Passengers

Psychotherapist Claire Summers (Anne Hathaway) embarks on a journey to mend the emotional scars of five plane crash survivors: passengers Dean (Ryan Robbins), Norman (Don Thompson), Shannon (Clea DuVall), Eric (Patrick Wilson), and flight attendant Janice (Chelah Horsdal). While working with her clients, Claire is struck by Eric's unusual enthusiasm following the tragedy. He requests individual sessions with her, which only fuels her curiosity about his motives. As she delves deeper into their stories, Claire meets with airline official Mr. Arkin (David Morse), who reveals conflicting accounts of the crash from each passenger. Eric's attraction to Claire is palpable, but she remains wary due to his unsettling knowledge of her personal life.

As tensions simmer beneath the surface, Norman shares his concerns about being stalked by a mysterious individual, which he believes is linked to the airline's alleged history of mechanical failures. This revelation sparks Dean's memories of an explosion before the crash, further solidifying Norman's suspicions. Meanwhile, Eric's behavior becomes increasingly erratic, prompting Claire to question her role as therapist and her growing feelings for him.

The dynamic shifts when Norman fails to appear at a session, leaving only Janice and Shannon in attendance. Arkin cautions Claire against perpetuating the airline cover-up theory among the remaining survivors, but she rebukes him, insisting on pursuing the truth. Her supervisor Perry (Andre Braugher) senses her distress, urging her to prioritize her patients' well-being.

As Claire's personal life becomes entwined with her professional responsibilities, she finds herself torn between her desire for human connection and her duty as a therapist. She begins to rekindle a connection with Eric, sharing intimate moments on his motorcycle, boat, and by the water. However, this newfound closeness is tempered by her unresolved issues with her estranged sister Emma, whom she reaches out to through voice messages and flowers. Meanwhile, Arkin's accusatory gaze lingers, threatening to upend Claire's professional integrity and personal life forever.

As Claire's encounter with Norman's stalker unfolds, she discovers that this mysterious individual is another survivor of the catastrophic plane crash. This revelation sparks a fiery sense of indignation within her, as she takes him to meet Arkin at the airport, lambasting the airline for their alleged role in covering up the truth. However, just as Arkin begins to deny these accusations, the stalker suddenly vanishes into thin air, leaving Claire feeling both shaken and bewildered.

Meanwhile, Eric returns to the crash site, where he is beset by a series of unsettling memories that seem all too real. He relives the horror of an exploding engine, his mind reeling with the sheer terror of the experience. In a separate development, Shannon finds herself at Claire's next session, her eyes glazed over in a trance-like state as she envisions her deceased parents, Father (Brad Turner) and Mother (Aire Smithies), standing outside. As Eric arrives on the scene, he shares his own recollections with Claire, revealing that he too remembers an engine blowing up during the crash.

As they gather at Claire's apartment, she attempts to counsel Shannon about her deep-seated feelings for her parents, whose tragic passing occurred when Shannon was just a child. But things take a dark turn as Eric spots the same dog outside Claire's apartment that once belonged to him – a pet that met its untimely demise during his own childhood. Consumed by this sudden realization, Eric becomes convinced that he too died in the crash and makes a desperate bid for self-destruction, standing resolutely in front of an onrushing train before shouting a warning to Claire to stay away from him.

But Shannon has vanished into thin air, only to reappear later with a man and woman. Frustrated and feeling dismissed by her supervisor's skepticism about the conspiracy theory she's uncovered, Claire explodes at him, accusing him of colluding with Arkin to cover up the truth. Back at Emma's house, Arkin makes another surprise appearance, reiterating his assertion that the pilot was responsible for the crash – a notion fueled by his own personal turmoil and absence from the cockpit during the fateful flight. As he departs, leaving behind only his briefcase, Claire is left to pick up the pieces, her discovery of a ledger listing all the deceased passengers sending her spiraling into a state of hysterical despair. And in a devastating revelation, Claire's own name appears on this list, alongside that of Arkin – the man she had previously believed was the pilot.

As the sun rises on a new day, Claire stumbles upon Eric docked by his boat, the worn wooden slats creaking in the gentle morning breeze. As they converse, Eric reveals the unpalatable truth he'd been harboring - that she and the other passengers had perished in the devastating plane crash. But it's not just the news itself that's jarring; it's the reason behind Eric's secrecy: every individual had to arrive at this somber understanding on their own terms, with the guidance of deceased loved ones and familiar faces from their pasts. These spectral visitations, though unrecognizable to the recently departed, served as a gentle nudge towards acceptance and comprehension.

As Claire grapples with this reality, she begins to realize that the individuals she encountered during her time on Eric's boat were, in fact, long-departed acquaintances from her own life - including her kindly aunt Toni and Perry, the schoolteacher who had once held such authority over her. The revelation is both poignant and unsettling, like stumbling upon a forgotten chapter in one's own story.

As they set sail across the harbor, Claire and Eric find themselves drifting towards the threshold of the afterlife, their journey marked by a haunting flashback to the fateful flight that brought them together. In those moments on the plane, Claire and Eric had begun to forge an undeniable connection, their attraction growing stronger with each passing mile.

But fate had other plans; as the engine roared to life and the plane began to depressurize, Eric's words of reassurance echoed through the chaos - "We'll be all right" - before the screen faded to white, leaving the audience suspended in uncertainty.

The film concludes on a somber note, with Emma and her husband entering Claire's apartment, only to discover a poignant letter she had written in an attempt to make amends. The message, penned in a desperate bid for closure, serves as a poignant reminder of the enduring power of human connection - even beyond the veil of death itself.