The film opens to Adam Beckett, Zach Galligan a pianist reluctantly performing Chopin to a packed Carnegie Hall. When Beckett is asked to play an encore, he reveals that he is not actually playing, but using a player piano. The outraged crowd storms the stage and wraps him in piano rolls. This shocking moment sets the tonal tone for a film that blurs dream and reality with a neon-lit, bewildering energy.
Adam awakes on a train in Europe and realizes it was a nightmare. He is accosted by a Swedish Architect, Jan Tříska, to whom he explains his stymied dreams of becoming an artist. After encouragement from him, Adam resolves to return to America to follow his dream. Upon returning, he discovers that the Port Authority has taken control of New York and is restricting entry into the city. The city itself becomes a character here, its borders tightened and odd rules shaping every step of his path.
Upon failing a drawing test at the Port Authority, Adam is forced to work in a menial job under a trigger-happy boss. He has to watch traffic before it enters the Holland tunnel and prevent vehicles from entering with faulty parts, such as a headlight out. The mundane labor contrasts with his artistic longings, underscoring the film’s recurring tension between constraint and creativity.
Feeling he won't be creative living under his aunt and uncle's roof, Adam moves to a hotel. He is given a room whose last occupant disappeared mysteriously, leaving all of his belongings behind, including several paintings. A haunting touch of mystery lingers as the room becomes a doorway to possibilities rather than a simple lodging.
At work Adam meets Mara, a fellow aspiring artist. He tags along with her to SoHo and she takes it upon herself to expose them to lots of different art forms to determine which most appeals to each. Their shared curiosity nudges him toward a broader world of expression and possibility.
His kindness to a tramp leads him to be taken into an underground network where he is first cleansed by fire, then discovers that the city's tramps are controlling the destiny of all the cities in the world. They instruct him to travel to the Moon on a mission. The surreal twist expands the film’s scope from personal ambition to a wider, almost cosmic conspiracy.
When Adam returns above ground he goes immediately to Mara's, but she is indifferent to him. Upset, he hurries to the city bus bound for the Moon. Romance takes a backseat to his quest, yet the ember of connection persists in the background.
In transit, the bus has different levels, one for dancing, one for dinner. Adam is the youngest by far, and one of the older ladies tells him they all have chips implanted in the back of their necks. It causes them to say Miami rather than Moon when they speak of the trip. The journey becomes a satirical, almost ritualized ritual of consumption and control, layering technology with whimsy.
Upon arrival the bus is greeted by the Moon Maidens and Eloy, Lauren Tom who tells him it's too dangerous to talk. Adam jumps off the shuttle heading to Moon-o-Rama and Eloy picks him up with a buggy to take him out of Consumerzone. Eloy embodies both allure and warning, guiding him through a world that blends fantasy and consumer excess.
Adam awakens in an alley. He's told he must hurry to his concert in Carnegie Hall. After playing Chopin's polonaise no. 53 he receives a standing ovation. He looks up and sees Eloy waving to him from a box. The repetition of Chopin’s music serves as a tether to his original dream while the dreamlike cityscape continues to unfold around him.
