Now Showing: Connected

 

Connected

Genre: Drama

Director: Sofia Coppola

Writer: Jacob Jones

Cast: Mackenzie Foy, Jimmy Tatro, Dakota Fanning, Halle Bailey, Ethan Hawke, Rachel Dratch, Ella Bleu Travolta, Chinenye Ezeudu, Jake T. Austin, Aaron Pierre

Plot: Brookshire High School

The Date: June 2023

Inside the school gymnasium, a group of students, all wearing gowns and robes slowly make their way down a line. One such figure glances towards the crowd, staring at their parents, Bob (Ethan Hawke) proudly clapping, Louise (Rachel Dratch) appearing absent. She sighs, slowly trudging among the line until finally, her name is called. Charlotte Woodley (Mackenzie Foy). As she garners her diploma, Charlotte hears a loud voice cheering for her. It’s the sound of her best friend Maggie Thomas (Halle Bailey).

The Next Day:

In her bedroom, Charlotte prepares for the day as best she can, only for Bob to barge in, seeing her still in pajamas. He calls her on this, saying that she’s an adult now, and as such, she needs to be up and at it. All throughout the day, Bob makes Charlotte do menial tasks around the house, while Louise drinks and smokes. When Charlotte comments on this, Louise flatly warns her not to get smart.

That evening, Charlotte lays on her bed, her muscles aching. Bob opens the door, aware that he ran Charlotte ragged today, but it’s for a good cause. She has to be ready for the real world, Charlotte, unwilling to say anything on the matter, merely accepts Bob’s words. By the end of it, Charlotte has fallen asleep, leaving Bob to exit without saying goodnight. Not long after, an argument between Bob and Louise starts.

A week passes by, and Charlotte appears miserable as she receives a call on her phone, it’s Maggie. Charlotte lies on her bed, admitting that she misses high school, even the days when others would pick on her, especially Janice (Ella Bleu Travolta). Charlotte asks Maggie why she didn’t interact with more people, feeling like she hasn’t gotten to know the world. Maggie tells her that it’s just how introverts work, and that she’ll find a way to succeed.

Charlotte looks through Flinch, the world’s leading gaming platform, catching AidenPlayz (Jimmy Tatro) in the middle of a stream. Charlotte sends Aiden a Super Chat regarding whether she could become a streamer. Aiden gladly tells them that anyone could, all it takes is a web-camera, and a willingness to bring people into your world.

The next day, Charlotte goes on the air for the first time, introducing herself to the Flinch world as she begins drawing. Unfortunately for her, few people attend, including Maggie. After two hours, Charlotte calls it a day, disappointed with the lack of results. Maggie texts to her, urging her to keep going. A few days later, Bob goes to look for Charlotte, only to be baffled when he sees her streaming. Alarmed, Charlotte attempts to get Bob out of her room, only for his relentless barrage of questions to win out as she reveals her streaming plans.

Outraged, Bob ends the stream and lambasts Charlotte for choosing a lifestyle that “can’t pay you the bills”. Hearing the commotion, Louise storms in and shoos Bob away before glancing toward Charlotte, telling her to stop pissing him off, he’s doing what’s best for her.

Charlotte sits on her bed, in tears over what happened as she calls Maggie, declaring that she’s going to quit. They compromise on one more stream, and if Charlotte’s not satisfied, then she’s done. Maggie, determined to see her friend succeed, looks up AidenPlayz on her laptop, finding that tomorrow is “Small Streamer Saturday”. She writes a DM to him, asking if he would consider watching one of her streams tomorrow, citing Charlotte as a great friend and someone trying to break into Flinch.

The next day, Charlotte is playing Fortnite on stream, enjoying herself all while keeping an eye on her numbers. All seems normal when she receives a $10 donation from AidenPlayz and sees her numbers skyrocket. Overcome with emotion, Charlotte thanks everyone for attending and goes to see if Aiden is still streaming. Upon seeing that he is, Charlotte writes a heartfelt thank you claiming to be a huge fan.

