Occupational therapist Dian Fossey is inspired by anthropologist Louis Leakey to devote her life to the study of primates. She writes ceaselessly to Leakey for a job cataloging and studying the rare mountain gorillas of Africa. Following him to a lecture in Louisville, Kentucky in 1966, she convinces him of her conviction. They travel to the Congo, where Leakey and his foundation equip her to make contact with the gorillas, and introduce her to a local animal tracker, Sembagare. Settling deep in the jungle, Fossey and Sembagare locate a troop of gorillas, but are displaced by the events of the Congo Crisis and forcibly evicted from their research site by Congolese soldiers, who accuse Fossey of being a foreign spy. Fossey is resigned to returning to the United States, but Sembagare and her temporary host Rosamond Carr motivate her to stay in Africa. Fossey establishes new research efforts in the jungles of neighboring Rwanda, where rampant poaching become apparent when she discovers several traps near her new base at Karisoke. Nevertheless, Fossey and her colleagues make headway with the gorillas, taking account of their communication and social groups. Her work impresses Leakey and gains international attention. National Geographic, which funds her efforts, dispatches photographer Bob Campbell to highlight her research. