9/Tenths

Jessica and William flee the city chaos and drive hundreds of miles toward a newly purchased ranch that promises solitude and safety. Jessica remains wary of leaving the life she knows, while William clings to a hopeful fantasy of self-reliant living. The setting establishes a fragile boundary between privilege and survival.

On arrival they discover Elias, the supposed caretaker, calmly butchering a freshly killed animal in the kitchen. He explains, in broken English, that he was promised he could remain as a reward for his services. William dismisses him as a trespasser, while Elias sees the newcomers as outsiders invading his domain.

Tension rises as the trio confronts who belongs where. William's impatience clashes with Elias's quiet competence, revealing a power imbalance. The uneasy dynamic hints at a struggle to redefine ownership in a place that already feels hostile.

William confesses what he enjoys whispering in silence: he pays people to do basic tasks for him. The admission exposes a fragile, post-professional identity that is ill-suited to rural survival. The irony lands with quiet force as Elias quietly demonstrates competence with ordinary chores.

A simple repair exposes William's incapacity for hands-on tasks. He realizes he relies on others, a stark contrast to his previous professional success. Elias steps in calmly, showing the practical know-how that would become essential for survival.

A crackling emergency radio reveals an extraordinarily large terrorist attack with impacts beyond the city. The broadcast plunges the trio into immediate isolation, severing any sense of a safe, functioning world. The outside danger becomes a present, not a distant threat.

With no one else to lean on, Elias’s competence makes him indispensable. The early hierarchy dissolves as the others depend on his skills for basic survival. Trust between the three begins to be negotiated in the face of dwindling resources.

The pressure of scarcity and fear brings the long-standing attraction between Elias and Jessica into focus. Desire is unsettled by danger and the collapse of social norms. Their connection complicates loyalties and accelerates the moral ambiguity at the heart of the trio.

The boundaries between ally and rival blur as each character weighs what they need against what they owe one another. Actions become more calculated as resources dwindle and survival takes precedence over previous roles. The ranch becomes a pressure cooker for the redefinition of trust.

The film probes how fear, dependence, and desire push people toward morally complex choices. Small decisions take on outsized weight when civilization feels distant and fragile. The trio confronts what they are willing to sacrifice for safety and companionship.

With no outside help, the three must improvise together to endure. Elias's steady competence, Jessica's wariness, and William's fading sense of control converge into a fragile, improvised family. The ranch becomes both refuge and battleground for their evolving dynamics.

The outside world remains unknowable as the sheltering walls close in. The trio faces what comes next without any guarantee of safety or normalcy. The story ends with ambiguity about what humanity, trust, and desire will look like when civilization is no longer reliable.