Rock Paper Scissors
Genre: Thriller/Suspense
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Writers: Rene Menzie & Harmony Winters
Based on the novel by Alice Feeney
Cast: Charlie Cox, Alison Brie, Emmy Rossum, Anthony Hopkins, Annabelle Wallis, Jon Tenney
Plot: In February 2020, Amelia (Alison Brie) and her husband Adam Wright (Charlie Cox) will have a weekend getaway in Scotland with their black Labrador, Bob.
Adam, a screenwriter, sold the rights to his first screenplay. Rock Paper Scissors, a dark, twisted love story about a man who writes a letter to his wife every year on their anniversary, even after she dies. Rock Paper Scissors is the only screenplay of Adam's that has never become a film.
Adam has a neurological disorder called prosopagnosia, where he's unable to recognize distinguishing features, even for familiar faces. He doesn't like to tell people about his condition.
Amelia nearly hits a stag, resulting in an argument. Adam says the trip to Scotland is a mistake, and Adam's also grumpy not having his phone. Amelia purposely hid this morning, though she doesn't know he knows. They eventually arrive at Blackwater Chapel, an old church where they'll be staying.
A letter written on their first anniversary talks about them getting married and going to Scotland on their honeymoon. This morning, she's informed Adam that the agent of his favorite author, Henry Winter (Anthony Hopkins), has passed away. Adam has always wanted to adapt Winter's work. Today, she gives him an origami paper bird for good luck since he's superstitious. Later that day, Adam reports that Winter's agreed to allow him to adapt his work. Adam doesn't know she played in getting Winter to agree to the adaptation.
In the present day, at Blackwater, the doors initially appear to be locked, but after they look around, they're wide open. Once inside, Amelia sees a smiley face in the dust on a church bench. As they bring their luggage inside, Amelia's unhappy when she sees Adam has his laptop with him since he'd promised he wouldn't work this weekend. Amelia has always felt that there are three in their relationship — him, her and his writing.
In the kitchen, they find an unsigned note welcoming them to the place. Amelia says the only person she's interacted with from Blackwater is the housekeeper via e-mail. In the corner is a vast freezer filled with homemade frozen meals. The floor is covered with huge slabs that turn out to be old tombstones. There is also a trapdoor that leads to the crypt, where the wine's stored.
After dinner, Adam and Amelia reflect on their relationship, and Adam pulls out his lucky origami crane. By now, Adam has adapted three of Winter's books, and Henry eventually became like a father figure to him. However, Adam hasn't spoken to Henry Winter in a long time, and he doesn't want to talk about what happened.
A letter written on their second anniversary talks about how Adam's work has been going well since the Henry Winter adaptation. Still, his success has been bad for their relationship. They have little time together, and they don't have the baby she'd been hoping for. Still, for their anniversary, Adam surprises her with a house he has bought for them.
In the present day, Amelia grows moody and unhappy as they chat, tossing his origami crane into the fire. Adam dives to retrieve it, but the crane is singed. Amelia apologizes, but they start to argue about their relationship.
To Amelia's delight, Adam suddenly kisses her. However, Amelia then screams when she notices a face in a stained glass window. Adam comforts her, reassuring her it's nothing. Adam locks the front door, and Amelia wonders where he found the key she hadn't seen before.
A letter written on their third anniversary talks about how she has started going with Adam to fancy parties to help him identify people talking to him. She knows Adam wanted to go to a party today, despite their anniversary, because Henry Winter would be there. Still, she purposely neglects to tell him when she notices Henry trying to get his attention during the party.
In the present day, Robin (Emmy Rossum), a woman who lives in a cottage near Blackwater Chapel. She's the one who opened the doors for Amelia and Adam and was the face that Amelia saw. Robin lives a life of solitude out there.
Meanwhile, Amelia goes to the crypt fetching a bottle of wine but gets stuck when the trapdoor slams shut and the lights go out. She has difficulty breathing as her asthma kicks in, noticing scratches on the walls. Adam says that he thinks the power has just cut out, and he goes to find her inhaler. She's unable to find the stairs, so he goes down instead. Just then, the power comes back on, and Amelia holds him in relief.
Afterward, they head for the bedroom. Strangely, the bed has the exact same pillows and blankets as theirs at home, and the walls are painted the exact same color. Amelia is weirded out, but Adam points out that she copied their bedroom from a catalog, and perhaps they did the same.
