Under the Influence
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Andrew Dominik
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Robert Downey Jr., Thomasin McKenzie, Madelyn Cline, Michael Gandolfini, Marisa Abela, Victoria Pedretti, Thomas Doherty, Edward Burns, Frank Collison
Plot: Susan Carter (Sandra Bullock) is in tears as she hugs her daughter Grace (Thomasin McKenzie). They have traveled cross-country for Grace to start her freshman year of college in San Francisco. Susan says that she is so proud of her daughter and reminds her to call her every week. Grace jokingly asks if it can be every other week and they hug again. Grace tells her mom to drive safe. The opening credits roll as we see a montage of Susan driving from California to upstate New York on her own with her own thoughts.
On campus, Grace is clearly overwhelmed by the college experience. While she is bright academically, she feels socially out of her element in an atmosphere like this. She forgoes some ice-breaker events at her dorm to instead start studying at the library. While there, she runs into Alison McBride (Victoria Pedretti), a second-year student who went to Grace’s same high school. They start catching up when Alison realizes that Grace is already feeling out-of-place. She asks Grace if she has made any plans for the weekend and then invites her to a party. Grace declines the invite but says that they should keep in touch.
On the first day of class, Grace begins heading to class but gets lost in the multi-part building where the classroom is located. Ian (Michael Gandolfini) finds himself similarly lost and asks if she is looking for Room 14D. They realize they are looking for the same place and so they solve it together. They find the open seats and sit in different parts of the room but Grace looks back and finds Ian smiling at her.
At her home, Susan finds herself adjusting to being an empty-nester. As someone who works from home, she finds the amount of time she spends there to be particularly lonely. She calls up some of her friends and says they should go out for drinks. While there, they ask about how Grace is doing. She admits that she does worry about how Grace’s shyness might make things tough at first but she hopes she’s adjusting well. One of her friends jokingly says that Grace must’ve got that shyness from her mom because it certainly wasn’t her dad and Susan is inclined to agree.
On Friday night, Grace lays in bed scrolling through videos on her phone as she hears loud noises outside her window. She takes a peak and sees other freshmen dressed up heading to parties. She stares at the ceiling looking unsatisfied before finally picking her phone back up and texting Alison. Later in the night, she arrives at a rather anonymous two-story house and nervously knocks on the door as loud music blasts from the inside. After no one answers, she considers texting Alison but then just decides to turn around and leave. As she is walking away, the door opens and all of Morrison Lee (Thomas Doherty) is taking up the frame. He asks if she knocked and she says she’s here to see Alison but might have the wrong house. Morrison smiles and says she’s come right where she belongs.
Grace enters the house and, while initially unassuming, finds it to be exorbitant on the inside. It is immediately clear that she has never experienced anything like it. Alison spots her and says she’s glad Grace could make it. She starts her on a tour of the house, noting that she has already met Morrison. Grace starts to ask more about Morrison and tries to ask if he is dating someone here. Alison responds that Morrison is actually a townie (and has never been a student here) but he is dating one of the girls that lives here. Amidst the crowd, Alison points out Ella Edmonds (Marisa Abela), her friend that lives here. Ella joins the conversation and she is naturally outgoing so her and Grace hit it off immediately. Grace tells Ella that she met her boyfriend and Ella is quick to say that Morrison is not her boyfriend. He is dating her roommate Josie. Grace blushes at her mistake. After Ella leaves, Alison tells Grace that Josie is a bit more introverted than Ella so she’s more hesitant to outsiders. They descend into the crowd as the party carries into the night.
A few weeks later, Grace is on FaceTime with her mom. Grace is talking about her classes and Susan says she already assumed her daughter was doing great in those so then she follows up by asking about the social life. Grace is more hesitant in her answer, saying it is much different than high school. She says that it was great reconnecting with Alison and having her here has been great for the transition. Susan is so happy to hear this and says to tell Alison she said hi. After the call, Grace finds that she has a text from Ella asking if she’d like to hang out. She smiles.
At Ella’s house, Grace knocks and once again Morrison answers, this time shirtless. “You again?” he says with a smile. He invites her in and apologizes for his lack of attire. Ella says that Morrison almost never wears a shirt. When Ella asks how she is doing, Grace says she has been a little stressed about an upcoming exam. Ella offers her Adderall and says that it always helps her focus. Grace isn’t sure and says she doesn’t do much drugs. Ella backs off and says she doesn’t want it to seem like she is pressuring her at all. As they talk, the front door opens and Josie Baumann (Madelyn Cline) enters. She calls for Morrison and asks if he can help with some bags. Josie spots Grace and seems to eye her up and down before introducing herself. There is something striking about Josie but she can’t tell what exactly it is. The eyes? The voice?
And then enters Jed (Robert Downey Jr.). Josie introduces him as her father and says that he is going to be staying here for a little bit. When Jed shakes Grace’s hand, she immediately understands where Josie gets her aura from. He asks her where she is from and this starts up a conversation about some of his own time in New York as a consultant on Wall Street. He then moves on to Ella and begins getting to know her. Ella says that Josie has had a lot of good things to say about him. Grace looks at Jed and Josie with wonder.
