The Town Without Me (film)



The Town Without Me is an American-Japanese supernatural science fiction thriller mystery film Based on a Japanese manga (Boku dake ga Inai Machi/Erased) by Kei Sanbe. Directed by Neill Blomkamp, a co-production between United States and Japan. The Film will star Tye Sheridan, Emily Blunt, Colin Farrell, Auli'i Cravalho, Justice Smith, Christian Convery, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Radha Mitchell and Bill Nighy.

Ideal Premise
A struggling 29-year-old comic book writer with supernatural abilities who doesn't get over the case of the murders of a young girl "Kathy" and his friend "Henry" that he didn't save which his older friend "Joe" is wrongfully responsible for. He decides to travel back in 1988 as his younger self to prevent the murders.

Ideal Plot
In the year 2006, Sawyer Finnegan is a 29-year-old struggling comic book artist in Los Angeles who occasionally experiences a phenomenon he calls "Revival": When a fatal incident is about to occur near him, he is sent a few minutes back in time to prevent it via seeing a bright blue glowing butterfly. He uses this involuntary ability to save a boy from a runaway truck, though he is hospitalized for a few days as a result. As he recovers, his co-worker, Amy Kennyman, praises him for his life-saving efforts. Later, he is visited by his mother, Sam, who reminds him of an incident that happened eighteen years ago in their hometown in Chicago: An adult named Joseph Stewart (nicknamed "Joe"), whom Sawyer had trusted, was arrested for the kidnapping and murder of three local children, two of which were Sawyer's classmates.

The next day, as Sawyer experiences another Revival, Sam takes note of a man who seemingly attempted to kidnap a child. Looking into the matter, Sam deduces that the man was the true killer from 18 years ago, but before she can inform anyone, she is murdered in Sawyer's apartment. Just as Sawyer discovers Sam's body and is accused of killing her, his Revival ability, for the first time, goes overboard by sending his 29-year-old consciousness all the way back to 1988 when he was an eleven-year-old elementary school student in Chicago. As Sawyer becomes bewildered with the situation he has been put in, he finds comfort in being able to see his mother again. Realizing being sent to this period by Revival is connected to Sam's future murder, Sawyer takes notice of Katherine Hayes, one of his classmates who was killed by the serial kidnapper, noticing a bruise on her leg. Upon the suggestion of his friend Kaleb, Sawyer reads an essay written by Katherine, which further hints at her troubled life at home. Wanting to understand Katherine more, Sawyer decides to invite her to his birthday party, hoping to change the future so that she will not be killed.

During an ice skating race against a classmate, Sawyer holds back from winning to avoid inadvertently trying to change the future, angering the classmate and disappointing Katherine. After learning that Katherine's birthday is on the same day as his, March 2, Sawyer deduces that she will be abducted on March 1, as the abduction was in March but before her birthday. Sawyer spends some time with Joe, still convinced that he is not the kidnapper. Afterward, Sawyer finds Katherine beaten up in her home's shed, learning of the full nature of her abusive relationship with her mother, Alice. The next day, Sawyer speaks with his teacher, Gideon Gates, who explains how he has suspected Alice of abuse for almost a year but hasn't been able to find proof to convict her. Later, Sawyer stands up for Katherine when she is accused of stealing the class' lunch money, before taking her up a mountain to show her a frost-laden "Christmas" tree.

