Now Showing: The Big One

The Big One
Genre: Drama/Mystery
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Jimmy Ellis & John Malone
Cast: Sadie Sink, Amy Adams, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Fred Hechinger, H. Jon Benjamin, Bella Heathcote, Jake Lacy

Plot: Judy Everett (Sadie Sink) sits in her 1950s civics classroom as her teacher, Mr. Worley (H. Jon Benjamin), describes the recent fall of fascism in Europe. Judy is drawing doodles on her notebook of her crush, Robby Canton (Fred Hechinger), who is sitting in the row in front of her. Judy is passed a note by her best friend, Marcia Mansfield (Daisy Edgar-Jones), trying to goad her into talking to Robby. Suddenly a deafeningly loud siren blares. All of the students in the class uniformly ducks under their desks and cover their heads. After a moment, Mr. Worley announces that everyone can get back up as it was only a drill. Judy raises her hand and asks Mr. Worley if he really thinks that their small town could be hit by one of Russia's nuclear missiles. Mr. Worley ponders the question before warning the class to never underestimate enemies of freedom. The school bell then rings, marking the end of the school day. As they walk down the hall and out of the building, Judy chastises Marcia for passing her notes about Robby during class as Mr. Worley - or even worse, Robby - could easily intercept the note.

Judy and Marcia get on their bikes and begin riding home, they reach an intersection with Marcia turning left and Judy turning right. Judy arrives home and takes her bike around the back placing it in the garage. She walks in through the back door, immediately met by her mother, Carol Everett (Amy Adams) baking cookies. Judy tries to grab one but Carol slaps her hand telling her to wait. She instead grabs an apple from the kitchen bench. Her father, David Everett (Edward Norton) sits at the table reading the newspaper, as Judy walks past she gives him a kiss on the cheek. He reminds her that her grandfather is expecting her this afternoon. Judy complains that she was with him last night, however David tells her that she might not have long left with him, she should make the most of it. Judy goes into her room and turns on the radio lays on her bed and moves her head and taps her feet to the music.

The music blends in with Wallace Everett (Bill Murray) dancing with Donna Anderson (Bella Heathcote). As the song finishes Wallace thanks her, he adds that he loves these daily dancing sessions, it makes him feel young again. She smiles and leaves the office. A beat after she leaves Judy enters asking if he enjoyed his daily dance. He laughs at his granddaughter saying it was the best part of his day. And now her visit is number one. The camera showcases newspapers on the wall showcasing that Wallace has been Mayor for the past 30 years, they just can’t seem to get rid of him. Judy asks him what he wants to do today. Wallace says he wants to beat her in a game of chess again. Judy jokes around with her grandfather saying that his win last time was a fluke. The two of them sit down and begin to play chess.

Back at home in her room, Judy is getting ready to go out to the diner with Marcia. She listens to music on the radio while she dances. She grabs some clothes out of the closet. Suddenly the radio transmission is interrupted with a distressed voice. A call of mayday is heard. Judy gets closer to the radio, the mayday call can be heard repeatedly. The mayday call then cuts out as the music turns back on. Moments after Judy hears a thunderous crash, she runs over to her window and looks out seeing a plume of smoke in the distance. She forgets about getting ready and runs out of the house. Carol and David look at each other with a sense of panic.

Judy rides her bike to the diner and rushes inside. Everyone is going about their day. She goes over to Marcia, who greets her like normal. Judy is freaking out, she asks if Marcia heard the crash too. Marcia has no idea what she is talking about. Feeling like she is going crazy, Judy stands up on the counter and yells to everyone asking if anyone heard the crash. They all look at her obliviously, Marcia pulls her down from the counter and takes her outside, she asks if everything is okay. Judy says that she heard a loud crash and saw smoke near the edge of town. The two ride their bikes toward where Judy saw the smoke, but are stopped down the road by Fairfield Police Deputy Kevin Reddick (Jake Lacy), who tells them that he can't let anyone down the road. Judy asks why, and Kevin admits that he doesn't really know why but that he needs to follow the orders given to him by the Sheriff and the Mayor.

When Judy gets back home, her parents are both waiting for her in the living room. She asks them if they heard the crash earlier. David tells Judy that he did hear a crash, he even went to help her grandfather check everything out. Carol then tells Judy that her grandfather has called a town meeting to explain everything to everyone in town. The Everett family walks down the street to Fairfield Town Hall where Wallace is about to address everyone. Wallace calls for everyone's attention and everyone quickly quiets down. Judy is anxious to find out what happened. Wallace explains that earlier that day some people in Fairfield may have heard a loud crash and seen a plume of smoke. He assures everyone that there is nothing to worry about - it was simply an errant weather balloon that crashed down. Wallace then informs everyone that the crash has already been cleaned up and taken care of.

