Black and white freeze-frame of Mark, in 40�s period clothing including a fedora, in the driver�s seat of an old car. The film then stutters to life as M. (in voice over) explains that a film is made up of a series of still photos that run through the camera at 24 fps (frames per second). This is how M. sees his life. With a close up of white sidewalls and a vintage Chevrolet hubcap, the car comes to a stop. M. looks left, then right; the car is at a �T� intersection. M: �The question is: which frame will I end on?�
M. walks down an office hallway towards the camera and boom operator to a meeting with �creative executives.� A male and female exec. cuss what they want from the �final episode� � a big ending with a �sense of closure.� M. demurs that it�s out of his control, but the execs. insist on resolving the �Teddy� and Danni subplots and to know what�s become of Stephen. M. relates his fantasy about S.�s outcome: S. reunites with his family and his career turns around only to have him �fall off the wagon.� In M.�s movie, S. drives his Beemer up onto the curb and stumbles out � ukulele in hand � towards M. and Lorna�s house. Midway across the street, he drops the instrument, and is run over by a yellow Ferrari. M. relates how S.�s death causes L. to get sober and stay on meds while M. selflessly searches for the �one and only positive review� of S�s latest project and slips it into S�s casket. M. then asks the execs. if S. should be hit by �Nic Cage�s Ferrari or Ben Affleck�s Bentley�. The execs exchange a worried glance.
Lines from a Marriage
Walt announces the cake as M. carries it outside to the party. L. M. and Walt all help to blowout the candles after which L. gives a speech that refers to a Winston Churchill quote: �There is nothing more exhilarating than being shot at, and missed.� She describes their marriage as �exhilarating� because they�ve managed to dodge so many �bullets�. M. and L. tell each other �I love you� and kiss. L. suggests they �keep on dodging the bullets� and M. wishes her �Happy Anniversary.� The partygoers toast them.
M. changes a CD as his mother walks in holding a box behind her. She tells M. this is their anniversary present (ladybugs for the garden). He thanks her and notices her critical glance at his stepfather who is outside entertaining a young woman. M. reproves her. �It�s a party Mom.� and she asks why his brother wasn�t invited. M. feigns ignorance as to his whereabouts in order to avoid explaining his unwritten rule about limiting the number of family members per visit. M.�s mom worries that his brother will ever settle down and they talk about marriage while observing the growing number of women around his stepfather. M. asks her if she has any regrets. She says she doesn�t dwell because she if not sure which she regrets more: things done or not done.
M. heads for the bathroom and stops short at the sound of laughter from inside. He decides to peek through the keyhole and spies L. and Liz who is doing a line of cocaine. Mary opens the door into M. and knocks him over. The women are surprised and L. accuses M, of spying. M. counters that he saw them doing coke which they laugh off. M. rationalizes that they should not be doing drugs with children close by. L. counters that the kids are well occupied. Mary invites M. to try it and M. wonders when L. started doing it. The women laugh again and L. says it�s her first time. Liz wonders at M�s naivete and L. points out M.�s tendency to �categorize� like things into �good and bad� to suit his idea of propriety. Mary convinces M. to try coke with the promise of �mind blowing sex� later with Lorna. They bring M. into the bathroom, shutting the door on the camera operator.
The party outside seems to speed up as M. and L. have sex in the office. With her leg over M.�s shoulder, L. and M. have sex on a desk. His hand lands on a manual typewriter and the keys hit in time with his thrusts. They tell each other �Happy Anniversary.�
The Land of No Quotrons
M. tells of his little bro. who is very different from him. He relates how his bro.�s French teacher, Mr. Yates, ridiculed him in class for being fat. Young M. gets his revenge by breaking into the teacher�s prized wine cellar and switching all the labels around. . M. then wonders at his bro.�s sudden invitation to his houseboat in Seattle.
M. sits and discusses his bros. Cantonese language tattoo: �A true traveler never knows his destination.� They discuss his bro.�s decision to leave his career as a �financial analyst� in favor of world travel. And how he yearned to �escape from the land of quotrons�. The quotron being the machine that spit out the stock quotes � M�s bro. saw it as a symbol of how his life was passing him by. M. wonders what�s next for his bro. and suggests that no matter how far he goes, his problems will still be there when he returns. His bro. says that may be true, but that he may be a different person that returns to them. M. then finds out that their mother orchestrated the visit out of worry over M. and L. M�s bor. relates all the oddities about L. that have attracted the family�s attention and concern. M. defends by saying that his bro. has eccentricities of his own, such as not owning a TV. M.�s bro. won�t drop the subject and when he questions Walt�s welfare, M. ends the conversation. Later, over dinner, they stay to safe subjects. M., though, is still bothered by the previous topic. M. gets a call from L. and hears that their movie will actually go into production now that they�ve found a lead actress, Maggie Gyllenhaal. M. imagines his and L�s celebration with the two of them dancing in formal wear. He also foresees his bro.�s underwhelming reaction to the news and insists everything is fine.