Amelia goes into the bathroom to change into something sexy, but Adam is not there when she emerges. Instead, he's outside exploring. Adam saw a "DANGER KEEP OUT" sign and followed it through a narrow staircase. He ends up in the bell tower. He pulls out his phone, which he retrieved after Amelia hid it.
He thinks about how Amelia has been behaving strangely. She'd him sign off on a life insurance policy in his name when she thought he had drunk a few weeks ago. He also knows he's not "blameless" since he has cheated on Amelia before.
Amelia finds Adam in the bell tower. As they talk, a cloud of bats fly out of the bell and nearly knock Adam out of the tower. Amelia is paralyzed with fear for a moment but manages to recover in time to save Adam. However, Adam thinks to himself that Amelia almost let him fall to his death.
That night, Adam has a dream that he's had many times before. He dreams of Amelia driving them back in the rain. Things seem strange, as if they're "stuck in a loop." Then, a woman in a red kimono appears on the road.
When Amelia rouses him from his dream, she reminds him of no woman in the red kimono. Instead, she urges him to write down what he can remember. They both know that the nightmare is really some version of memory from the night his mother died when he was 13, with his mother being the one in the accident. It had been raining, having been out walking their dog. She was dressed in a red kimono because she wore the outfit when her various male "friends" stayed over. Due to his condition, Adam couldn't recognize the car driver that hit his mother, and it still haunts him.
A letter written on their fourth anniversary talks about a challenging year. She's has been going through the second round of IVF while feeling increasingly alone since Adam's so busy. There's a producer interested in possibly making Rock Paper Scissors into a movie, so that has automatically become his first priority.
Today, Amelia and Adam go back to sleep, but Amelia is awoken by a noise downstairs. Adam eventually finds Amelia hiding in the bathroom in fear. He claims he was also awoken by the noise, and Adam says he went downstairs but didn't find anything. They also determine that the power is out again — the chapel has a backup generator, but it doesn't seem to be working — and now there's no water, which they assume is because the pipes are frozen.
Adam suggests that Amelia take a sleeping pill and go back to sleep. He says they should just head back first thing tomorrow, and Amelia warily agrees.
Meanwhile, Adam merely pretends to be asleep and heads back downstairs. He's the one who has purposely shut off the power to the chapel and how he purposely trapped her in the crypt. He then remembers the various secrets he keeps, like how he occasionally slips sleeping pills in her drinks before bedtime.
A letter written on their fifth anniversary talks about how jealous she's been acting lately. Last week, they got into a big fight after Adam told her about how he'd had drinks and dinner with October O'Brien (Annabelle Wallis), a beautiful young actress. She was interested in being in the Rock Paper Scissors movie. Adam says he has to work on their anniversary, but she finds him in their home with October instead. October claims she was there to help Adam cook an anniversary dinner for her as a surprise. She feels terrible for doubting him, and the three of them end up spending the evening together.
Currently, Robin waits until Adam is back upstairs, relieved to not have been caught. She sneaks into the secret room of the chapel, which is hidden behind the library. She has overheard their plan to leave tomorrow, but she has no intentions of letting that happen.
When Amelia awakes, she realizes Bob is missing. They search the entire place looking for Bob to no avail. As he's searching, Adam pulls out his cell phone, and Amelia realizes he was lying when he said he didn't have it. In the process of searching, Adam finds a drawer filled with news clippings about October O'Brien and a pamphlet that recites the history of Blackwater Chapel that hadn't been there before. It describes how Blackwater Chapel had once been used as a Witches' Prison (a place to imprison people accused of witchcraft before burning them at stake) with the prisoners being kept in the crypt.
Unable to find Bob indoors, they begin searching outdoors. Outside, they find a small graveyard and an area where clawfoot bathtubs are being used as large planters. Nearby, they find a small cottage with a car parked outside. The chimney is smoking, but when they knock, no one answers. Adam peeks inside and sees the woman with a rabbit on her lap and the candles everywhere.
Inside, Robin closes all the curtains and feels distressed by Adam's intrusion into her cottage. Nowadays, the only visitors she's used to are Patrick (the postman) and Ewan (a local farmer). Outside, Amelia and Adam talk about her, not knowing Robin can hear what they're saying. Finally, they decide to leave her a note-taking about their missing dog, offering a reward for his return and leave.
Watching them go, Robin knows what happened to Bob since she's the one who took him.
A letter written on their sixth Anniversary talks about Adam's things is going well since Adam is adapting another one of Henry Winter's books, and Rock Paper Scissors is in pre-production. October's involvement has brought in other A-list talents. They're spending this anniversary at October's French villa while October's out of town. As an anniversary gift, she gives Adam an iron key. When he asks what it opens, she replies that it's a secret.
