米拉贝尔(克莱尔·丹尼斯 Claire Danes饰)是一个刚走出校门不久的姑娘,在一个百货商店里做导购小姐。清纯未脱的她在众人当中显得如此特别,吸引了两个男人的心。一个是有钱商人雷(史蒂夫·马丁 Steve Martin饰),另一个是年轻画家杰里米(杰森·施沃茨曼 Jason Schwartzman饰)。
雷行事稳重,风度卓越,是很多女子心中的标准对象。米拉贝尔也对他颇为倾心,然而苦恼也随之而来:虽然和雷在一起,可以得到一个安稳的未来,但雷总是与她保持着一定的距离,这使得米拉贝尔对雷的爱始终抱着怀疑的态度。
而杰里米是个贫寒的画家,年轻冲动,行事轻浮,他一直恋着米拉贝尔。米拉贝尔在感情的天平上游移不定,她终究要做出选择。
比利因性格原因常常遭受霸凌。在他生父留下的一台旧相机中,他感受到失落与连接的复杂情感。比利的母亲已经再婚三次,并和现任丈夫移居到美国。后来,他年轻的妹妹不幸溺水,家庭因此被继父抛弃,不得不返回台湾。
一天,洗完澡后,比利低声对自己说:“我要坚强,”身边放着几瓶药。他坐在马桶上,挣扎于孤独和困惑,试图逃避痛苦的现实。
Billy often faces bullying due to his personality. In an old camera left to him by his biological father, he feels a complex mix of loss and connection. Billy’s mother has remarried three times and moved to the United States with her current husband. Later, after his younger sister tragically drowned, the family was abandoned by her stepfather and had to return to Taiwan.
One day, after taking a bath, Billy whispers to himself, “I need to be strong,” surrounded by several medicine jars. He sits on the toilet, struggling with feelings of loneliness and confusion, trying to escape his painful reality.