Inventing the Abbotts

“When you want it all but can't have it, there's only one way to handle life... invent it.”

Doug Holt (Joaquin Phoenix) grows up on the poorer side of a sleepy Midwestern town in the 1950s, and what he wants is Pamela Abbott (Liv Tyler), the youngest daughter of the richest family around. His brother Jacey (Billy Crudup) has no such feelings, moving between her older sisters with the aim of breaking their hearts. Pat O'Connor follows Doug as he keeps seeing Pamela, though Jacey and her father, Lloyd, both disapprove.