PREMISE
The story begins with a past accident: In 1970 in Chicago, a man named BOBBY KENYON and his lover CINDY were driving a truck at full speed on a stormy night. Bobby clearly knew he should go back to be with his wife ALICE who was giving birth, but he was still hooked by Cindy. He wanted and tried to avoid her at the same time. As a result, they collided in the excitement and speed. The image of a tiger is also interspersed in the picture, clearly using the animal's ferocity to reflect Bobby's desires and loss of control. This is the earliest "original sin" moment in the entire film: he betrayed his wife and was entangled with her sister. This mistake will be passed down to the next generation.
The plot suddenly jumps to the small Kansas town of Constant in 1995. Bobby is no longer in this home. All that remains is GABE KENYON, the son of him and Alice, a talented pianist with a scar left on his face from the car accident back then. Gabe played very well at the jazz festival in town and everyone praised him, but he didn't enjoy it at all because he had to go home to take care of his mother Alice, whose mental condition was deteriorating. There is a very passionate girl named MAISIE by his side. She has always liked him, supported him and dreamed with him, such as making a musical. But Gabe has never really included her in his future plans, this will hurt Maisie a lot later.
Constant is a small town. Small towns are known for gossiping. Everyone in the town knows that Gabe's mother is "a bit crazy", and Gabe knows that too. This makes him want to leave even more. The only one who truly understood him was the town's female doctor, DR. JEAN COURTNEY . She was both a doctor and clearly had a crush on Gabe. She told him he was handsome and the scar was charming. Later, she even had a relationship with him, as if she wanted to "seize an opportunity" before he left the town. And she also wants to be like Bobby, partly wanting to run and partly wanting to go back to Chicago.