美国女孩安娜(迪•摩尔 Mandy Moore 饰)和其他18岁女孩看起来没什么不一样,一样的青春无敌、精力充沛,不过,她有一个当总统的父亲。因为她是第一女儿,所以她必须时时刻刻保持完美形象,生活永远在镁光灯下。而且福斯特总统对她很严厉,身边总有一队保镖贴身保护,安娜完全没有一点自由。 这次,安娜随父亲一起访问欧洲。本以为处处顺从父亲就能换来一点自由晚上自由自在和好友加布里――法国驻美大使的女儿――去泡吧。没想到,性感火辣的两个美女在吧里竟然无人问津,原来又是父亲派来了保镖暗中护花。愤怒的安娜乔装打扮后撇下保镖逃出了酒吧,就此展开了她的“逃亡之旅”。
二十七岁的马克斯(詹姆斯·斯派德 James Spader 饰)是一位事业有成的广告人,不久前,他的妻子不幸去世,至今,马克斯都未能走出丧妻的悲痛阴影中,个性也因此而变得封闭和阴沉。 某日,他来到了一间小酒吧喝酒解闷,在这里,马克斯遇见了名为诺拉(苏珊·萨兰登 Susan Sarandon 饰)的四十三岁女招待。命运让这两个身份地位和年龄都悬殊巨大的人相互吸引,诺拉让马克斯暂时淡忘了痛苦,马克斯亦教会了诺拉什么是尊重,随着时间的推移,他们坠入了爱河。然而,这段世人眼中并不匹配的恋情注定要遭到诸多的考验,最终,他们的真爱能否战胜世俗的非议和彼此之间巨大的鸿沟呢?
斯特凡、茱莉亚和托比亚斯这三个兄弟姐妹过着舒适的中产阶级生活。从表面上看,他们做得很好,但所有三个人都越来越意识到他们的生活中存在着差距,有些事情不对劲,有些事情必须改变。41岁的斯特凡是一位成功的飞行员,一位真正的女士;到目前为止,他一直过着无忧无虑的享乐主义者的生活。但是突然之间,他的健康状况就不复存在了;而且,与他在早先的一桩婚外情中所生的女儿维姬的一次邂逅使他偏离了轨道。44岁的茱莉亚和丈夫在意大利度假时,开始照顾一只被车撞的街头狗。突然,她儿子去世的痛苦追上了她。34岁的托比亚斯嫁给了一位职业女性。他一直在照顾他们的三个孩子,似乎无法完成学业;现在他的兄弟姐妹决定他也应该照顾他们生病的父亲。 爱德华·伯杰的电影描绘了三个人寻找幸福和内心平静。由于这三个集中的性格研究,形象出现了一个不安全的一代在一个快速变化的世界。 The three siblings Stefan, Julia and Tobias lead comfortable middle-class lives. Outwardly, they are doing well, but all three are becoming more and more aware that there are gaps in their lives, that something is not right, and that something has to change. Stefan, 41, is a successful pilot and a real ladies man; up to now he has always led the life of a carefree hedonist. But suddenly his health will not play along anymore; moreover, an encounter with his daughter Vicky, whom he fathered in an earlier affair, throws him off course. While holidaying in Italy with her husband, Julia, 44, begins taking care of a street dog that’s been hit by a car. All of a sudden the pain of her son’s death catches up with her. Tobias, 34, is married to a career-orientated woman. He has been taking care of their three children and cannot seem to finish his studies; now his siblings have decided that he should also take care of their sick father. Edward Berger’s film portrays three people in search of happiness and inner peace. As a result of these three concentrated character studies, the image emerges of an insecure generation in a rapidly changing world.