Me and Him (1988) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A pressured architect struggles to balance marriage, professional ambition, moral restraint, and the unruly presence attached to him.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A Marriage Under Pressure

Bert is introduced as a married architect overwhelmed by family duties and a strict professional deadline. His birthday and arguments with Annette reveal how far his ambition has displaced intimacy.

Key Events

• Him Introduces Himself — Him explains that he keeps men alert, happy, and alive. Characters: Him (voice) Location: Unspecified setting
• Bert's Pressured Life — Him introduces Bert as a married architect overwhelmed by career and family responsibilities. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Him (voice) Location: New York
• The Twenty-One-Day Deadline — Bert has twenty-one days to impress a powerful client and secure approval. Characters: Bert Uttanzi Location: Workplace
• Birthday at Home — Annette and Bert Jr. help celebrate Bert's birthday at home. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Annette Uttanzi, Bert Jr. Location: Uttanzi home
• Bert's Architectural Wish — Bert wishes for his building to be accepted, revealing the dominance of his ambition. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Annette Uttanzi Location: Uttanzi home
• Annette Offers Encouragement — Annette encourages Bert while he struggles under professional pressure. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Annette Uttanzi Location: Uttanzi home

Desire Challenges Restraint

Him urges Bert to abandon caution and pursue excitement. Bert's attempt to respect a woman's boundaries clashes with Him's interference and ends in rejection.

Key Events

• Marriage Tensions Surface — Annette says Bert prioritizes his project over their marriage. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Annette Uttanzi Location: Uttanzi home
• Bert Defends Family Duty — Bert insists he wants to be a good husband and father and imagines a better family life. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Annette Uttanzi, Bert Jr. Location: Uttanzi home
• Him Demands Excitement — Him mocks Bert's caution and urges him toward romance and physical desire. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Him (voice) Location: Unspecified setting
• Companionship Encounter — Bert spends the night with a woman who says she wants only companionship. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Him (voice) Location: Unspecified residence
• Boundary Is Tested — Him urges Bert to make a sexual advance despite Bert's promise to respect her boundaries. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Him (voice) Location: Unspecified residence
• Bert Is Thrown Out — After Him's interference, the woman rejects Bert and throws him out. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Him (voice) Location: Unspecified residence

The Failing Proposal

Bert works with Corazon while shifting between romantic and practical architectural ideas. Him's mockery and fantasies intensify Bert's professional and creative crisis.

Key Events

• Corazon Assists Work — Bert works obsessively with Corazon's assistance on the proposal. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Corazon Location: Workplace
• Venice-Inspired Vision — Bert develops a romantic, Venice-inspired direction for the building. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Corazon Location: Workplace
• Practical Proposal Emerges — Bert shifts between romantic inspiration and a more practical architectural proposal. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Corazon Location: Workplace
• Him Disrupts Creativity — Him mocks Bert's lack of imagination and distracts him with fantasies. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Him (voice) Location: Workplace

Silence After Rejection

Bert insults and rejects Him, causing the voice to disappear. The loss makes Bert feel incomplete and pushes him to seek spiritual guidance.

Key Events

• Bert Rejects Him — Bert insults and rejects Him after their conflict over restraint and desire. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Him (voice) Location: Unspecified setting
• The Voice Disappears — Him disappears, leaving Bert feeling strangely incomplete. Characters: Bert Uttanzi Location: Unspecified setting
• Bert Seeks Guidance — Bert seeks spiritual guidance and admits that he hurt his closest companion. Characters: Bert Uttanzi Location: Spiritual guidance setting

An Unruly Balance

Bert is advised to leave the door open for Him's return. Him comes back, restoring Bert's confidence while leaving him to balance responsibility with desire.

Key Events

• The Door Stays Open — Bert is told to leave the door open for Him's return. Characters: Bert Uttanzi Location: Spiritual guidance setting
• Him Returns — Him returns after Bert accepts the need to leave room for his companion. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Him (voice) Location: Unspecified setting
• Confidence and Creativity Return — Him restores Bert's confidence and creative energy as Bert balances ambition, marriage, duty, and desire. Characters: Bert Uttanzi, Him (voice) Location: Unspecified setting

Story Breakdown

• Him's Opening Claim — Him defines his role as a mischievous presence attached to men and introduces Bert's troubled life.
  • Playful Voice — Him claims to keep men alert, happy, and alive.
  • Bert Introduced — Bert appears as a married architect burdened by responsibilities.
• Professional Deadline — Bert faces a twenty-one-day deadline that threatens his career and professional certification.
  • Client Approval — Bert must impress a powerful client and secure approval for his proposal.
  • Career Fear — Failure could cost Bert his career and certification.
• Family Pressure — Bert's family life reveals affection, responsibility, and growing emotional distance.
  • Birthday Celebration — Annette and Bert Jr. help celebrate Bert's birthday at home.
  • Marital Argument — Annette accuses Bert of caring more about his project than their marriage.
• Desire Versus Restraint — Him pushes Bert toward excitement while Bert attempts to preserve moral boundaries.
  • Him's Temptation — Him urges Bert to pursue romance and physical desire.
  • Broken Promise — Bert refuses to violate a woman's stated boundary, but Him's interference causes rejection.
• Creative Work Crisis — Bert's proposal shifts between romantic inspiration and practical design while pressure continues rising.
  • Corazon Assists — Corazon helps Bert continue working on the architectural proposal.
  • Venice Vision — Bert develops a romantic Venice-inspired direction before considering practicality.
• Him's Disappearance — Bert rejects Him, and the resulting silence exposes his dependence on the presence he opposed.
  • Insult And Rejection — Bert insults Him and rejects his influence.
  • Feeling Incomplete — Him disappears, leaving Bert strangely incomplete.
• Guidance And Return — Bert acknowledges the damage to his closest companionship and makes room for Him's return.
  • Spiritual Counsel — Bert seeks guidance and admits that he hurt his closest companion.
  • Door Left Open — Bert is told to leave the door open for Him's return.
• Balancing Opposites — Him returns with renewed confidence and creative energy, but Bert's competing responsibilities remain.
  • Confidence Restored — Him's return restores Bert's confidence and creative energy.
  • Unruly Equilibrium — Bert must continue balancing ambition, marriage, responsibility, and desire.

Directed by

Doris Dörrie

Key Cast

• Griffin Dunne — Bert Uttanzi
• Ellen Greene — Annette Uttanzi
• Kelly Bishop — Mrs. Aramis
• Carey Lowell — Janet Anderson
• Kim Flowers — Corazon