That evening, Charlotte receives a DM from someone on the popular social media site, Campfire. The person introduces herself as Zayda (Chinenye Ezeudu), a graphic arts designer, musician, and friend of Aiden. She compliments Charlotte on the stream and reveals that Aiden wanted to invite her to his server, having been touched by her message. Charlotte accepts, only to be overwhelmed at the amount of people on the server. The initial anxiety soon dissipates when Charlotte meets Zayda, Enrique (Jake T. Austin) and Maggie. After a few minutes of introductions, Charlotte enters a voice chat, getting to see Aiden for the first time after a brief welcome from head moderator Luke (Aaron Pierre).

Aiden thanks Charlotte for the kind words, admitting that it’s not the first time he’s come into contact with someone thanks to his Small Streamer Saturday streams, revealing that it was how he met Enrique and Zayda. Enrique shares his own story on how the internet helped constructively air his frustrations. All is good until Maggie mentions another streamer, Reilly (Dakota Fanning) claiming to be a huge fan. Without warning, Aiden leaves the call. Luke then reveals that Reilly and Aiden used to be in a relationship that ended poorly, advising Maggie and Charlotte not to talk about her.

Inside his room, Aiden stares at old DMs with Reilly before receiving a DM from Luke, asking if he’s alright. Aiden admits that he doesn’t know how much longer he can hide.

In a town not far from the others, Reilly dances to a PUGN victory motion, clear focus being placed on her chest and waist before promising to post something for her fan base soon, blowing a kiss as she ends the stream. Upon finishing, Reilly’s bubbly exterior turns into one of relief, only to be given a DM by someone on her Campfire server, learning about Charlotte and Aiden’s interaction for the first time. She dismisses Charlotte as Aiden’s new girl toy, convinced that she’ll flame out in no time.

A few weeks pass, and the buzz that Charlotte dissipates. Upon asking the group what to do, Enrique dares her to dress up as a princess from the kingdom of Socialia. Luke bluntly tells him how awful an idea that is, but Aiden and Zayda assure her to go with her gut.

The next day, Charlotte enters a local mall to buy multiple pieces of clothing, including a poofy pink dress. In her room, Charlotte prepares her set and goes over final preparations before starting her stream, giving a bombastic introduction, not of Charlotte, but of Maiden Nova, the future princess of the internet from the kingdom of Socialia.

The following morning, Charlotte’s jaw drops when she finds that she went viral again and is now gaining tens of thousands of followers only to hear her parents arguing again. This ends with Bob storming into Charlotte’s room, bellowing over how she hasn’t started her chores yet, snatching the phone from her, and becoming surprised when he sees the numbers Charlotte is doing. Composing himself, Bob merely tells her that he’s proud and walks out.

Meanwhile, Reilly sits in her room, staring at the laptop with discontent, unwilling to believe what she sees before checking her phone. Sure enough, everyone is talking about Princess Nova. Not Reilly. With this in mind, Reilly follows Charlotte, typing a quick note to an unknown account.

As the weeks pass by, Charlotte continues to play up the “Internet Princess”, taking a light, playful, flirty approach. Upon reaching 1 million followers, Charlotte is interviewed by CNN, being christened the fastest-rising streamer in Flinch history. Charlotte also collaborates with Zayda, Enrique, Luke, and even Aiden, getting to visit and explore other streamers and content creators from across the web.

January 2024:

As Charlotte deletes emails of desperate simps, she receives several DMs on Campfire. An alarming report has come out regarding an unknown account sending threatening messages Aiden’s way. Annoyed, Charlotte asks what’s in it for her. Luke has nothing to offer except Aiden’s thanks for tracking down the perpetrator. Charlotte scoffs, Aiden doesn’t need to deal with these low-lives, instead switching the topic to how she’s going to FlinchCon later this year. Luke immediately tunes her out, typing something out in Aiden’s DMs.

Later that evening, Luke, Aiden, Zayda, and Enrique all get together in VCs, Luke asking if they can deal with Charlotte, citing multiple incidents. Zayda disagrees, feeling that it’s still growing pains and that eventually, she’ll have a moment where she comes down to Earth. Enrique is quick to point out that this could also result in her losing her livelihood, advocating for an intervention. Aiden is indecisive, still fixated on the DM, the fifth in as many days. Zayda offers to help with uncovering the mystery harasser when Maggie accidentally pops in to chat. She goes to leave when Luke asks if Maggie can talk to Charlotte.

