Innocents and Others

Raised in Los Angeles and best friends since eighth grade, Meadow and Carrie are inspired by their film teacher to pursue directing careers after their 1985 high school graduation. Whippet-thin Meadow obsesses over lost film footage and a desire to decode the secrets of the great filmmakers, particularly Orson Welles. Intelligent, talented, moneyed, and more than a little pretentious, she creates her own brand of critically successful documentary films showcasing "raw human drama." A softer, kinder Carrie, tutored by Meadow in classic cinema but raised on formulaic TV sitcoms, finds commercial success as a director of popular multiplex comedies. Meanwhile, dumpy, visually challenged Jelly, a middle-aged lover of movies, insinuates herself into the world of those who create it. She is first introduced to anonymous calling by her boyfriend, a 1970s "phone phreaker" who hacks the landline system, and through luck and canny research eventually becomes "Nicole," phone-only confidante and love interest of Jack, a renowned film composer. Through these characters, Spiotta (Stone Arabia) reveals that like cinema itself, all relationships depend upon a measure of illusion.