Back at home, M. sees Stephen making himself at home in his kitchen. S. reassures M. that L�s fine and M. suspects S. was with L. during the crash. S. denies this and M. wonders why he is there. S. explains that L�s doctor needed someone to stay with L. or she would have to be hospitalized. After asking after Walt, M. demands that S. tell him "What's really going on.� S. tells of his promise to L. to keep "Teddy�a secret. As S. relates what he knows, M. imagines it as �someone else�s movie.� S., at a bar the night of his and M.�s first fight, tried to pick up a young woman not realizing his fly is open. When she draws his attention to it (�Your fly��), he misunderstands (�You�re fly.�) and thinks she�s coming onto him. He makes a pass, she leaves, and he notices L. heading towards the men�s room with an overweight strange guy. S, follows, checking the stalls, and spots her legs, in a kneeling position, close to those of the strange guy who is still standing. S. forces the door open to reveal L. snorting cocaine off a toilet lid. Mark realizes that she�s been doing it for longer than she said. S: �You know how you can tell when an addict is lying? When their lips are moving."
M. wakes up L. to get her version of the accident. L./ tells how after celebrating the movie news, she ran off the highway and was brought back home by the police. He asks where Walt was and L. replies �the baby sitters�. M. confronts her with his knowledge of Teddy. L./ promises to quit. M. declares he �can�t do it anymore.� L. protests, but M. insists he�s �fed up. �I�m done. I mean it.� L. promises o do anything to keep him, but he repeats he�s finished. L. protests that she�s sick. M: �I�m tired of that fucking excuse.� L. threatens to end it all. M: �Don�t� talk like that.� L. screams, �Don�t you talk like that. You can�t walk out on me. Not now.�
M. goes to the bar looking for Teddy. Everyone else is going in reverse as M. advances and spots Teddy heading towards the men�s room. M. enters and sucker punches T. and then threatens to kill him if he ever sells to L. again. From the floor, T. whines that it�s L�s fault for coming to him all the time.
M. goes to Stephen�s house to pick up Walt. S�s wife, Barb, is back and tells him of S�s new film project. The kids run around squirting each other with silly string, but stop in order to tease M. When M. suggests it�s time for Walt to go, he pleads with his dad for a sleepover at Shaun�s. M. thinks about this and the kids threaten him with silly string if he doesn�t comply. M. breaks into a mock run to get away from them and then stops and agrees. The kids decide to squirt him anyway and M. acquiesces by tumbling to the ground where they cover him with silly string. M: �No matter how low you are. A couple of nine year olds can lift you right back up.�
M. visits Stephen on a soundstage outside his set. S. introduces M. to the director and mentions M.�s new greenlighted project. M. thanks S. for staying with L. M. shows some interest in S�s new project and S. summarizes the scene they�re doing next as �very Bergmanesque�. At that point, the prop guy comes out to consult with the director on which color of over-sized dildo they should use. An embarrassed S. asks M. not to tell his wife about the nature of the �indie� he�s doing.
An intake interviewer questions M. about L�s medications, drug, and alcohol use. She also asks M. about using drugs with Lorna. M. admits he has, but that he will support L.�s attempt at rehab. The interviewer tells him it will cost $34k upfront. M. relates how he doesn�t expect sympathy from the audience for people who can afford to spend the equivalent of a teacher�s annual salary on one month of rehab, but that he�s doing it to save L�s life. M. sits and eats cookies and milk with Walt as he explains L�s impending absence. He describes it as a camp where she�ll go to become a better mom. W. thinks she�s fine the way she is and wonders if he can go with her. M. says it�s strictly for adults and W. asks him why he doesn�t go to work on being a better father. M. replies that someone has to look after Walt.
In their bedroom, M. and L. argue over L�s insistence on taking her sleeping pills into rehab. M. asks if she�s backing out. L says she doesn�t have a choice considering the non-refundable fee and M�s threats to leave her. M. sarcastically tells her not to go and they will continue on along the same lines. L. counters that she can�t be as bad off as he thinks because she hasn�t been drinking as much. M. reminds her of the cocaine. L. reminds him that he doesn�t really have any moral ground to stand on considering his own behavior. M. changes tactics and suggests she look at it as a vacation of sorts. L. accuses him of wanting her out of the way of his own �extra-curricular activities�. M. challenges her to explain herself. L. backs down. M. rescinds the ultimatum about the marriage in order to encourage her to get help. Later, L. joins M. joins M. in the shower and explains how the drugs help her to cope, she then admits to leaving Walt alone the night of the accident. M, incredulous, reacts by not holding her as she breaks down.
Walt and M. walk L. to the front door of the rehab and promise to see each other that weekend. L. says she�s going to rehab for the sake of their marriage. M. gets into the car with a dejected Walt as the gate closes behind them.
