Interstate 60

On the eve of his 22nd birthday, Neal, a grocery warehouse worker in St. Louis, longs to be an artist while his father pushes a conventional path and his girlfriend accepts the status quo. The looming party sets a conflict between creative ambition and family obligation, foreshadowing a life beyond the expected. An undercurrent of pressure hints that choice will shape Neal's future.

O.W. Grant appears as a waiter with a pipe shaped like a monkey's head, and Neal wishes for a clear answer about what his life should be. The moment crackles with possibility and a hint that reality may bend to will. The wish sets Neal on a path where appearances will no longer be reliable.

A bucket drops, striking Neal and plunging him into a stark waking fog as life hangs in balance. He survives the accident but finds his sense of reality unsettled and his choices suddenly weighty. The incident marks the beginning of the journey that will blur dreams and waking life.

In the hospital, Doctor Ray gives Neal a peculiar test: identify the suit on a set of playing cards. The exercise reveals that appearances are deceptive and that the rules of the world can be bent, signaling that Neal's reality is shifting. The test plants the first seeds of the film's blurred boundaries between truth and illusion.

After returning to life, Neal glimpses the woman from his dreams on a billboard, and the image becomes accompanied by the inscription 'Call 555-1300.' The encounter deepens the sense that a hidden pattern is guiding his life. The billboard hints at a message that exists beyond ordinary sight.

A phone call leads Neal to an office at 555 Olive Street, Suite 1300, where Ray entrusts him with a package to deliver to Robin Fields in Danver, Colorado. The roadmap promises Interstate 60, but the road exists only in puzzles, revealing a central mystery about directions and destiny. Neal embarks on a cross-country journey that defies conventional navigation.

Heading west, Neal encounters O.W. Grant along the highway, who reappears with a sly, guiding hand toward the elusive Interstate 60. The encounter tees up a quest that blends road-movie pursuit with fable-like mentorship. Neal's sense of agency grows as he follows Grant's enigmatic advice.

Neal meets a man who can gorge himself on unimaginable quantities of food, a surreal detour that tests the lure of excess and abundance. The encounter expands the film's examination of appetite, desire, and the unpredictable nature of the journey. It also marks Neal's immersion into a world where extraordinary figures mirror inner cravings.

Another roadside figure pursues an unattainable ideal of sexual perfection, challenging Neal's sense of desire and fantasy. The encounter reinforces the theme that wishes can distort longing and complicate the path toward personal truth. Neal observes how others chase impossible visions just as he pursues his art.

A mother searches for her son in a city where a government-controlled drug has chained the population, underscoring themes of control, illusion, and the price of complicity. The scene widens Neal's awareness of social manipulation and the costs of living under deceptive governance. This encounter deepens the journey's moral complexity.

A dying ex-advertiser rails against deceit, urging Neal to see through manufactured realities. The figure embodies the film's skepticism toward manipulation and advertorial façades. The encounter nudges Neal toward a commitment to honesty in art and life.

Mrs. James runs a Museum of Art Fraud where real masterpieces masquerade as fakes, intensifying the film's meditation on authenticity. Neal's experiences with the rogue gallery prompt him to consider what constitutes true art. The encounter foreshadows the later blending of real work and illusion in his life.

In Morlaw, a town of lawyers, Neal meets Lynn Linden, the imprisoned dream-woman from the billboard. Their motel encounter is charged, and Neal sketches the motel in paint, capturing a moment of intimate connection between fantasy and craft.

Neal continues toward Danver to deliver the package, while Lynn remains behind and becomes entangled with Danver Publishing. The crossroads hint at a future where art and publishing intersect, offering Neal a tangible role for his visions. The line between dream and life continues to blur as choices loom.

In Danver, 'Robin Fields' turns out to be O.W. Grant in disguise. Neal opens the package to find a replacement monkey-head pipe, and Grant uses his powers to bend time, waking Neal back in the hospital before the original encounter with Ray. The twist collapses the boundary between dream and waking life and resets Neal's perspective on his future.