Old Boyfriends

Colorado is where Cruise first appears on the set of a documentary Jeff Turin is shooting for a political ad, with Sam the Fisherman as the star. The location shifts to Minneapolis, where Cruise reconnects with her past in a hotel and a high school gym, and where two concerts and a look-out drive frame the encounters. The final leg takes place in a small town near her former lover's home, where a family home and a hospital visit heighten the emotional stakes.

🧭 Identity Crisis

A clinical psychologist sets out on a road trip to rediscover herself beyond marriage and career. The three encounters with past lovers become tests of who Dianne is when stripped of professional roles. The film uses memory and desire to explore how identity is formed and manipulated by intimate relationships. Her journey shows that self-discovery can be messy, imperfect, and deeply personal.

🫂 Trauma & Healing

Wayne's Vietnam-era trauma and his fragile mental state anchor the film's emotional core. Cruise's involvement with him reveals how care and boundary crossing can both help and harm vulnerable individuals. The psychiatrist Dr. Hoffman frames the tension between empathy and responsibility. Healing emerges as precarious and nonlinear, ending with difficult consequences rather than tidy resolutions.

🎭 Power & Boundaries

Romantic and sexual power dynamics are tested across the three relationships Cruise revisits. Each encounter blurs lines between flirtation, manipulation, and genuine connection, challenging Cruise's sense of agency. The private investigator, Dr. Hoffman, and the others emphasize that control in intimate matters has ethical limits. The film suggests that mature boundaries are essential for emotional safety, even when desire persists.