Curve of Departure synopsis

Felix and his partner Jackson are scraping by in Los Angeles, so when Felix’s father Cyrus passes away, the pair barely cobbles together the money for plane tickets to the funeral. What they can’t afford is their own hotel room in Santa Fe, so they bunk in with Felix’s mother Linda and grandfather Rudy.

Rudy was Cyrus’s father, but even he calls his son “a schmuck.” Cyrus left Linda and Felix to fend for themselves when Felix was twelve, leaving them for the family that is now organizing his funeral and post-burial reception. Rudy couldn’t understand why his son was leaving a perfectly lovely family behind, so he’s kept a hand in Felix’s life—and Linda’s stayed in his. Now 80, Rudy’s body is deteriorating even as he throws out firecracker quips and opinions. Linda has been taking care of him as he declines, but despite the old man’s one-liners, it hasn’t been pretty.

In the close quarters of this hotel room, it’s hard to keep any secrets. Linda soon learns that Jackson and Felix are caring for Jackson’s niece, whom Jackson hopes to adopt from his drug-addicted sister who won’t leave the man who abused their daughter. While Jackson plans for a child in the house, Felix can’t shake the specter of his father’s disloyalty. How can he start a new family when he feels he’s failed his old one, leaving his mother alone to care for Rudy the way his father left them?

Later in the night, caring for Rudy gets uglier and dirtier. Jackson’s niece isn’t doing well back home. Felix is stuck between them, at once emotionally frozen and feeling for both of them. As the four struggle to care for each other, they come head-to-head with their shortcomings and generosity, grappling with what it means to raise, love, and lose family.