets dressed to go and slips downstairs to find Daniel waiting in the truck. Trixie asks where he's going, and he says, "The same place you are." When Trixie asks why Daniel wants to go to Jason's funeral, he says he doesn't. When they arrive at the church, Trixie suddenly fears going inside. She asks Daniel what she'll do if she can't make herself go inside. Daniel says he's there to do whatever she needs and guides her in. When they're in the church, every eye turns to look at them. Outside, Mike collects Trixie's boot tracks to compare with tracks found at the scene of Jason's death. Near the end of the service, Trixie begins to scream, and her father takes her out of the church.
Mike later confirms Trixie's boot prints match those found at the scene, but the boots can't definitely place Trixie at the scene. Mike knows that Trixie, as a rape victim, has a motive. Knowing that Jason was drunk means that Trixie could've overpowered him. Mike also examines a watch found at the scene. Jason's parents identify it as Jason's, and Mike finds a red hair hung in the winding stem. Mike goes to the Stone house and asks Daniel if Trixie had been apart after Daniel's fight with Jason. Daniel insists that Trixie couldn't have killed Jason and Mike says she'd have no problem giving up a blood sample for DNA testing to rule her out. Daniel goes to Trixie's room, discovering she's gone.
Trixie catches a ride with some cows and runs away when they arrive at their destination. Daniel rushes back downstairs and tells Mike that Trixie's gone. Mike's first thought is to wonder why Trixie would run if she were innocent. His next is to remember what it's like to discover a child is missing. Mike tells Daniel to "sit tight" and promises to find Trixie.
Trixie winds up in Santa's Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire. She has hair dye in her backpack and dyes her hair in the restroom. Daniel goes to the store where Zephyr works, who claims not to have seen Trixie. Laura arrives home and checks Trixie's room, hoping there'd been some mistake. Laura then picks up the phone and calls the police. She's on hold for Mike when Daniel arrives. Daniel looks over Trixie's computer. With clues from that, he knows she's gone to Alaska.
Trixie completes the dye job and leaves. She's soon at the bus station and encounters a young mother with a toddler. When they go to the restroom, Trixie takes her wallet with her identification. She leaves her own ATM card and some cash in the girl's purse and catches a taxi to the airport.
Mike has registered Trixie as a missing person. He goes to the Stone's home and finds no one there. Mike realizes he has Trixie's DNA in the evidence room in Trixie's rape kit, and he asks the lab tech to compare it with the blood found on Jason's hand. Marita says it'll be challenging to get a judge to approve an order to use Trixie's sample for this purpose because the sample's obtained when Trixie was a rape victim. Marita suggesting getting the DNA a different way, and Mike reveals that Trixie's missing. Marita offers to see any blood in Trixie's school locker, considering she's prone to cutting herself. Mike arrives at the school and already knows Daniel and Laura have purchased plane tickets to Alaska. He finds a photo that reminds him that Trixie had long hair when the rape occurred but that she'd donated the hair to a charity. Mike knows Trixie's hair will be labeled and believes he can get a court order to sample DNA testing.
Trixie catches a bush plane. The pilot thinks Trixie must be a volunteer for a checkpoint on the race. She arrives and is completely lost, says she's volunteering for the first time. She's given an assignment. A young Eskimo boy is to take her to the checkpoint where she's supposed to work. She tries to talk to him, but he's silent. When she asks if he can speak English at all, he responds that it's fifty-five miles to their destination, wondering if she's going to "yap" the entire time.
Meanwhile, Daniel and Laura arrive in Alaska. Daniel finds a man he knows from his childhood and asks about Trixie. He describes her, but no one claims to have seen her. One person tells them about a skinny girl who arrived late headed for Tuluksak. When Laura asks for her hair color, they're told the latecomer had black hair, which prompts Daniel and Laura to decide it must've not been Trixie. However, the woman then says that the latecomer didn't have warm clothes. Daniel suddenly has a premonition, knowing he's to get to Tuluksak.
Trixie and the Eskimo, Willie (Forrest Goodluck), arrive at the check station. One of the teams comes in with a dog. The vet tends to Juno, but Trixie slips several handfuls of dog food to the dog. Daniel encounters a woman he knows, who says she saw a white girl pass through the previous day. Daniel learns that Laura's freezing and stops at Cane's parents. Daniel leaves Laura there, heading on toward Tuluksak, where he hopes to find Trixie. Trixie and Willie are standing in the dark when Daniel arrives.
Daniel asks Trixie why she chose Alaska, and she said it's because she heard Daniel say it's where People could disappear. Daniel asks Trixie why she'd wanted to disappear. She says it's because she "didn't do what everyone thinks."
At this point, we finally learn the truth as Trixie's willing to tell it. She'd told Willie that she hadn't told Jason "no" that night and that she's a liar. While Daniel goes inside to tell the others at the station that Trixie's leaving, Willie talks to Trixie. She doesn't know what'll happen to her, but Willie suggests they might meet again someday. Trixie's glad he doesn't try to make her feel better but allows her to be sad.
Daniel arrives back at Akiak, where Laura's waiting. When he turns the corner, he sees the police truck's already there. An officer approaches and says he has a warrant for Trixie's arrest. Daniel says they can't arrest Trixie because he killed Jason. Mike gets a call from the Alaska State Troopers who say they found Trixie but that both Trixie's parents had confessed to the murder. Mike tells Daniel that he understands what Daniel's doing and that he doesn't blame him, but that it won't work. Mike then says that his own daughter overdosed and wrecked. He says his daughter was already dead, but he'd still been trying to protect her.
Daniel goes to jail, where Laura's being held. She tells him that she'd seen Jason on the bridge the night of his death. Jason told Laura that Trixie's ruining his life. Drunken, Jason advanced on Laura, who pushed him. Laura says Jason was holding to the bridge, and she'd started to help pull him back up, but then she'd let go. When she heard that Jason committed suicide, Laura said she'd convinced herself that it hadn't really happened the way she remembered. Daniel reassures her everything will be alright, holding Laura while Daniel's face grows grim.
Daniel's comic's final chapter shows a family brought back together.
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