Today, Adam wonders how seeing the woman in the cottage triggered a strange feeling of déjà vu. As they head back to the chapel, it starts to hail. From far away, Adam thinks he sees someone enter the chapel through the front doors. He breaks out into a run down the hill, though Amelia is unable to keep up.
After letting herself in the chapel, Robin goes into their bedroom. She takes the origami bird from Adam's wallet and the prescription sleeping pills. Finally, she releases Amelia's inhaler's contents.
When Amelia finally makes it to the chapel, she looks for her inhaler, but it's gone. Meanwhile, Adam has located the secret room behind the library. Adam says that someone was here. He also says he's starting to remember this place and recognizes the secret room he once saw in a magazine.
A letter written on their seventh anniversary talks about how a few months ago, October was found dead, having overdosed in an apparent suicide. On this anniversary, they're in New York for the premiere of the newest Henry Winter adaptation, and Adam spends the whole time hanging out with Henry. They meet for dinner, getting into an argument. Adam notes that she needs a life of her own, and her remarks he's too obsessed with Henry Winter.
Currently, Robin lies in wait as Adam and Amelia look around the secret room. Adam knows this property belongs to Henry Winter and that this room is where Henry writes. Finally, Adam tells Amelia that Henry became upset with him when he told Henry a while back that he no longer wanted to adopt Henry's novels. He hadn't told Amelia since he didn't want to admit that she was right about Henry, that he was selfish.
They hear the sound of Bob barking, but then it stops. Outside, they find a snowman dressed up as Henry Winter. Then, they find Bob's collar resting on a gravestone. The gravestone belongs to Henry Winter, who apparently passed away two years ago.
Going back inside, Adam asks to see the e-mail she'd initially sent regarding Blackwater Chapel, sent from info@blackwaterchapel3.com. Adam remarks that Henry "had a thing" about the number 3 and the color black. Adam also says that Henry's agent mentioned that Henry had sent in a manuscript back in September. Still, Henry would've been dead by then, according to the gravestone. Adam also notes that Henry's headstone mentioned that he was the "father of one."
They check on the car to ask for help regarding Bob, then get out of there. However, they soon discover that all the tires of the car have been slashed.
Back at the cottage, Robin flashbacks to when Henry was dying and asked her to help him. She'd met him at the hospital, and he left against medical advice, and she had taken him back to the chapel. She saw he had a pet rabbit named Robin. He had told her that he was halfway through his last novel but was unlikely to finish it. They talk about how Henry had made up the stories about Blackwater being a Witches' Prison to keep people away.
When Robin had stepped away for a moment, she had returned to find him dead. She didn't tell anyone that he'd died. She also didn't touch any of the considerable amounts of money that he'd left her — except for buying some stuff in preparation for Adam and Amelia's arrival.
A letter written on their eighth anniversary talks about how she's thinking about leaving Adam. She has a work friend who makes her feel seen, unlike with him. With Adam busy working and unsure about their marriage, they didn't celebrate their anniversary that year. She gave him a bronze rabbit statue as a gift.
In the present day, Adam and Amelia search the secret room. Adams finds a small bronze rabbit in the desk drawer and finds his origami bird in another.
In a letter written on their ninth anniversary, she writes about how she's been wanting marriage counseling. They celebrated their anniversary at home this year. Her friend from work showed up unexpectedly. Her friend had apparently had a makeover for her date, and now the two friends look very similar. After the friend leaves, Adam remarks that the friend seems to have an "actress" quality about her.
Seeing all the anniversary gifts gathered here, Adam accuses Amelia of being a part of whatever's happening here, which Amelia denies. They start inspecting the photos in the study, including three that seem to have been added recently. However, they first notice an open door. Inside is a child's room, covered in dust. There's a Jack-in-the-Box toy in the room, but the word "Jack" has been crossed out and replaced with the name "Adam."
In a letter written on their tenth anniversary, it talks about writes about how today should be their anniversary, but it isn't. The day before their anniversary, Adam saw an interview Henry did where he disparaged Adam's work. The next day, she'd left work early to surprise him — only to find Adam in bed with her friend from work. Adam had claimed that he thought she was her. He begged for a chance to try to fix things.
