Reckless

During the high school Tin Can-Can dance, a random drawing pairs the outcast Johnny Rourke with Tracey Prescott, the popular cheerleader. On the dance floor, the two opposites feel an immediate pull toward each other as they talk and connect despite their different worlds.

Randy Daniels, Tracey's steady boyfriend, incites a jealous confrontation that erupts during the night’s events, and the coach intervenes. Johnny storms off, but Tracey follows him, and he offers to take her out on his motorbike. They ride to Johnny’s lookout and talk about their future plans.

The next day at practice, Johnny is late because his father is too drunk to work at the mill. The coach berates him and, when Johnny refuses to explain, he is kicked off the football team. Tension at school darkens Johnny’s mood.

Arriving home in a belligerent mood, Johnny fights with his alcoholic father, who smashes his stereo and ejects him from the house. The rejection compounds Johnny’s sense of isolation as he wanders away. The home life grows more unstable as the mill’s shadow looms over the town.

At home, Tracey laments that she’s expected to be the perfect daughter. She tears out of her driveway and drives away, her frustration boiling over. Johnny senses her distress, follows, and convinces her to stop so they can talk.

Together they break into the high school, reading Johnny’s file that labels him anti-social. They release animals in the biology classroom, smash trophy cases, strip and jump into the pool, and kiss passionately. The night ends with them sharing a secret embrace and falling asleep together.

Johnny wakes to find Tracey missing; he goes to her house, where she’s meant to be alone for the weekend. She finally allows him inside, but they are interrupted by Tracey’s younger brother Davey, who helps them slip away before their parents return.

At the pep rally that night, Johnny tries to speak to Tracey at his lookout, but she arrives late and is overwhelmed by the moment. He implies he has to leave, and afterwards Tracey distances herself from him at school for a few days.

Johnny is summoned back to the mill to clear out his father’s locker after his death. The grim task foreshadows a poor prospect and marks a turning point as Johnny contends with his fragile family situation.

Funeral day arrives for Johnny’s father, with Tracey attending from afar. Johnny rummages through his father’s belongings and discovers keepsakes of his mother, who abandoned them. In a moment of catharsis, he burns the mementos and destroys the place to purge the past.

With the mill’s shadow looming over the one-industry town, Johnny struggles to see a future and reconciles with the loss of his father and the estrangement from his mother. The town’s monotony mirrors his internal turmoil as he accepts the consequences of the recent events.

Johnny arrives at the careers fair to speak with Tracey alone; she must choose between her stable boyfriend Randy and Johnny. Johnny proclaims his love, and they ride off together on his motorcycle toward an uncertain future, Davey cheering them on.