With help from Sam, Sawyer manages to invite Katherine out with him to the local science center. During the outing, Sawyer feels a sense of déjà vu, becoming worried that he's repeating the same things. After March 1, the day Katherine originally disappeared, passes without incident, both Sawyer and Katherine are able to celebrate their birthday the next day, with Sawyer confident he has managed to change history. The following day, however, Sawyer is shocked to find Katherine has not come to school. As Sawyer becomes angry that he was not able to make a difference about Katherine's disappearance, another schoolgirl goes missing several days later. After witnessing Alice throw out Katherine's belongings, Sawyer suddenly finds himself back in 2006, still under suspicion of Sam's murder and forced to go on the run from the police. Sawyer soon comes across Amy, who believes him to be innocent and lets him stay at her house, where he learns the details of Katherine's disappearance did change slightly because of his actions. The next day, as Sawyer investigates as much as he can, Amy stops her manager from reporting Sawyer to the police. Later that night, after helping Sawyer hide elsewhere, Amy receives a text from Sam's phone before becoming trapped in a house fire. Coming across the burning house, Sawyer rushes in to rescue Amy, who slips her phone into his pocket before the manager takes over the rescue. Finding the message left on Amy's phone, Sawyer calls a number that Sam had left behind, arranging a meeting with a journalist acquaintance of hers named Jack Simmons. Jack tells Sawyer about the last phone call he received from Sam, in which she claimed to know who the true kidnapper was but was unable to tell him before she was killed. He also explains the reported details surrounding Katherine's death, noticing Joe's framing matches with another kidnapping incident in a nearby town and deducing the true kidnapper was the one who killed Sam. While Sawyer looks up Jack's findings on the kidnapping incident, including a list of previous suspects, Jack goes to the hospital to meet with Amy, only to discover that her mother has swapped places with her so she can prove Sawyer's innocence. Amy meets with Sawyer, informing him of a mysterious man named Silas Kleezo who may have been responsible for the fire, but the police arrive and arrest Sawyer. As he is taken away, Sawyer spots the man he saw leaving his apartment on the night of his own mother's murder.

Determined not to let things end the way it is, Sawyer successfully triggers his Revival through sheer willpower, returning him to February 28, 1988. During school the next day, Kaleb confronts Sawyer about Katherine's situation at home, admitting that he has known for a while now about the domestic violence, and offers his assistance. Following the birthday party on March 2, Sawyer throws a rock through Joe's window to bring about the police, providing Joe with an alibi for his whereabouts. Afterward, Sawyer seeks out Alice and comes close to pushing her down some stairs, but is stopped by Kaleb, who convinces him to choose a different course of action. Instead, Sawyer decides to "abduct" Katherine with her permission, taking her to an abandoned bus to hide out for a few days until she is confirmed to be safe. On the night of March 3, however, an unknown intruder enters the bus while Katherine is sleeping. Katherine manages to hide from the intruder who exits the bus, leaving behind a footprint on a box he kicked. The next evening, as Gates goes with some people from the Child Consultation Center to investigate Katherine's house, Katherine tells Sawyer and the others about the previous night's intruder. Looking into a rucksack that was left behind, they find tools that Sawyer recognizes as the ones used to implicate Joe for Katherine's murder, as well as a briquette presumed to belong to the killer. Realizing he is still stuck in the loop of abduction murders, Sawyer takes Katherine to spend the night at his house, where Sam had been expecting them. The next day, Katherine has her first home-cooked breakfast in her life, leading her to start crying. Sawyer and Sam later accompany Katherine back to her house to confront Alice.

As Alice reacts violently to the accusations of Sawyer and Sam, she is caught red-handed by Gates and the consultants, who suggest that Katherine be taken into custody. Just as Alice prepares to storm off to the police, she is approached by her estranged mother, who regrets not being able to support her after having her divorce her abusive husband and raise Katherine on her own, leading Alice to lament her own actions. With Katherine going off to live with her maternal grandmother, Sawyer turns his attention towards the other two potential victims; Henry Scott, his classmate, and Natasha Wang, a student from the neighboring school. While keeping a watch on both Henry and Natasha, Sawyer discovers a stash of candy in Gates' car when being given a ride home by him. Later, Sawyer goes with Kaleb and Henry to inspect the bus, the contents of which have now been removed. Sawyer and his friends approach Natasha, and despite some initial resistance, she starts joining them at their hideout. Later, Sawyer shadows Melissa, who has kept to herself since being accused of framing Katherine. She seemingly disappears after going to the bathroom. Sawyer then notices a truck belonging to Joe's family leaving the scene and he asks Gates to follow it in his car. Along the way, Gates reveals himself to be the killer and that he realized that Sawyer was the one thwarting his plans. He explains that he used Melissa as bait to lure Sawyer into the stolen car, which he then rolls into a frozen lake with Sawyer trapped inside.