Before class, Grace takes some of Ella’s adderall to prepare for her exam. After she finishes, she is walking out at the same time as Ian. He asks her how she thinks she did and she says pretty good. She asks the same of him and he says probably worse than her. He apologizes for not asking for her name last time and says Grace. Now that that’s out of the way, he asks Grace if she would like to go to hang out sometime. She looks at him surprised and he says he knows that was bold but he was always the shy kid in high school and he wants to turn a new leaf in college. She smiles and says she feels the exact same way. She accepts.
Jed cooks dinner for the housemates and holds court with his stories. Jed speaks vaguely about his time working in the government and seemingly never stops talking but they’re always interesting so no one seems to mind. Well, that’s not completely true. When Jed tells a story about arranging a meeting between Robert De Niro and Mikhail Gorbachev, he can tell that Morrison is checked out and he asks Josie’s boyfriend if he knows who Gorbachev is. Morrison shakes his head and Jed rolls his eyes.
The next night, Grace and Ian get some ice cream and they get to know each other better. Ian has lived in California his whole life but would like to get away after college. Grace understands but reveals that she moved all the way across the country to go here. He asks what her parents think of that and she explains that they divorced when she was young. Her dad loves her but thinks she should experience adult life to grow up a little. He didn’t even want her to go to college! Her mom, on the other hand, is always worried about her so being so far from home is probably tearing her up. Her phone begins buzzing and she says “speak of the devil”.
In New York, Susan tries to call Grace but her daughter doesn’t answer. After she tries again, Grace texts her that she is busy at the moment. Susan begins pacing and checks Grace’s social media feeds but everything seems relatively normal. She does see a recent picture on Grace’s Instagram with Josie tagged and Susan clicks on her profile but it is private. She goes on with her day, but a bit annoyed.
In the morning, Josie braids Grace’s hair and reveals that she has some exciting news. Her father has purchased a townhouse nearby and that they will be moving there. She says that Grace is welcome to “move in” as well, even if she technically has to stick to her dorm contract. Grace is elated to hear this and says that is indeed great news. Over the next couple of weeks, they move into Jed’s new townhouse and Grace moves most of her stuff there.
As the weeks go on, Jed begins to become increasingly like a house mother for the group of friends. He ensures that they clean and do household chores but also regularly holds makeshift therapy/life-coaching sessions, explaining that he had experience doing this during his time in the military. During one session, Ella begins to open up about a traumatic experience from her childhood. Sensing that she is uncomfortable about the others being around, Jed orders everyone to leave the room but her. As she tells the story, he takes her hand and caresses it to comfort her.
Grace runs into Alison at the grocery store. Alison is happy to see her and asks what Grace is up to. She mentions that she has gotten closer with Ella and Josie. Alison’s demeanor changes and she says she thinks that family is bad news and advises Grace to stay away. Grace is clearly annoyed by this comment so she reveals that she has actually moved in with them. Meanwhile, in New York, Susan converse with Alison’s mom at a yoga class. They talk about how great that their daughters got to reconnect in college.
Back at the townhouse, Josie is doing some sweeping when she notices that Ella isn’t around. She hears something upstairs and goes up to check, soon discovering that Ella is having sex with Jed in his room. She returns to cleaning and minding her own business.
Josie, Ella, and Grace plan to throw a party at the townhouse on the weekend. Grace invites Ian, who is excited to go to his first college party. When he arrives, he meets Josie and immediately understands what Grace is saying about a certain aura. Grace tells him to wait until she meets Josie’s dad. He does, and everyone else at the party does, later in the night when a fight erupts between Jed and Morrison. We learn that Josie has broken up with him and Morrison suspects that she did it on her father’s advice. Jed confirms, saying he knows his daughter can do better than a college drop out who doesn’t know his Russian diplomats from household chemical names. They get in each other’s faces and Morrison accuses Jed of being insecure that he’s past his prime and so he’s threatened by Morrison’s youthful masculinity. He storms out before they come to blows but the mood of the party is muted afterwards.
At 1am Eastern time, Susan lays in bed wide awake. She tries Facetiming without letting her know beforehand. Grace, being as drunk as she’s ever been, answers. Things feel immediately off and Grace soon sobers up to realize she is in a call with her mom. She hangs up and then laughs about it after with Ella.
Susan is so frustrated she begins to cry. She searches for Alison’s social media and sends her a message. She asks if she knows how Grace is doing as hasn’t heard from her in weeks and is beginning to get worried. The next day, she hears back from Alison who admits that she is a bit worried about Grace after she has started to hang around Josie Baumann and her father Jed. She even tells Susan that Grace moved in with them recently. This leads Susan down a rabbit hole of looking into Jed Baumann. The man is clearly accomplished but, even on paper, something feels sketchy about him.
