Arthur, a corporate attorney, and Eve, an interior decorator, are the parents of three adult daughters. Renata is the eldest, a gifted poet whose husband Frederick, a struggling writer, feels overshadowed by her success. Flyn, the youngest, works as an actress and spends most of her time away filming, often becoming the subject of snide chatter about the quality of her projects. The middle daughter, Joey, is in a relationship with Mike but struggles to settle on a clear path for her own life, all while carrying a quiet resentment toward her mother’s apparent favoritism toward Renata. Renata herself is depicted as fiercely independent, and she, in turn, resents their father’s constant worry over Joey’s direction. The family portrait is tender, imperfect, and loaded with unspoken tensions that will soon erupt.
One morning, a shock topic fractures the household: Arthur abruptly announces a desire to separate and live apart from Eve. At the same time, Eve, who battles clinical depression, makes a desperate attempt on her own life in a new Manhattan apartment, an act that rattles everyone and unsettles the already fragile equilibrium among the sisters. The family’s sense of security starts to crumble as they try to process these parallel crises. In a destabilizing twist, Arthur returns from a trip to Greece with Pearl, a lively, self-assured woman who seems at once relatable and disruptive. He reveals his intention to marry Pearl, a decision that leaves the sisters unsettled and skeptical, especially since Eve’s vulnerability has just become more exposed.
The tension comes to a head at a beach house on Long Island where Arthur and Pearl marry, with Renata, Joey, and Flyn in attendance. The ceremony is surrounded by a mix of quiet nostalgia and growing unease. The evening exposes old wounds and new rifts: Joey lashes out at Pearl after Pearl accidentally breaks one of Eve’s vases, a moment that underscores how fragile and combustible their dynamics have become. In a darker turn, the night reveals more danger: Flyn uses cocaine in the garage, and Frederick, under the influence, makes an aggressive advance toward her. She escapes from the perilous moment, but the underlying threat of exploitation and abuse lingers.
Amid the chaos, Joey opens up about the immense sacrifices Eve has made for their family, and how little credit she receives in return. The raw honesty of that confession illuminates the enduring love and frustration braided through the sisters’ relationship with their mother. Eve’s pain, once again pushed aside in favor of appearances, weighs heavily on them all. The narrative crescendos in a moment of tragedy as Eve leaves the beach and walks into the surf, choosing the sea as her exit. Joey makes a valiant effort to pull Eve back from the peril, but she nearly drowns in the process. Mike arrives just in time to rescue Joey, and Pearl steps in to help by reviving Eve’s daughter through a careful sequence that restores breathing and clears the airway.
The loss is mourned in a quiet but communal ritual. The family gathers for Eve’s funeral, each of the sisters laying a single white rose on Eve’s wooden coffin—Eve’s favorite flower and, in that moment, a symbol of hope amid sorrow. The ceremony is contemplative, and as the sisters stand together at the edge of the shore, they gaze out toward the sea from their former family beach house. In that final image, the sea’s vast calm becomes a counterpoint to the earlier turbulence, offering a sense of peace and the possibility of healing after loss.
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