| Director | Shawn Ku |
|---|---|
| Box office | $140,123 |
The film opens with home-video footage of Bill and Kate at the beach with their young son, Sam. In the present day, a young man reads a short story to a small group about a boy and girl whose lives will be irrevocably changed, but his audience barely listens. Bill and Kate are introduced as a married couple who are rigid, career-focused, and emotionally distant. Bill works as a businessman, while Kate makes a living proofreading books. Their relationship is largely held together by Sam, now 18, who is struggling to adjust to college.
One morning, news reports describe a shooting spree at Sam’s school. Police soon arrive at Bill and Kate’s home and confirm that Sam is dead—and that he was the gunman. Kate refuses to accept the accusation and compulsively cleans and restores Sam’s bedroom after it has been searched. As reporters and onlookers converge on the house, Bill and Kate flee to stay with Kate’s brother, Eric, and his wife, Trish. There, Eric and Trish’s son Dylan sees a video message from Sam connected to the massacre, deepening the family’s shock. Bill decides to make a public statement expressing sorrow for what happened and pleading for privacy as they try to continue living. A small, private funeral is held with only family present.
Tensions build in Eric and Trish’s home. Trish grows frustrated with Kate’s controlling habits and her attempts to “mother” Dylan, while Eric urges patience, noting that Sam was Kate’s only child. Bill and Kate leave and check into a motel, where a quiet night together briefly suggests intimacy and reconciliation. The fragile calm is disrupted when Bill returns to their house and finds a teenage boy rifling through Sam’s belongings. A scuffle breaks out, Bill cuts his hand, and the intruder insults him before fleeing. Bill takes their laptop back to the motel, where he and Kate discover a message from Sam: a short video in which he apologizes and asks his parents not to hate him.
Bill and Kate’s grief turns outward into blame. Bill argues that Kate’s relentless criticism may have contributed to Sam’s anger, while Kate accuses Bill of being absent and prioritizing work over family. Their fight culminates in Bill shouting that he wishes Sam had never been born, prompting Kate to leave and return to the house alone. Bill meets his boss, Harry, who reluctantly agrees to let him resume work the following week. Meanwhile, Kate encounters a younger co-worker, Cooper, and brings him back to the house after they eat together. She soon realizes Cooper has been secretly researching Sam and going through his writing for an article meant to “humanize” him; disturbed and hurt, she orders him to leave.
Bill returns to work but finds his colleagues staring and avoiding him. After he confronts them, Harry suggests Bill take more time off and see a therapist; Bill reacts angrily and quits. Later, Bill visits Sam’s grave and finds it vandalized with the word killer. He breaks down while trying to scrub it clean with his injured hand. A call from the motel manager leads Kate to Bill, who is withdrawn and despondent. She brings him home and comforts him as they confront their shared devastation. The film closes with Sam’s voice returning to the short story, underscoring that, whatever Bill and Kate do next, their lives will never be the same.