Maggie calls Charlotte on the phone, asking if things are alright. Charlotte assures her that everything is fine, especially after Maggie mentions an alleged change in behavior, asking if Maggie’s noticed anything different. When Maggie admits that she hasn’t, Charlotte ends the call there.

May 2024:

The status quo remains for several months, with the only real change being Charlotte focusing more on her content. One morning, Charlotte awakens and checks her Flinch account, amazed to find that she’s at ten million followers. She proceeds to tout this to all of her social media platforms, especially Aiden’s, where she obnoxiously shouts about her glory to everyone within earshot. Upon receiving complaints from other users, Luke server-mutes Charlotte and goes off to be with family. Frustrated, Charlotte vents about it to Zayda.

Charlotte receives a call from Maggie, who asks if they can hang out. Charlotte tries to make a flimsy excuse, but an irritated Maggie tells her that it’s been five months since they last hung out. The two proceed to argue about Charlotte’s change in behavior, causing Louise to barge in, asking what the ruckus is before slapping tickets on the bed for VidCon. With that, Charlotte tells Maggie that people change for a reason. She ends the call there and proceeds to block her on all her social media accounts..

Back with Reilly, she’s at an absolute loss. The account she once followed out of curiosity has grown far beyond her following. She paces back and forth, questioning what this means for her legacy. She sends a text to the anonymous account, telling them to ramp up the pressure with Aiden.

June 2024:

At last, the day has arrived. VidCon 2024. Charlotte has her booth set up next to Aiden, taking pictures with Zayda while Bob and Louise serve as security. All day long, Princess Nova signs autographs, takes pictures and chats with her fans. Things seem normal at first until Reilly enters the frame, formally introducing herself to Charlotte, while making snide comments regarding Aiden.

The interaction appears normal if not slightly awkward until Maggie spots Charlotte and confronts her, asking why she blocked her everywhere. Seeing an opportunity, Reilly suggests that Nova isn’t the pure hearted princess she claims to be. Sensing trouble, Zayda tries to play peacekeeper as Charlotte tries an non-answer.

“CHARLOTTE?!”

Charlotte’s eyes widen in horror as she locks eyes on Janice, the bully from high school. Janice introduces herself to everyone, revealing some embarrassing secrets about Charlotte’s home life all while insulting her new gig. Finally, Bob intervenes, ordering the trio to let Princess Nova be. To his surprise, however, Charlotte speaks up, claiming to be tired of their insults.

Since the dawn of time, Charlotte (now projecting under Princess Nova) has been the one to shut others out. But ever since she entered this world, Charlotte has found herself. She has found a community and people who actually care about her. Charlotte admits that she has changed. Unlike some people, she’s grown a spine and a conscience.

Aiden by this point steps in, helping Zayda and Bob keep the peace. Reilly sneers, claiming that Charlotte is just a spoiled little girl who only got to where she was because Aiden plugged her. At the end of her rope, Charlotte shrieks that she doesn’t care about Aiden. Floored, Aiden storms out of the convention in a huff, everyone looking at Charlotte in shock.

After this event, Charlotte is taken home from VidCon early, as does Aiden. The following afternoon, Charlotte is taken to task by Luke for her statements. Charlotte tries to push the blame on Reilly, Maggie and Janice, only for Zayda to beg her to take some responsibility. Enrique arrives, claiming to be busy, but has heard of Charlotte’s “massive f-up”.

Enrique and Charlotte argue, leading to Charlotte making a nasty insult toward Enrique’s family. Enraged, Enrique leaves the call. Having lost all patience, Luke mutes everyone except Charlotte. Luke understands that Charlotte is 18, and still trying to find herself, but that doesn’t mean that the internet needs to warp her entire personality. It appears Charlotte has got the message, only for Aiden to enter the voice chat, harshly telling her to go. Charlotte immediately leaves the server and shuts off her laptop.

With the chat unmuted, Zayda breaks into a passionate defense of Charlotte, calling Aiden out for wanting to keep personal matters out of his life while maintaining a close relationship with Charlotte. To her, he’s just as guilty for this happening. In an fit of anger, Aiden kicks and blocks Zayda from the server.

