Possible Worlds (2000) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A homicide investigation and Joyce's unstable connection with George Barber explore how memory, identity, and relationships might shift across possible realities.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

The Missing Brain

Police investigate George Barber's homicide and the removal of his brain. The unexplained wound and possible links to other murders make the case seem increasingly impossible.

Key Events

• George Barber's Homicide — A police officer reports that George Barber was killed and his brain was taken. Characters: Police Officer, George Barber Location: Unspecified homicide scene
• Unusual Skull Opening — Investigators find no obvious abrasions around the opening in the skull. Characters: Police Officer Location: Unspecified homicide scene
• Other Murders Considered — Investigators suspect the homicide may connect to other recent murders. Characters: Police Officer Location: Police investigation
• Hospital Search Ordered — The investigators are told to check hospitals, especially a university clinic. Characters: Police Officer Location: Police investigation
• Impossible Explanations — A detective begins considering explanations that seem impossible. Characters: Police Officer Location: Police investigation

A Theory of Many Selves

Joyce meets George, and they discover a shared connection to Novar despite her failure to remember him. George introduces the idea that people may exist in many slightly different realities.

Key Events

• Joyce Meets George — Joyce and George discover they both grew up in Novar, though Joyce does not remember him from school. Characters: Joyce, George Barber Location: Unspecified meeting place
• Possible Worlds Discussed — George proposes that people may exist in countless realities with small variations. Characters: Joyce, George Barber Location: Unspecified meeting place
• A Different Childhood Memory — George recalls another version of himself, including a dog bite and a scar absent from his ordinary life. Characters: George Barber Location: Unspecified

Memory in Motion

Joyce and George grow closer while confronting different attitudes toward love, memory, and identity. Joyce's experiences begin shifting between incompatible versions of her life.

Key Events

• Growing Closer — Joyce and George become increasingly close as they discuss love, memory, and identity. Characters: Joyce, George Barber Location: Unspecified
• Consciousness Workshop — Jocelyn leads participants, including Joyce, in imagination and visualization exercises. Characters: Joyce, Jocelyn Location: Consciousness workshop
• Shifting Shared Memories — Joyce's memories and behavior seem to shift between incompatible versions of her life with George. Characters: Joyce, George Barber Location: Unspecified

The Mind Beyond Matter

The investigation encounters a brain that seems to respond, while a scientist proposes that thought may exist independently of people. George's references to Slab and Block further connect the mystery to possible structures of reality.

Key Events

• Slab and Block — George repeatedly discusses Slab and Block as mysterious concepts connected to reality and the stolen brains. Characters: George Barber Location: Unspecified
• Responsive Brain — Police examine a brain that appears to respond and seems to signal for food. Characters: Police Officer Location: Unspecified police examination setting
• Mind as Information Field — A scientist proposes that mental processes create an information field and that thoughts exist independently. Characters: Police Officer Location: Unspecified

Contradictory Histories

By the ocean, Joyce recognizes George through several incompatible versions of their shared past. His involvement with someone else leaves their relationship and the nature of their memories unresolved.

Key Events

• Encounter by the Ocean — Joyce recognizes George through contradictory histories; he is involved with someone else nearby. Characters: Joyce, George Barber Location: Near the ocean
• Unresolved Possible Worlds — Their meeting leaves memory, identity, and the existence of multiple worlds unresolved. Characters: Joyce, George Barber Location: Near the ocean

Story Breakdown

• The Stolen Brain — The unexplained homicide introduces a disturbing investigation.
  • George Is Killed — A police officer reports that George Barber has been killed and his brain taken.
  • Unusual Evidence — Investigators find no obvious abrasions around the opening in the skull.
• Police Pursuit — Investigators search for connections and entertain explanations beyond the ordinary.
  • Related Murders — The homicide is suspected of being connected to other recent murders.
  • Hospital Search — Investigators are instructed to check hospitals, especially a university clinic.
• Joyce Meets George — A conversation about their shared hometown begins an increasingly close but uncertain connection.
  • Shared Novar Past — They discover they both grew up in Novar, although Joyce does not remember George from school.
  • Different Professions — George teaches neurology, while Joyce advises companies about foreign investment risks.
• Possible Realities — George offers a theory that alternate versions of people may exist across countless realities.
  • Many Versions — George suggests that small variations create countless possible versions of each person.
  • Childhood Scar — He recalls another version of himself with a dog bite and a scar absent from his ordinary life.
• Consciousness Exercises — Joyce attends a workshop that focuses on imagination and visualization.
  • Jocelyn Leads — Jocelyn leads the consciousness workshop attended by Joyce.
  • Visualization Practice — Participants perform exercises in imagination and visualization.
• Unstable Shared Memories — Joyce's experience of her life with George shifts among incompatible versions.
  • Changing Histories — Joyce's memories and behavior seem to move between conflicting versions of their lives.
  • Love and Identity — Their growing closeness is complicated by differing attitudes toward love, memory, and identity.
• The Brain Mystery — The police investigation presents strange evidence, while scientific ideas connect thought to reality.
  • Brain Responds — A brain examined by police appears to respond and seems to signal for food.
  • Information Field — A scientist proposes that mental processes create an information field and that thoughts exist independently.
• Slab and Block — George repeatedly refers to mysterious concepts associated with reality and the stolen brains.
  • Repeated References — George speaks repeatedly about Slab and Block.
  • Reality Connection — The concepts may be connected to the structure of reality and to the stolen brains.
• Ocean Encounter — The closing meeting gathers Joyce's contradictory memories of George without resolving which history is real.
  • Several Shared Pasts — Joyce recognizes George as a university acquaintance, former husband, and person she lived with.
  • Unresolved Meeting — George is involved with someone else nearby, and the boundary between memory, identity, and possible worlds remains unresolved.

Directed by

Robert Lepage

Key Cast

• Tilda Swinton — Joyce
• Tom McCamus — George Barber
• Sean McCann — Inspector Berkley
• Gabriel Gascon — Kleber / Doctor
• Rick Miller — William