When the small criminal Macklin is released from prison, he learns that his brother was shot by two mob killers. He didn't know that the bank he robbed was owned by the syndicate. When he's almost offed by a killer too, he pays the mobster Jake Menner a visit and demands reparation. His friend Cody helps him to gratify his thirst for revenge.

Christopher Plummer plays Flash, a curmudgeon with a hankering for classic movies and booze. Cameron is a volatile teen who commits grand theft auto just because the car is an exact replica from Christine. Their relationship is forged in the darkness of a movie theater and fueled by a mutual appreciation of rebellion and cinema. Cameron enters a student film contest, though he lacks the resources of his peers. Learning that Flash is a retired Hollywood gaffer-and the only surviving crew member from Citizen Kane-Cameron follows him to his home at the Motion Picture Residence for the Elderly, a colony of aging film folk set aside by the industry. A quirky fellowship develops, in which Flash and his friends help Cameron make his film, and, in doing so, change his life.

"Case 39" centers on an idealistic social worker who saves an abused 10-year-old girl from her parents only to discover that the girl is not as innocent as she thinks.