Reilly receives a DM from someone on Blabber claiming to Charlotte “needs to be taught a lesson”. That evening, she invites Janice and Maggie to her Campfire server, offering to help get some form of payback regarding Charlotte. Upon relaying the plan, Janice appears reluctant at first, but after some coercing, she agrees to help. Maggie however, outright refuses, claiming that there may be something wrong with Charlotte none of them realize.

The next day, Aiden is in the middle of one his streams, but it’s clear he’s still on edge. Aiden tries to ignore the comments asking about, only to snap, scolding them for prodding at his personal life before ending the stream. Aiden proceeds to go on a complete rampage, going onto Blabber to vent about the past few days. Upon seeing this, Luke drops everything and DMs Aiden.

Luke proceeds to rail Aiden for his conduct over the past few days, calling it unlike him. Aiden tries to explain himself, but Luke has none of it. This all could have been avoided had they just stopped Charlotte from becoming the next Reilly. The one he created.

Aiden yells at Luke to not mention that name before realizing what he’s done and dumping years worth of manipulating, gaslighting and abuse in the wake. Luke tells Aiden that he doesn’t envy Aiden’s position, but there comes a point when you need to confront the past. Now is that time. Aiden agrees also planning to apologize to and reinvite Zayda onto his server.

Charlotte is on stream, addressing the VidCon situation as best she can. All appears normal until she receives several unusual hate comments. Bob barges in, demanding to know who's sending death threats. Charlotte’s eyes turn to a new video from Reilly called “A Princess Dethroned: The Truth Behind Princess Nova”. Charlotte ends the stream upon learning that Reilly not only got personal information but that someone doxxed her and the family. A shouting match ensues between Bob, Charlotte and a stressed out Louise, Bob declares that her career is over. Charlotte claims that she can fix this. Bob gives her until tomorrow.

In a panic, Charlotte searches for someone to talk to, landing on Zayda. She begs her to find out who’s responsible, apologizing for everything. Zayda agrees, but only if she does the same to Aiden. Charlotte sends a long apology note to Aiden. Aiden can only alert everyone of what’s happened, requesting that all mods find the person who doxxed Charlotte. Luke goes a step further in saying that if anyone in here did it, they will be banned and police may be called depending on the severity. Charlotte receives multiple DMs from Maggie, Luke and Enrique, all expressing sympathy and making amends. Luke however asks Charlotte for important info regarding the matter.

The next day, Louise receives a mysterious call, taken aback when she’s introduced to Luke and learns of how the incident came about. Concerned, Louise tries to offer her services but there’s not much she can do. Infuriated with herself, Louise takes a swig of beer and begins venting about life, how she once had a bright relationship with Charlotte, only for Bob to “fuck it all up”. Louise proceeds to explain her relationship with Bob being a single mother with hopes and how charming Bob once seemed, only to be a domineering jackass.

Before Luke can speak further, Louise catches wind of an argument and hangs up, finding Bob and Charlotte screaming at one another. The problem hasn’t been solved so Charlotte’s not streaming. Charlotte claims that she’s trying and so are her friends. Louise breaks the two of them up, shoving Bob aside as she does. Charlotte asks Louise why she’s interfering now, when she hasn’t cared once. Her entire life, Charlotte’s had people judge her and in turn, she’s judged herself. Streaming turned out to be the best thing she ever had, but Bob’s right. She can’t handle it. But at least Bob can say she taught her something, unlike her.

Charlotte storms off, staring at herself in the bedroom mirror, unable to recognize who she is. She looks at her phone, all the hate comments and personal messages flowing by. In a fit of rage, she smashes the phone onto the floor.

Zayda, Luke, Maggie and Aiden all remain on the hunt for the doxxer when Zayda comes across something curious. An account that follows Reilly…

And Enrique.

Zayda follows the rabbit hole down and after connecting all the dots confirms that Enrique is the doxxer. In a fit of blind rage, Zayda launches into Enrique’s DMs and calls him out for what he did. Realizing that he’s been caught, Enrique only says “The bitch shouldn’t have talked about my family like that. You’d do the same thing,”.

As the days pass on, Charlotte’s behavior grows concerning, becoming withdrawn, quiet and detached from society, despite Louise’s attempts to talk to her. She even sends Aiden a picture with her holding a gun. Fearing the worst, Aiden packs for a trip to Massachusetts, letting Zayda and Luke run the server in his absence.

