Dopamine (2003)

Synopsis: Rand's (John Livingston) start-up company, Emerge, is a long time partnership with two good friends, Johnson (Rueben Grundy) and Winston (Bruno Campos). As the economic climate clamps down, they... Rand's (John Livingston) start-up company, Emerge, is a long time partnership with two good friends, Johnson (Rueben Grundy) and Winston (Bruno Campos). As the economic climate clamps down, they are forced by their venture capital investors to "test" their product's synchronicity with the perceived target market: kids.

That night, drinking in a bar, lamenting their predicament, Rand and Winston meet Sarah (Sabrina Lloyd) for the first time. Even though sparks fly for Rand, it is Winston who makes the alpha dog move. Unbeknownst to Rand, Sarah goes home with Winston for a one-night stand, further complicating the future.

Ironically, it is Sarah's school and classroom that the investors have lined up as the beta testing lab. For Winston, it is a blatant reminder of a bad night. For Rand, it is the opportunity for his attraction to be analyzed, catalogued and evaluated. For Sarah, it is an embarrassing reminder of her actions but the catalyst to all she believes.

As Rand and Sarah begin their own unusual courtship dance, they find their toes continually getting stepped on, but they have an unconscious hope that their own lack of harmony is due only to a poor sense of timing. Rand, in his ever-analytical state decides to create a mate for their animated creation in hopes of understanding his own reservations about love.

Rand's views on love have been formed as he watched the storybook love affair between his Mom and Dad slowly dwindle to nothing because of altered brain chemistry in the form of Alzheimer's. If love was anything more than just a chemical or biological influence, how could it possibly disappear completely?

Sarah's definitions and walls come from a naïve affair when she was younger and has compromised her ability to trust and move on with her life.

Rand and Sarah's empathy for each other opens doors within themselves, but as the relationship culminates, they retreat back to their own stubborn beliefs. When Rand discovers Sarah and Winston's tryst, it is the emotional explosion that brings down the fragile house of cards.

Just when it appeared it couldn't get any worse, Emerge joins the ranks of failed companies, a victim of the plummeting economy with the venture capital investors finally pulling the plug.

Rand, feeling strangely liberated and defenseless, finds himself open to the possibility and opportunities the world has presented. He realizes his view of love is lacking in the only thing that makes love true: believing in it.

Reciprocally, Rand helps Sarah realize that she can't move forward without reconciling her past and facing up to the phantom love she holds unrealistically on a pedestal.

With each other's help, they journey out onto life's thin branch, searching for the answer. The question is, will they find and believe in it together? -- © Dopamine Productions [More]

Starring: John Livingston, Sabrina Lloyd, Bruno Campos, Rueben Grundy

Starring: John Livingston, Sabrina Lloyd, Bruno Campos, Rueben Grundy, William Windom, Nicole Wilder

Director: Mark Decena

Director: Mark Decena
Screenwriter: Timothy Breitbach, Mark Decena
Producer: Debbie Brubaker, Tad Fettig
Composer: Eric Holland
Studio: Sundance Film Series

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