The next morning in school, Judy whispers to Marcia during civics class that she doesn't believe the story her grandfather told the town. Marcia asks why, and Judy confesses that she heard some sort of distress call over the radio right before she heard the crash. Marcia says that she must have picked up a radio play or something since weather balloons don't have pilots. Mr. Worley tells everyone to quiet down so that he may begin class. Suddenly the town siren blares, and everyone gets under their desks for yet another duck and cover drill.

Outside of school, just as Judy and Marcia are about to ride off, they are approached by Robby. He admits that he was eavesdropping on their conversation in class. He is intrigued by what Judy was saying. He says he wants to hear more. Judy looks to them telling her she will show him instead. Marcia tells her that there is no use going back there Deputy Reddick will just be there to stop them again. She tells Marcia that they will find a way.

The three of them get to the crash site again. Deputy Reddick is still hanging around kicking a rock on the ground. The three of them easily sneak around him to get a better look. They see David and Wallace standing around talking as they watch some workers throwing pieces of scrap metal into the back of a truck. Judy looks to the others saying that something isn’t right, it all seems suspicious. Robby seems interested, however Marcia doesn’t and suggests that the three of them head out to the diner for milkshakes. Robby then looks to Judy saying he could really go for a milkshake.

While at the diner Robby continues to ask questions about what Judy heard on the radio, admitting that he is a bit of an electronics aficionado. Judy asks him if he could increase the signal strength on a radio. He says he could theoretically. Judy announces that she has an idea and asks Robby and Marcia to come to her house. Robby is excited, but Marcia is less enthused but begrudgingly tags along.

They arrive at Judy’s house where Carol is sewing in the living room. She quickly stands and asks the kids if they want cookies and milk. Judy says no and leads her friends up to her bedroom. She shows Robby her radio and he begins taking it apart. He asks her for a clothes hanger, which she quickly supplies. Robby affixes the hanger onto the radio’s antenna and begins turning the radio’s dial until they begin to hear a low music signal featuring a loud, aggressive guitar sound none of them have ever heard before. After several seconds of trying to understand the almost otherworldly music, the radio loses the signal and returns to the sounds of static. The three of them look at each other, asking what that was. Judy says she doesn’t know, but she intends to find out.

Judy waits at home for her father to return. When he does she asks how work went. He is confused as she never really cares. He tells her it was a great day. She then asks what he does again. Once more he is confused, she knows what he does. Slightly taken aback, David reminds Judy that he is in charge of the Fairfield sanitation department. Carol chimes in, telling Judy that David oversees the overall cleanliness of the town. Judy then reveals that she saw him on the edge of town looking over the clean-up of the crash. She also adds that what they were cleaning up looked nothing like a weather balloon. All she wants to know is what is really going on. David and Carol look at each other. David suggests they all go and have a talk with her grandfather.

Donna cheerfully greets the family and escorts David, Carol and Judy into Wallace’s office at Town Hall. She inquires if they want any iced tea, but Wallace tells her that they need some privacy for “that talk”. Donna nods and leaves the office. Wallace then explains that he concocted the idea of Fairfield back in the 1970's when he lived in New York City, which was rampant with drugs, crime and violence and proved to be an unfit place to raise a family. Together with his late wife, they longed for the era they had grown up in, so they decided to create a place where that era would never end. David reveals to his daughter that he too discovered his father's ruse when he was around her age, but chose to stay and raise a family in Fairfield with Carol rather than subject them to the risks and dangers of the outside world. Carol puts her hand on her daughter's shoulder and tells her that now that she knows the truth, she has to make a decision: commit to staying in Fairfield and living with the ruse, or leave Fairfield and promise to never reveal it to the outside world. David encourages Judy to stay in the community, but Wallace suggests she think it over and make whatever decision she feels is best in her heart as he will support whatever she chooses.

Judy wanders the streets of Fairfield, wrestling with her decision. She goes to Marcia's house and reveals the truth of Fairfield to her. Marcia isn't bothered by it though, saying she's happy so she doesn't care. Judy is bothered by her best friend's willful ignorance and tells Marcia that she is leaning towards leaving Fairfield to see the outside world.

Judy comes home to find her parents and grandfather waiting for her. She tells them that she has decided to leave Fairfield and see what else is out there. Carol breaks down crying while David tries to comfort her. Wallace accepts Judy’s decision. Holding back tears, Judy goes upstairs and packs a bag. As she leaves the house, Wallace slips an envelope of money into her bag.

Judy walks down the road, crossing the boundaries of Fairfield for the first time in her life. She continues walking until she reaches a highway where she is startled by the giant trucks speeding by. Judy takes a deep breath and continues walking down the side of the road toward the unknown.