Charlotte stands in the bathroom, wearing a dark-colored version of her princess attire, stoic and content with her decision. All over the world, people prepare for Charlotte’s stream, particularly Reilly, having garnered multiple snacks for this moment.

Then, the stream starts, and the internet catches a glimpse of a darker version of Princess Nova. The princess is now queen. But for what? Was it worth losing those she cared for? Was it worth having her personal information leaked for the world to see? Now everyone knows, there was no such princess in this kingdom.

“Do any of you know how hard I worked to get to this point? How I destroyed my body, my image, my mind, just to please all of you?” Charlotte asks the audience, rocking back and forth before revealing her wrists and arms, all cut and bloodied. From there, Charlotte outs Reilly as the woman responsible for this campaign before blaming herself for, in her words, being stupid enough to think she was ever worth being taken seriously. As this is happening, Louise is listening from the living room unsure of what to do. The world made the princess suffer, now she must do the same to them, to end everyone’s suffering once and for all. With that, she pulls out a gun and places it by her head.

“Goodbye my kingdom…”

Louise peeks open the door, and upon seeing the gun sprints in, tackling Charlotte to the ground and turning off the stream. Charlotte shouts at Louise to let go of her. With tears flowing, Louise apologizes, hugging Charlotte tightly.

Fans and viewers are horrified, none more so than Reilly, who looks all over the internet, Charlotte’s accusation now public. Reilly receives a phone call from Enrique who tells her that he’s telling Luke and Zayda and starting fresh. Her heart racing, she destroys her equipment before collapsing into the bed, burstinginto tears.

Inside a hospital, Charlotte awakens upon hearing the doctor’s voice, stunned to find Louise and Maggie in the room. She is about to apologize when Louise tells her that she has nothing to apologize for. If anything, Louise should for letting Charlotte get to this point, vowing to be better going forward. Charlotte and Louise exchange a warm hug before she notices Aiden, carrying a bouquet of roses.

Charlotte falls into sobs, apologizing to Aiden for everything. Charlotte and Lousie opt to seek therapy, only for the latter to realize she has something she needs to do. That evening, Louise tells Bob that she wants a divorce and that he’s no longer welcome in their house. To her surprise, Bob acquiesces, recognizing her assertive nature.

Upon returning home, Aiden turns on the webcam and relays everything that’s happened to this point before turning his attention to what Reilly and Enrique did. During this stream, Aiden reveals that Enrique has left his server and deleted all his accounts.

Aiden then accuses Reilly of embezzlement manipulative tactics, citing multiple incidents along the way. He ends the rant by telling her that if you can’t maintain your platform with dignity and respect, you shouldn’t have one. His final message is urging his audience to send Charlotte love. A few hours after publishing the video, Aiden writes a DM to Luke, thanking him for setting his head straight when he receives a mysterious DM asking for a voice chat. Curious, he accepts the request and asks who this is.

It’s Janice. She breaks into tears, admitting to having been jealous of Charlotte, thinking she had a great life. She didn’t know how awful Reilly was. Aiden comforts Janice, saying that people like Reilly like to prey on other people and their insecurities. He advises Janice to make things right with Charlotte. If needed, he can help with that matter. Janice thanks Aiden, before revealing that she plans to post her video detailing her exploits with Reilly.

That evening, Reilly sits on her bed, scrolling on her phone, reading through all the comments condemning her actions. Her hands trembling, Reilly sets her phone on the desk before writing something down in her journal.

The next day, Zayda confirms that Reilly has deleted her entire social media presence, her final message being “It’s true. I’m sorry. Goodbye”. Charlotte watches from inside a therapist’s office with Louise before being called inside by a psychiatrist.

Several months later:

Charlotte and Louise slowly rebuild their bond, with Charlotte even burying the hatchet with Janice. Reilly attempts to make amends with Aiden, only to no avail. Enrique returns to the internet, now under a new profile. The group ignores him. Zayda is promoted to moderator, now working alongside Luke and Aiden.

Charlotte sits in her room, finishing up online school before beginning homework. For a brief moment, she checks on her Flinch account, still up in spite of everything. Wanting some form of closure, Charlotte turns on the webcam and prepares herself.

“Hey guys, it’s been a while…”