1987 (2014) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

After Ricardo and his friends fail to get into a bar following graduation, he sees an opportunity to create his own venue for underage teens. He views it as a path to independence, quick money, and notoriety among his peers. The plan pulls him deeper into adult nightlife and its consequences.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Ricardo constantly trying to access the bar, establishing his obsession with crossing into adult spaces.

• underage bar
• Ricardo
• graduation
• illegal bar

After Ricardo is fired from the bar for accidentally damaging a BMW, he loses his job and faces pressure to earn money quickly. When he and his friends discover an expensive radio in a car, they steal it hoping to cash in. This theft marks the start of their descent into petty crime, driven by financial desperation and teenage recklessness.

Foreshadowing: The firing and argument with his father create financial pressure that pushes Ricardo toward desperate measures.

• theft
• radio
• crime
• Ricardo
• friends

Believing that Dallaire tricked him into pursuing Marie-Josée while she was unfaithful, Ricardo lashes out and accuses Dallaire of setting him up. The accusation strains their already fragile friendship and represents Ricardo deflecting blame for his own poor decisions onto someone else.

Foreshadowing: Earlier tension between Ricardo and Dallaire builds as both pursue Marie-Josée, creating rivalry that explodes into blame.

• Dallaire
• blame
• stolen radios
• friendship

After learning Marie-Josée has been unfaithful and facing mounting consequences for his reckless behavior, Ricardo rides his bike for three hours to Trois-Rivières in a desperate attempt to rekindle their relationship. The grueling journey reveals the depth of his obsession and stubborn refusal to let go, even when the relationship has already collapsed.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Ricardo's intense focus on Marie-Josée and his inability to accept rejection.

• bike ride
• Trois-Rivières
• Marie-Josée
• relationship

No, Ricardo does not end up with Marie-Josée. Their relationship fades after about three years and they eventually part ways. The film reveals this outcome as part of Ricardo's reflection on his reckless youth and the consequences of his choices.

Foreshadowing: Multiple betrayals and confrontations throughout the film build toward an inevitable breakup.

• Marie-Josée
• relationship
• breakup
• ending

When Ricardo arranges a date with Sara as revenge against Marie-Josée, Sara reveals she is homosexual during the evening. This deflates Ricardo's expectations and complicates his feelings, as he had been pursuing her while simultaneously dealing with his girlfriend's infidelity.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes hint at Sara being different from other girls Ricardo pursues, though her sexuality is not explicitly foreshadowed.

• Sara
• homosexuality
• date
• revelation

After confronting Dallaire about Marie-Josée, Ricardo drinks heavily from his father's illegal wine. Police arrest him when they discover the stolen radios in his possession. Ricardo attempts to flee, which worsens his predicament and leads to formal charges.

Foreshadowing: The theft of the radios and Ricardo's pattern of reckless decisions build toward this inevitable confrontation with law enforcement.

• arrest
• stolen radios
• police
• wine

After Ricardo is fired from the bar and causes damage to a BMW that burdens the restaurant's budget, he gets into a heated argument with his father. Following this quarrel, his father turns to illegal wine production as a precarious backup plan to support the family financially.

Foreshadowing: The argument between Ricardo and his father directly precedes the father's decision to pursue illegal activity.

• father
• illegal wine
• financial problems
• argument

Ricardo never sees Dallaire again after the events of that summer. Their friendship dissolves completely, representing one of the lasting negative consequences of Ricardo's reckless decisions and his tendency to blame others for his own mistakes.

Foreshadowing: The escalating rivalry over Marie-Josée and Ricardo's accusation about the stolen radios foreshadow the permanent breakdown of their friendship.

• Dallaire
• friendship
• separation
• never see again

On prom day, Ricardo learns that one of his friends has been admitted to the NHL. This adds another layer of complexity to the story, showing how different paths are emerging for Ricardo and his friends as they graduate. While the film doesn't detail the friend's trajectory, it contrasts with Ricardo's downward spiral.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes establish the group of friends with different ambitions and talents, making the NHL achievement a logical plot development.

• NHL
• friend
• prom
• graduation
• dreams