In the present day, Amelia points out a photo to Adam. It's of Adam on his wedding day, and Henry's in the background. Amelia then tells him that the woman in the photo isn't her. It's a photo of him marrying his first wife, Robin, Henry's daughter., revealing Amelia is Robin's friend from work. At first, Adam doesn't believe that his ex-wife could be Henry's daughter, but then he thinks about how Robin never wanted to talk about her family.
After learning of Adam's infidelity, Robin had left Adam. Robin's bitter about how she'd been kind to Amelia at work. Still, Amelia had stabbed her in the back by going after her husband. Robin regrets leaving Bob behind. Around that time is when Henry had reached out, saying he was dying and asking for help.
Robin's mother died by drowning in a clawfoot bath. Robin has always believed that Henry was responsible, who wrote a book about a man killing his wife in the bathtub. When Robin wrote a story in school about a novelist who committed murders and then writes about it. In response, Henry cut off her hair. Robin also always resented Henry to solve things with money. Robin's the one who completed her father's book and submitted it to his agent.
One of the things Robin took with her before leaving Adam was her box of anniversary letters. Even after things ended, she continued to write them:
In a letter written on (what would've been) their eleventh Anniversary, Robin writes about living in a Scottish cottage while he's in London with Amelia now. She writes about how she was the one who asked her father to let Adam adapt one of his books. Meanwhile, Robin knows Henry's using Adam to get to her.
At the same time, Amelia knows how Robin's situation looks terrible. Still, she thinks their marriage's over long before she showed up. Amelia and Adam got married right after his divorce from Robin were finalized.
Amelia tells Adam that they'd just grab their stuff and leave, and he doesn't say much since he still seems to be in shock that this all turned out to be some type of revenge plot by Robin. However, as they go back into their bedroom, they see there's a red, silk kimono on the bed, and on the mirror, the words "ROCK PAPER SCISSORS" have been scrawled in red lipstick.
In a letter written in present-day and on their twelfth Anniversary, Robin writes that she has completed the "ROCK PAPER SCISSORS" book, which's about a couple who have been married for ten years. Every anniversary they exchange traditional gifts, and each year, the wife writes her husband a letter that she never lets him read" The couple goes on a weekend getaway to save their troubled marriage, "but things aren't what or who they seem." She plans to submit the book to Henry's agent so Adam can finally see some version of his beloved story on film, but only if he ends things with Amelia.
Henry had hired a private investigator named Samuel Smith (Jon Tenney) to keep tabs on them. It wasn't a coincidence that he started asking questions about Adam. Samuel learned that Amelia and Adam's paths crossed thirty years ago. Amelia was the one who the police suspected had been in the car that hit Adam's mother in that hit-and-run.
In the present day, Adam admits that he's the one who turned the generator off because he thought that if there was no power, Amelia would give up on this weekend, and they'd go home early. They decide to leave, but they realize they're locked in. Then, an envelope with Adam's name slides under the door, and Robin's letters are inside.
Adam reads the letters and feels sick after learning that Amelia's the one who killed his mother. He then confronts Amelia with the information that he's learned. Amelia starts having trouble breathing. Suddenly she reaches for a knife and starts coming towards him, but Robin comes towards her with a pair of sharp scissors.
Flashing forwards, in a letter written six months later, Robin and Adam are now back together. She talks about how no one will ever know what happened to Amelia. Her book version of Rock Paper Scissors has now been published, and Adam will be adapting it for the screen.
Meanwhile, Adam's nightmare about his mother has finally stopped now, having some closure. He still feels guilty and recalls what really happened. At 13, Adam had met a girl who lived nearby (Amelia). She was his first kiss. Amelia taught him to steal a car. The night his mother died, he had been driving with Amelia when she had placed her hand on his crotch, distracting him. Adam was the one driving when the car hit his mother. After the accident, she had pushed him out, driving off.
Outside of Adam's apartment, Samuel Smith, the private investigator, recalls being hired by Henry to follow Robin and Adam. Henry had told him about Robin. Robin's mother died having a stroke during a bath when Robin was 8. Robin had an overactive imagination and told stories that sometimes got her in trouble. When Henry got mad at her for it once, Robin cut off her hair and ran away. He didn't hear from her again until she asked for help regarding Adam.
Two years after Sam had stopped hearing from Henry, he went looking for him. He ends up at Blackwater Chapel. He finds Henry's grave, and the epitaph has been altered to read: "FATHER KILLER OF ONE, AUTHOR OF MANY." Nearby, there's a box of trinkets containing a paper crane, a vintage key, and a sapphire engagement ring with a human finger still attached.