The Show Must Go On
M. meets with Zach. Z. relates how Purity, the producer�s assistant, quit and went back home after her failed relationship with Zach. Z: �She just wasn�t made for this town.� M. relates how the same might be true of him. Z. wonders how M.�s getting along without L. and M. tells him of a sick Grandma she�s visiting in Atlanta when in truth the Grandma in question has been dead for several years. M. relates how they�ve been receiving offers for mostly insubstantial writing projects. Z.: �Fellini said to me: �Hollywood�, he said, �was like being nowhere and talking to nobody about nothing.� Z. suggests M. use what he�s going through as inspiration for his writing. Z: �Other people are going through the same shit as you.�
M. sits looking at his reflection in an ice cream scoop. A bowl of Rocky Road ice cream slowly disappears in front of him. M. had hoped that the chocolate would help him to feel something, but it doesn�t. M.: �If someone has placed a line of cocaine in front of me, I would probably do it.� The door bell rings and Annie stands outside bearing lasagna and dessert. M. remarks that Walt�s upstairs and L�s in �Atlanta.� A. already knows about rehab and promises not to tell anyone. In the kitchen, A. offers her help while L. is gone and reassures M. that things will �get better� for L. and M. A. leans toward him and they meet in a kiss. She gasps and he grabs her holding tightly to her hair. They stumble backwards and knock over a chair on their way to the table. They fall to the floor, still kissing, while A. gropes M.�s crotch. M. leans back and A. starts to unbuckle his belt when he stops her. M. says it�s �not right� and A. replies, �I didn�t hear you complain that night when your dick was in my mouth.� M. says L.�s presence made the situation different. A: �You�ve the most convenient morals of anybody I know. Maybe you should think about what your reality is.�
M. phones Danni�s number and leaves a message. He tells her he could really �use a friend.�
M. pulls up in front of a movie theater showing �Rocky Road� among other features. The meter is �Out of Order�. He races upstairs to the balcony seats and sees D. She says she had a �double think� when she heard his message. He replies that he saw a hummingbird that morning. After hesitating, D. tells M. she�s [pregnant. M wonders what happened to her birth control and D. says it failed. M. asks what they should do. D. doesn�t know and asks M. for his opinion. M. evades the question, but D. reads between the lines. D. wants M. to say his thoughts outloud instead of relying on her to do it. M. admits he doesn�t want anymore kids. D. tells him to go and regrets telling him about the pregnancy. M. feebly tells her he�s glad to know, but D. denies his overture and turns away. M. goes to his car, but can�t leave. He returns to a crying D. and tells of his regret over what he said. D. says they don�t have to decide immediately. They sit together and watch the black and white film of M. in the car approaching the crossroads.
M. lies on the bed looking at the compass L. gave him. The male creative exec. comes out of his bathroom and tells him the �Viacom� people don�t like the turn the story is taking. M. stalks away only to find the female exec raiding his refrigerator. The execs. pressure M. to pick a good ending for the story. M. explodes and claims he�s tired of the scrutiny and just ants his life back. They tell him it�s too late. He tries to escape them, but walks smack into a boom pole, which he wrenches from the operator and tosses to the ground. M.: �Get out of here! This is real! This isn�t a movie, this is my life!� M. pushes over the cameraman, knocks over a C-stand, and throws a big Fresnel lamp to the ground causing a blackout.
And the question is�
Walt, M. and Paul, his brother, sail on his boat, the �Walter�, as M. ponders running way from his problems. M. can�t and returns home to write instead.
M. types in his office. On a spilt screen, the �movie version� replays as he writes the script.
Fade in: My Swimming Pool � Night
Welcome to the deep end�[Mark and Danni �go under� in the pool]
Mark and Lorna
�I promise to be true to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness, and in health.�
[Mark and Lorna stand up in church together]
And with a song, �Frank Mills� was born� [Danni sings to Mark in her living room]
Lorna
�The secret of their marriage was that they never fell out of love with each other at the same time.�
[Mark and Lorna sit in the office]
M. stops typing. In the black and white movie, a sign appears in front of the car indicating either direction is possible.
One road veers to the left. One road veers to the right. I had to make a choice. [Mark looks left, right; the car remains at the crossroads.]
The car then turns left. In the present, M. looks on as L. and Walt have a pillow fight. Outside the window, M. sees Danni put flowers on the grave of �Frank Mills.� Back in the movie, the car then turns to the right. In the present, Danni plays with a bay next to a crib. Outside the window, L. leads w. away with his overnight case in hand. Walt turns and waves sadly. The screen splits to show Walt and the tombstone of Frank Mills.
At rehab, L. relates how she wanted to escape after thinking that she didn�t belong there. Then she realized in counseling that she was exactly like everyone else �an addict � and decided to stay. Mark tells her he�s been working on an idea, but it �having trouble with the ending.� Lorna�s face clouds over, but she asks to read it and hopes they can �figure out the ending together.�
Back in the B and W film, M. looks left and right at the crossroads. Although the ending�s not resolved, Mark relates that he doesn�t feel pressure to tie things up neatly. Mark: �As to where I�m going, a true traveler knows not his destination.� The car remains at the turning point.
Fade to black.