Abstract Faces

In a penthouse bedroom, WES (25) is being sexually assaulted by an unknown attacker. Six hours earlier, Wes, a successful public relations agent, and his friend PATS (40s) are seen attending a New Year’s Eve celebration at a nightclub. While there, Wes meets ADAM (40s), a personal friend of Pats. He also meets a man named SERG (30s), who showcases an immediate attraction towards Wes. Finally, Wes meets an esteemed reporter named ROBYN (50s). Robyn strikes up an easy friendship with Wes, recognizing him as a fellow storyteller. Wes, however, responds that he doesn’t have a story to tell. Robyn remarks that one day, perhaps he will.
As the night grows long, Adam invites Wes, Pats, and Serg back to his place for an afterparty. On the walk to the afterparty, Pats notices that Serg’s behavior towards Wes borderlines on controlling and aggressive. Her and Adam shrug it off, however, happy to simply see Wes happy. Once at Adam’s apartment, Wes wanders the penthouse and contemplates an abstract painting. The afterparty carries on, and as it winds down, Serg disappears. Pats becomes separated from Wes and heads home without him. Wes becomes highly inebriated, and he makes his way to a bedroom. Then, an unseen person approaches and rapes him. Wes internally withdraws to survive the experience, his eyes locked on the abstract painting the entire time and on the semblance of an anguished face that he sees within it.
In the aftermath, Wes does not tell anyone about his experience. Sometime later, he is attempting to live his life and endure the memories. He also faces criticisms from colleague GINA (30s), who notices that Wes has been distracted at work and drinking heavily during client gatherings. Wes assures her that he has everything under control. He also teeters on the edge of a relationship with a man named John (45), but he finds himself unable to emotionally engage. In an attempt to cope, Wes spirals further into patterns of drugs and alcohol.
Wes has a chance encounter with Serg on the street, causing Wes to become highly distressed and rush off. Wes also runs back into Robyn, and the two of them advance their acquaintanceship to friendship. Finally, while at a work event with Gina and Pats,
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Wes runs back into Adam. Wes has a panic attack and runs off. Pats pursues him. When Pats questions Wes over what is wrong, Wes admits that, on New Year’s Eve, Adam raped him. Wes then flees the event as Gina looks on with disapproval.
Wes considers telling more of his story to Pats, but she seems uncomfortable. Then, Gina calls to tell Wes he’s been fired. As Wes hits rock bottom, he goes to a rape support group. Wes begins a struggle for recovery, and his and Robyn’s friendship blossoms as she offers him support. She also offers to make Wes’s story public, but he refuses. Meanwhile, Pats hits an unchecked downward spiral of her own, leading her to die in a drunken car crash.
Wes perseveres, and he makes efforts to get his job back. Gina welcomes him with open arms, recognizing that he’s working his way through recovery. Then, she introduces him to a new client, Adam. Wes panics, and he is forced to tell Gina what happened to him to explain his behavior. Gina, however, suggests that the experience be pushed under the rug. Wes refuses. He goes to the police, intent on finally making his story known. Then, he backs away when he realizes that Pats, the closest thing he has to a corroborating witness, is dead.
Wes heads home, emotionally drained and devastated. He sends a letter to Robyn, apologizing for not being strong enough and thanking her for her friendship. Robyn rushes to Wes’s apartment, expecting the worse. When she gets there, she finds paramedics in Wes’s apartment. However, they part, and Wes is revealed, having pulled back from suicide. He looks at Robyn with a weary determination and tells her that he is ready to make his story known.