Trapped in a Purple Haze

Max, a college student torn between hockey and art, notices Molly when she asks for a video and triggers his curiosity. He finds out she already knows his name from his hockey jersey, and they start talking. Their connection quickly grows into a budding relationship as they spend time together on campus and at the video store.

Max and Molly become intimate in his bedroom, while his mother Sophie and younger sister Chloe are in the house. The relationship feels intense and exciting at first, but signs of Molly's instability begin to surface. Max starts to sense that Molly's life is not as simple as it seems.

Molly pulls Max into a drug-using circle when they go to score heroin together. He watches as she snorts heroin, and what starts as curiosity evolves into something darker. The escalation pulls Max away from his studies and his responsibilities.

Max invites Molly to his sister Chloe's birthday party, but Molly initially resists due to a concert conflict. A heated argument between Molly and Sophie erupts at the party, and Molly leaves abruptly. The relationship experiences a jarring setback as she disappears for a while.

Orin and Kate take Max to a party where he spots Molly again. Molly apologizes and they begin to reconcile, but the bond remains fragile and risky. Max desperately hopes to return to normal life, even as the pull of Molly's world remains strong.

Molly celebrates their renewed relationship by having them shoot up together in her apartment. Max's life continues to center on drug use, eroding his studies and job commitments. The addiction tightens its grip and changes the course of his days.

Molly learns she is three months behind on rent and faces eviction within a week. Max goes to the video store to retrieve his paycheck, but he has only worked two hours, leaving him broke and with a pink slip. Orin offers help, but only in exchange for money, highlighting the downward spiral.

Max steals $200 from Ed's wallet, triggering a heated confrontation in which Sophie strikes him. Feeling he has nowhere to go, Max and Molly move in with her drug-using friends, and the home life deteriorates into a living crisis. The sense of safety in the family collapses.

Max tries to steal money from Orin in the locker room at the ice rink and is caught. As a consequence, he has been kicked off the hockey team, magnifying his sense of loss and failure. Addiction's reach now touches his sport and identity.

Max discovers Molly is having sex with a man in exchange for drugs, and their relationship spirals toward instability. The couple ends up panhandling at the mall to survive, while Sophie cautiously observes from a distance. The spark of their romance has all but vanished.

Desperation drives Max to rob a local comic book store for drug money, and he is caught by the police. Ed and Brian bail him out, but withdrawal symptoms and the mounting consequences of his addiction begin to take a heavy toll. The family braces for a harder fight ahead.

Max's withdrawal crisis lands him in the hospital, where Ed and Sophie have a heated argument about how best to help him. A doctor explains that he will need a treatment program, but notes how difficult it can be. In a desperate moment, Max slips out to find Molly.

Max tracks Molly to a sleazy motel and discovers she has died from a heroin overdose. Grief-stricken, he begs Kate for money, but she throws him out. In his shock, he tumbles down the stairs, abandoning himself to despair.

The family brings Max back home, and a tearful confrontation follows about the consequences of his addiction. Sophie tells him she loves him and encourages him to be who he wants to be, acknowledging her earlier neglect of his needs. The path forward becomes clearer, though difficult.

Max says goodbye to his brother and sister and departs for a month-long stay in rehab, with his father by his side. The drive away marks a hopeful but arduous step toward recovery and a chance to rebuild his life. The family splits their focus toward supporting his journey.