Mr. Nobody

Following his parents' divorce, 9-year-old Nemo must choose whether to live with his mother or his father. This moment fractures his life into two potential futures and becomes the central thread of his recollections. The choice drives the structure of Nemo's memories as explored in therapy and interviews.

Nemo and his mother relocate to Montreal, starting a new chapter in his upbringing. He navigates adolescence in a different city and builds the emotional landscape that will influence his later relationships. The move marks the first major shift in his life trajectory.

As a teenager, Nemo becomes infatuated with Anna. At the beach, Anna asks him to swim with her and her friends, but Nemo insults her companions, souring their budding connection. The moment foreshadows the fragile, cyclical nature of their eventual encounters.

In one possible timeline, Nemo and Anna deepen their bond as a complicated family ties evolve when Harry, Nemo's mother’s new husband, marries Nemo's mother, creating step-siblings who begin an affair. This path ultimately sees Anna moving to New York and their relationship fragmenting, underscoring how small choices branch into divergent futures. The sequence emphasizes how intertwined lives can diverge dramatically.

Years later, Nemo and Anna unexpectedly recognize each other at a train station and share a passionate reunion. Anna is not ready for a relationship and asks Nemo to call her, to meet at a lighthouse. Nemo waits by the lighthouse every day, but Anna never arrives, leaving him with a wound of what could have been.

In another timeline, Nemo stays in England with his disabled father and writes a science fiction story about a journey to Mars. He falls in love with Elise, whose boyfriend is Stefano, and their romance develops amid competing loyalties. A motorcycle accident leaves Nemo in a vegetative state while his mind remains active, continuing to perceive the world and his parents' reunion at his bedside.

In a different version, Elise claims love for Stefano but the marriage goes ahead without mutual affection. Elise dies in an explosion on their wedding day, and Nemo carries her ashes to Mars as promised from their youth. On the return trip, their ship is threatened by asteroids, threatening Nemo's hopes and altering the course of his life.

Another timeline shows Nemo and Elise married with three children, but Elise suffers from chronic depression and borderline personality disorder. Despite Nemo's efforts to salvage the marriage, Elise leaves to pursue Stefano, leaving Nemo to cope with the unraveling family structure. The divergence highlights how deep personal struggles reshape futures.

After Elise, Nemo chooses to marry the first girl who dances with him, who turns out to be Jean. They have two sons and accumulate wealth, but Nemo grows bored and transfers his assets to Jean's name. He begins making decisions by coin toss, and ultimately is taken to a hotel where assassins murder him, raising questions about fate and choice.

Nemo awakens repeatedly in a surreal, argyle-patterned environment and follows clues to a dilapidated house with a DVD player and television. In an interactive video, 118-year-old Nemo tells 34-year-old Nemo that this is a universe where Nemo was never born and that his consciousness is trapped in limbo. Old Nemo explains he experiences the story from its end and must stay alive until 5:50 a.m. on 12 February 2092.

In the epilogue, Old Nemo tells a journalist that neither he nor the journalist truly exist; they are figments of 9-year-old Nemo's imagination as he weighs his parents. The boy is exploring possible outcomes and ultimately contemplates a third option beyond either parent. The scene frames the entire story as a meditation on choice and reality.

Nemo recalls reuniting with Anna at the lighthouse as death approaches. His last word, 'Anna,' is broadcast as the universe begins to contract, and time reverses. Old Nemo comes back to life, the other Nemos awaken, Nemo's parents reunite, and the 9-year-old Nemo runs in reverse to reunite with 9-year-old Anna, skipping stones together.