Institute History
Description
Michael's dead. One night he's doing his performance art piece called, "My Penis is a Man," the next day he's drinking a double espresso and he just keels over. Allison and her well groomed, financially successful friends from art school gather to pay tribute to the dead guy they once knew. Kat, a former member of the group who's wild as hell, shows up true to form and interrupts the sermon, her nose snotty, her laugh throaty—high on heroin. Kat tells Allison that she has the flu. Allison takes Kat home to take care of her.
Allison's life is perfect. Her hair is perfect. Her friends are perfect. Her fiancé is perfect. Allison designs furniture. Kat thinks she recognizes the designs. From a long time ago. Art school maybe. Designs that Kat had once created and Allison innocently improved upon. Allison got rich, Kat ended up in San Francisco living in the park and doing junk. Kat decides that she is going to mess up Allison's pristine existence.
Systematically with careless abandon and pleasure, Kat absolves Allison of her design business, her friends, and her fiancé. Allison does not fight her, she instead walks through the damage as if everything is okay.
But just when Kat has cleaned Allison's life out and vindicated herself with self satisfaction is the moment when Allison stands up and takes Kat down. Because Kat has to be held accountable for her actions. Because Kat abandoned her promise. She is a junkie. She is a train wreck. A runner. Allison knows it, because she is the same.
In the end there isn't anything or anybody left for them but each other. And that becomes their beginning.