Following Gates's attempt to kill him, Sawyer wakes up in the year 2003 after spending fifteen years in a coma. His body continued to grow and his mother cared for him daily. However, he has lost his memories of past events. Sawyer is visited by Kaleb and Henry, as well as Katherine, who has become Henry's wife and mother to their infant son who is given the feminine name Mirai ('future"). Some of Sawyer's memories begin to return due to his friends' visits. Later, he meets a leukemia patient named Meadow, who is about to undergo surgery, as well as Gates himself, who changed his name to Silas Kleezo and became a politician. Two days before Meadow's surgery, Gates takes Sawyer to the rooftop, where he confirms Gates' suspicions that he has regained his memories. He told Kaleb and Henry that Gates was the killer. Back on the rooftop, Gates boasts that his past crimes have already passed the statute of limitations and he cannot be arrested. He reveals he has arranged to kill Meadow with a sabotaged IV drip and to frame Sawyer for her murder. Gates threatens to throw Sawyer from the roof and make it look like a suicide. However, Sawyer calls Gates' bluff, stating that Gates can't live without him. This seems true when Gates initially stops Sawyer from rolling his wheelchair off the roof. However, Gates lets Sawyer drop and prepares to commit suicide himself. He then discovers that Sawyer has been safely caught by his friends, and Gates is finally arrested for attempted murder. Seven years later, in 2010, Sawyer has become a successful comic book artist. One day, Sawyer surprisingly encounters Amy under the same bridge where they earlier used to sit, and where he had disappeared during his last Revival trip into the not-too-distant past, which has now reactivated itself.

Ideal Cast

 * Tye Sheridan as Sawyer Finnegan/(藤沼 悟, Fujinuma Satoru), a 29 year old comic book writer who travels back to prevent the murder case and find the culprit who is really responsible for the killing.
 * Christian Convery as Young Sawyer.
 * Emily Blunt as Samantha "Sam" Finnegan/((藤沼 佐知子, Fujinuma Sachiko), Sawyer's mother who is a reporter.
 * Colin Farrell as Gideon Gates/(八代 学, Yashiro Gaku), the teacher in a school where Sawyer goes and secretly the serial killer (the main antagonist).
 * Auli'i Cravalho as Amy Kennyman/(片桐 愛梨, Katagiri Airi), Sawyer's cheery best friend and co-worker at the pizza restaurant.
 * Mila Harris as Young Amy.
 * Justice Smith as Joseph "Joe" Stewart/(白鳥 潤, Shiratori Jun), a food delivery boy who is a good friend of Sawyer and is wrongfully convicted and mistaken to be the serial killer for the murder case.
 * Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Katherine "Kathy" Hayes/(雛月 加代, Hinazuki Kayo), a 10 year old girl who is a victim to the serial killer and Sawyer's childhood love interest.
 * Imogen Poots as Adult Kathy.
 * Radha Mitchell as Alice Hayes/(雛月 明美, Hinazuki Akemi), Kathy's abusive mother who neglects and hits her.
 * Bill Nighy as Jack Simmons/(さわだ, Sawada), one of Sam's friends.
 * Ja'Siah Young as Kaleb/(小林 賢也, Kobayashi Kenya), Sawyer's childhood best friend who helps him to get both Kathy and Henry safe from the serial killer.
 * Isaiah Mustafa as Adult Kaleb.
 * Archie Yates as Henry Scott/(杉田 広美, Sugita Hiromi), another victim to the serial killer and one of Sawyer's best friends.
 * John Bradley as Adult Henry.
 * Kathleen Chalfant as Kathy's Grandmother, Alice's estranged mother who has a strained relationship with Alice due to her divorce with her abusive husband before finding out about Kathy's danger.
 * Lori Pelenise Tuisano as Amy's Mother
 * Ariana Greenblatt as Meadow/(久美, Kumi), a 9 year old girl who suffers from leukemia.

Trivia

 * The Characters will be named in English than the ones in the Japanese manga and anime.
 * This Movie contains violent abusing scenes and heartbreaking scenes.
 * Justice Smith and Bill Nighy second movie to star in after Pokémon Detective Pikachu which also co produced with Toho.
 * Sony's second collaboration with Skydance after Life (2017).