Unstable thirty-something introvert, who works as a photographer's assistant, becomes obsessed with his underage female neighbor, who, to his horror, reciprocates his feelings due to possible Electra complex.
Paul, a shy photographer of 30 years, avoids relationships in favor of the safety landscape photography. He is drawn into intimacy by a teenage youth who moves in next door and insinuates herself into his life.—<[email protected]>
Somewhat controversial psychological drama about Paul, a somewhat unstable introverted loner in his early thirties, who works as a photographer's assistant and prefers solitude over prolonged human contact. However, he does love both his job and his hobby - visiting an abandoned fort on the beach nearby and photographing the haunting scenery there. When his boss, an expert in erotic photography, leaves for a day, his attractive swinging wife arrives at the studio and tries to seduce Paul, but he quickly rejects her. His attitude changes, however, when he notices his next door neighbor, a high school student named Lisa Welch, in a convenience store with her mother. He becomes somewhat obsessed with the girl and even spies on her naked one night. Surprisingly, she eventually approaches him and they begin to hang out together on her insistence, which results in her attempt to seduce him. This backfires, but he does open up to her and she shows unusual maturity, dominance and understanding for him. Since she still wants them to be together, Paul must decide whether to embrace this forbidden twisted love they share or fight his feelings, especially since there's a remote possibility that Lisa is in fact his long lost daughter given for adoption at birth.
Paul Wunderlich is a somewhat unstable 31-year-old loner, who works as a photographer's assistant and enjoys his solitude. However, although introverted and shy by nature, he is still able to carry a conversation, if need be, and loves his job despite having to work with people. He also has a hobby - visiting an abandoned fort on the nearby beach (the city he lives in seems to be Seattle) and looking for haunting places to photograph there. His boss is an expert in erotic photography and the two have a good working relationship, but Paul is none the less trying to sell his house in order to raise enough money and possibly start his own business. One day at the studio, the boss' attractive wife revels to Paul that they have an open marriage and tries to seduce him, but he quickly rejects her, not wanting any possible complications. His attitude change however, when he sees his next door neighbor, a high school student called Lisa Welch, in a convenience store with her mother, while shopping there one day. He becomes somewhat obsessed with the girl, following her home afterwards and even spying on her in the evening while throwing out the trash. In an attempt to stop himself from thinking about her, he visits a strip club, but only ends up drunk. On his way home that evening, Paul notices Lisa in her window undressing and touching herself. This stuns him for a moment, but when he hears the sound of a police car, he runs back home and vomits. A few days later, Lisa rings his doorbell and tries to sell him some cookies for school's charity event. Not having enough change, he lets her into the house to wait until he gets his wallet. Inside, she notices that he has a photo of her, which inexplicably not only does not make her freak out but she even proceeds to discuss it with him in a friendly way. After her visit, Paul's female real estate agent arrives with news of an offer for the house, but Paul rejects it claiming it's less than what he asked for as he needs more money for his business plan to become feasible. The next day, Lisa skips school but pretends she didn't and asks Paul to take her there in his car. During the ride, however, she convinces him to take her to the beach instead. Lisa also asks Paul to comment on her mother's short skirt she's wearing for a school project, which makes Paul immediately show both interest and great discomfort. They also discuss his age for the first time. At the beach, he gives her a sweater to wear and she pretends to be the figurehead of a wrecked old sailing ship there. Paul also takes her to his favorite place, the fort. She gets him to open up to her there. Among other things he explains his interest in photography to her. Eventually, she invites him to her room, while her mother is out, to show him her photo album and the pictures of her younger self. She then gets him to talk about his first crush and tries to seduce him with her story. This almost works, so she kisses him and he finally gives in. Their first night together, however, does not go well at all, as he becomes impatient and rough with her, and, consumed with desire, ejaculates prematurely, which leaves her in tears. Realizing what he did, he becomes angry at himself but, surprisingly, she once again shows great maturity and understanding for him, and still wants them to be together. Paul tries avoiding her after that, but she keeps coming back to his house trying to visit him. One night, after getting scared by a pushy prostitute, Paul finally decides to let Lisa in and opens up to her once again, telling her about his long lost daughter given for adoption at birth, after he, at 17, made a 15-year-old pregnant, and abortions were still illegal back then. Lisa, whose father is never seen nor mentioned in the movie, begins crying after hearing this but avoids commenting on it any further, which confuses Paul. The implication here is either that she could actually be the very daughter Paul lost or that her father left her in a similar way, which gave her a form of Electra complex. Either way, this issue is not addressed further in the film. In the morning, Paul looks through the window and notices it rained. He then sees a small and somewhat symbolic hole in the US flag he keeps attached to his door and intensely recalls through intercut flashbacks his passionate second time with Lisa the night before, which angers him again. However, after recalling his climax in the flashback, Paul smiles and returns back to bed, where Lisa is sleeping in the nude and apparently also happy. The ending implies that he chose to stay with her despite everything but it is very much open for interpretation.
