A hit and run of an 18 year old girl becomes the hub of a wheel that sets into motion many a spoke - a journalist , a raging mother, a cop and a system all caught in an ethical dilemma. Questions raised only to realise that truth is rarely pure and never simple.
January is forced to return home after six years traveling abroad. A near-fatal accident has left her temporarily wheelchair bound and depleted of her long-term memory. She is accompanied by her boyfriend 'Callum' whom she met whilst traveling. He was also the driver in the fateful accident. Not only has she forgotten her family, but her childhood as well and is surprised to discover that her home is a stately manor in the middle of the country-side. As January tries to settle in, she finds herself becoming even more estranged from her family, who just want their daughter back. The trouble is, she cannot remember who that daughter was, or why she ran away in the first place. Desperate to discover why she left all those years ago and with Callum's help, she sets out to find the truth. They soon discover the family are not as loving as they seem to be. Was there a dark reason why she left them in the first place?
《真实电影》取材于1973年播出的纪录片剧集《一个美国家庭》(An American Family),这部剧集讲述了圣芭芭拉的一个普通家庭——劳德一家的故事。正在闹离婚的帕特-劳德与比尔-劳德夫妇是一对典型的美国中产阶级代表,他们共同抚养了四个孩子,其中大儿子兰斯公开宣布自己是同性恋。该片不仅着力反映整个社会对家庭内部矛盾的影响,在当时也鲜有电视作品表现同性恋话题。而《真实电影》则走进了这部剧集的幕后,讲述了电影人克雷格-吉尔伯特如何打造出这部意义深刻的电视纪录片作品。