Imaginary Crimes

In 1962 Portland, Ray Weiler is widowed and living as a charming but unreliable con artist who raises his two daughters, Sonya and Greta. He spins grandiose but unrealistic business ideas while avoiding real financial responsibility, leaving them with a fragile sense of stability. After Valery's death, the family moves from a basement apartment into a transient hotel, sharpening the sense of instability that frames their lives.

Ray returns home with a large sum of money earned through a money laundering scheme tied to a local mining company. He uses the windfall to pay off his debts and celebrate by taking his daughters out for ice cream. The moment reveals his charm but also foreshadows the legal peril that soon follows.

Mr. Webster, the English teacher at Edgemont Academy, recognizes Sonya's writing talent and persuades her to take college entrance exams. He helps her navigate the application process and keeps faith even when funds look tight. His mentorship plants the seed for a future beyond their precarious circumstances.

After applying to several colleges, Sonya is accepted by the University of California, Berkeley. The news represents a beacon of possibility amid their instability and deepens the tension with her father, who fears losing her to the outside world. The acceptation sets up the next stage of the family’s conflicts.

Shortly after Sonya's acceptance, Jarvis, a fellow con artist, arrives at the family's Portland home brandishing a gun to allege that Ray stole money from him. The confrontation escalates quickly and raises the stakes for the entire family. The threat compounds the existing legal and financial pressures surrounding Ray.

Bud, father of one of Sonya's classmates, presses charges against Ray for conning him out of money under the guise of a business investment. Ray is charged with grand larceny and fraud, and his bail is posted by Mr. Webster. The legal scrutiny marks a turning point in the family's precarious situation.

Facing mounting charges, Ray devises a plan to flee Portland and start anew in Reno, Nevada. This plan triggers a fierce argument in which Sonya tells him she would have been better off without him. She and Greta exit the car as Ray drives toward Reno, setting the stage for an emotional and physical separation.

The next morning, police arrive with a warrant for Ray, and Greta is taken by child services. Sonya, now eighteen, has no legal guardianship, leaving the family fractured as the authorities move to separate the family unit. The event marks a permanent break in their previously intertwined lives.

Ray arrives in Reno with Eddie and begins planning new schemes, yet he is haunted by the family he left behind. He is remorseful for his actions and eventually drives back to Portland in the middle of the night, only to find his house empty. The return underscores the lasting consequences of his choices.

Seeking protection for Sonya and Greta, Ray visits the judge overseeing his case at the judge's home and pleads that they be spared from testifying. The plea reveals his ongoing concern for his daughters despite his numerous flaws. It also highlights the precarious legal limbo in which the family remains.

The day after, Sonya attends her high school graduation from Edgemont Academy. She apologizes to Mr. Webster for her father's actions and vows to work a summer job to repay him. The ceremony marks a pivotal milestone as she looks toward independence and adulthood.

Moments after the graduation ceremony, Ray and Greta arrive in a police car. Ray gifts Sonya an expensive writing pen, a gesture heavy with mixed emotions and ambiguous reconciliation. The scene captures the complicated ties between father, daughter, and legal consequences.

In voiceover, Sonya recounts the years that followed, during which she raised Greta while Ray served his prison sentence. After his release, he remained obsessed with ventures involving metals, ore, and space technology, rather than reforming his life. The reflection suggests a cycle of ambition without lasting stability for the family.

Some years later, Ray goes into the mountains on an excursion and freezes to death. His death closes a life spent chasing risky ventures with little stability and underscores the long-term consequences of his choices. The narrative lingers on the cost of a life lived on the edge of the law.