Institute History
Description
In early 2000, the pumping Internet economy provided purpose and perks to hundreds of eager Gen Y college grads: adolescent dotcom millionaires preached the gospel of market revolution, and stock options were debated like Britney Spears on lunch break.
Yet 34-year-old Madeline Bergen is going nowhere. Assistant to a photo archivist at a prestigious Boston university, Madeline is professionally and emotionally paralyzed, her boyfriend has moved out, and her history degree remains inexplicably unfinished. When an unexpected opportunity lands her a job interview at a fast-paced dotcom, Madeline reluctantly heeds the call. She finds herself seduced by the glamour and youthfulness of the freestyle internet culture, alluringly pitched by the visionary CEO Marie Ridings. Ridings encourages Madeline to join her staff in marketing the most important political and social photographs of the 20th century. Transfixed by Marie, Madeline scores the position, though not without a major resume makeover.
The stimulating new environment triggers a radical personality shift in Madeline, which results in extreme and unexpected behavior. Her deepening intensity is barely noted by her new work colleagues, because it is so in sync with the looseness of the workplace and the up and down fortunes of the company. Madeline finds her euphoric flights of creativity actually rewarded.
Believing she has finally "found herself", Madeline does not recognize the chameleon-like illness that is driving her mania. Intoxicated by her newfound power and seductiveness, Madeline ignores the concerns of friends and family as her sense of reality becomes dangerously distorted. Her rising euphoria and transgression of boundaries drive her towards increasingly reckless behavior. By the end of the film, Madeline must decide whether she is willing to pay the price of living a "normal" life.