Volition (2019) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A clairvoyant criminal confronts repeating timelines and discovers that conscious choices can reshape the future.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

The Seer Takes A Deal

James lives quietly by using clairvoyance for minor bets and meets Angela after defending her. Sal reconnects him with Ray, whose diamond proposal appears unavoidable to James.

Key Events

• Small Betting Routine — James uses clairvoyance to make small sports bets while living quietly after his criminal past. Characters: James Location: City streets
• Alleyway Intervention — James confronts two men harassing Angela and is beaten while they escape. Characters: James, Angela Location: Alley
• Vision of Angela — James foresees Angela visiting his apartment and tells her where he lives. Characters: James, Angela Location: James's apartment
• Sal Returns — Recently released Sal reconnects with James after returning from jail. Characters: James, Sal Location: City meeting place
• Diamond Proposal — Ray offers James a large diamond-fencing deal through Sal. Characters: James, Sal, Ray Location: Criminal meeting place

A Future Under Siege

Angela's predicted visit briefly gives James emotional hope. Meanwhile, Sal and Terry prepare to betray Ray, and their break-in forces James and Angela into flight.

Key Events

• Predicted Acceptance — James sees himself accepting Ray's offer and believes his choice cannot alter the future. Characters: James, Ray Location: Criminal meeting place
• Angela's Expected Visit — Angela arrives exactly as James foresaw, and they share drinks and flirtatious conversation. Characters: James, Angela Location: James's apartment
• Shared Family Estrangement — James discusses his mother's death and estrangement from his foster father; Angela describes similar distance from her parents. Characters: James, Angela Location: James's apartment
• Robbery Plot Forms — Sal and Terry secretly plan to double-cross Ray and steal the diamonds. Characters: Sal, Terry, Ray Location: City safehouse
• Apartment Break-In — Sal and Terry break into the apartment, forcing James and Angela to flee in her car. Characters: James, Angela, Sal, Terry Location: James's apartment

Death Repeats Itself

James reveals his fatalistic worldview while escaping with Angela. At the house, Ray shoots Angela and James is sent into the past by a time travel drug.

Key Events

• No Free Will — James explains his clairvoyance, his childhood vision, and his belief that the future is predetermined. Characters: James, Angela Location: Angela's car
• Death Vision — James sees a vision of himself being killed and panics. Characters: James Location: Angela's car
• Flight To The Laboratory — James and Angela drive toward his foster father's laboratory after James receives another vision. Characters: James, Angela Location: Road to the laboratory
• House Invasion — Ray, Sal, and Terry invade the house, accuse James of betrayal, and threaten him. Characters: James, Angela, Ray, Sal, Terry Location: Foster father's house
• Angela Is Shot — A scuffle erupts, Ray shoots Angela, and the foster father injects James before he loses consciousness. Characters: James, Angela, Ray, Sal, Terry Location: Foster father's house

Fragments Of Choice

After learning the source of his clairvoyance, James returns to the present and tries to prevent the diamond robbery. The same violent sequence repeats through multiple versions of himself.

Key Events

• 1994 Time Displacement — James awakens in 1994 and learns that the drug enables time travel and explains his clairvoyance. Characters: James Location: Foster father's house
• Return To The Present — James takes another dose, returns to the present, and resolves to reject the diamond deal. Characters: James Location: Laboratory
• Diamond Robbery Intercepted — James intercepts Sal and Terry's robbery and takes the diamonds to the laboratory. Characters: James, Sal, Terry Location: Robbery site
• The Repeating Encounter — James watches another version of himself arrive, sees Angela shot again, and is shot by an unknown attacker. Characters: James, Angela, Ray, Sal, Terry Location: Foster father's house
• Fragmentation Begins — After injecting himself, James fragments and sees himself as the alley assailant and another earlier street figure. Characters: James Location: City streets
• Backyard Gunfight — James fights Terry, whose gun accidentally fires and hits the version of James hiding in the bushes. Characters: James, Terry Location: Foster father's backyard

The Future Opens

James confronts Ray and Terry, exposes the betrayal, and travels to the past with a final instruction. In the altered timeline, Angela survives and James understands that choice can change destiny.

Key Events

• Ray's Fatal Shot — Ray shoots James, fulfilling the earlier vision; James reveals the double-cross before Ray is killed. Characters: James, Ray, Sal, Terry Location: Foster father's house
• Origin Of Adoption — Dying James reaches the past and tells the scientist to adopt his younger self from the foster home. Characters: James Location: Past laboratory
• Angela Survives — In the altered timeline, Angela is shot in the shoulder, and James realizes his choices changed the future. Characters: James, Angela Location: Foster father's house

Story Breakdown

• Quiet Criminal Life — James begins with a controlled but fatalistic existence built around clairvoyance and small bets.
  • Sports Betting — James uses future visions to make minor wagers while avoiding his former criminal life.
  • Alley Rescue — James intervenes when two men harass Angela, beginning their connection.
• Angela's Arrival — Angela becomes an emotional possibility for James, and his first vision involving her comes true.
  • Predicted Visit — James foresees Angela arriving with beer and later watches the vision occur.
  • Shared Isolation — James and Angela discuss estrangement and reveal personal vulnerabilities.
• The Diamond Scheme — A criminal opportunity reconnects James with Sal and places him inside Ray's dangerous operation.
  • Ray's Proposal — Ray offers James a share for fencing stolen diamonds.
  • Secret Double Cross — Sal and Terry secretly plan to steal the diamonds from Ray.
• Violence Repeats — The robbery plot brings the criminal group to James's refuge and produces the traumatic first timeline.
  • Apartment Invasion — Sal and Terry break into James's apartment, forcing him and Angela to escape.
  • Angela's Shooting — Ray shoots Angela during the confrontation at the house.
• Time Travel Revelation — James learns that time travel, rather than supernatural prediction alone, explains his clairvoyance.
  • 1994 Displacement — The drug sends James to 1994, where the mechanism of his visions is explained.
  • Present Return — James takes another dose and returns determined to reject the diamond deal.
• Breaking Predestination — Repeated encounters force James to confront his own timeline before a final change saves Angela.
  • Fragmented Selves — Time travel exhaustion makes James witness versions of himself across the day's events.
  • Changed Outcome — Angela is wounded rather than killed, proving that James's choices can alter the future.

Directed by

Tony Dean Smith

Key Cast

• Adrian Glynn McMorran — James
• Magda Apanowicz — Angela
• John Cassini — Ray
• Frank Cassini — Sal
• Aleks Paunovic — Terry