Susan contacts Jim Query (Frank Collison), the Dean of Students at the University. She would like to file a formal complaint against Jed Baumann but Query tells her there is nothing that his office can do about an off-campus living situation such as this. She angrily hangs up and then turns to her next option: Ronnie Carter (Edward Burns), Grace’s father. She tells him that she is worried about how Grace is doing in college but he seems rather nonchalant, despite being an ex-police detective. He says that she needs to let Grace have fun in college. Susan says it is not about that but Ronnie says that Grace has complained to him in the past about Susan being a helicopter parent. Ronnie says he will see what he can find on Baumann but that Susan needs to relax.
In the aftermath of the party, Jed convenes all of the housemates to the living room. He points out all of the damage done to various household objects and says that they will need to pay him back for this. He pulls out some sheets of paper and, after calculating the damages, he hands them each the amount they owe. Grace gets her paper and it is in excess of $20,000 - money she doesn’t have.
Afterwards, she is on the verge of tears in her room. She considers calling her mom for help but knows that she would essentially say “I told you so”. Ella visits her and they both are annoyed. Grace asks if Ella also got a slip and she confirms, even though her and Jed are “close”. Grace doesn’t know how she is going to pay for this and Ella reveals that she has made some money on the side recently through selling pictures and videos online. “Like sexual?” Grace asks. Ella says they don’t have to be but that is where the money is. Grace says she’ll consider it.
A few days later, Ian is sitting in class when he sees some male students in front of him looking at pictures of Grace on their phone. They even comment on how she used to be in this class, they think. Later that day, Ian goes to visit her about it and she doesn’t see what the big deal is. She is just exhibiting control over her body. Jed overhears them on the verge of arguing and offers to mediate. It soon turn into a therapy session about Ian’s time in college thus far. He admits that he is a bit confused about his sexuality and college isn’t helping this. This is the first time Grace has heard about this and now she feels bad about being mad at him. Jed says he likes Ian and that Grace should bring him around more often. Grace gets a text from Alison asking for Grace’s address as Alison found something of Grace’s that she wants to drop off.
Jed pulls Ella aside and asks how the money is coming along for the debt she owes him. She says she will have it to him soon and he says that, if she wanted to make even more, he knows some people that could find her some high-paying clients if she was interested in more than just pictures and videos. Ella says she would be open to it. He says he will hook her up but that she will need to give him a cut of the pay. But not to worry about that because it will be a lot of money for a young, attractive girl like her. He gives her a kiss.
Ronnie calls Susan and says that this Baumann guy is bad news. He had recently gotten out of jail for money laundering and seems to have been dishonorably discharged from the Navy. He was also arrested for abuse of his ex-wife ten years prior. Susan says she has heard enough. If the Dean of Students isn’t going to do anything about this, then she will do it herself. She buys a plane ticket to San Francisco for the following day.
While Josie and Ella are away, Jed says that Grace should invite her gay friend over. Ian is eager to come back but when he gets there, Jed’s intentions become unclear. He begins instructing both Grace and Ian to undress.
In a hotel room, Ella waits nervously for a man to arrive.
Susan arrives in San Francisco and takes a taxi to the address that Alison provides her. She checks her purse to confirm that she has a knife in there, just in case.
At the townhouse, Jed says that he will coach Grace and Ian through sex since it will be their first time. He tells Ian this should provide Ian some clarity about his sexuality as well. They begin to kiss but Ian is uncomfortable with the whole thing and scurries off in tears. There is a knock on the door and Jed threatens Grace to stay where she is. She says it is probably her friend just dropping off something of Grace’s. The person knocks again. Jed goes to answer the door and it is only Josie. She forgot her key. When she enters, she sees Grace naked but assumes that means that Jed has been hooking up with her. Grace makes a look to her as if to say “help me” but Josie says she will go to her room and mind her own business.
Jed sits down next to her and says not to worry about her friend. He will probably fail out of college anyways. He places his hand on her lap and chills are sent down her spine. Another knock on the door but this time it is immediately followed by the door being kicked in.
“Grace!” Susan yells as Grace is alarmed to hear her mother’s voice. Jed instinctively grabs his gun and points it at Susan as she turns the corner to see them, knife in hand. She instructs him to step away from her daughter and he says her daughter owes him. Susan looks to Grace and sees the fear in her daughter’s eyes - showing that she is no longer under Jed’s spell. He looks at her knife and asks what that is going to do against his gun. As he says this, a knife penetrates through his chest and he loudly inhales. Jed swings his fist backwards and catches Ian in the temple, who wielded the knife. Grace gets up to leave as Josie comes down to see about the commotion and is immediately shocked by seeing a knife in her father’s chest. She begins to scream at Susan when she sees the knife in her hands. Grace runs out and tells her mother they should leave but Susan gets in a tussle with Josie over the knife. Susan headbutts her and then, instead of leaving, goes over to Jed, who is reaching for his gun.
She kicks away the gun and kneels down to hold the knife to his throat. She warns him to never as much as think about her daughter ever again, using her knee to deepen pressure his wound. Police arrive on the scene as Susan puts her hands up and backs away from Jed.
On the steps of the home, Grace cries as she lays her head on her mother’s shoulder. Susan runs her hand through Grace’s hair and says it will all be OK.
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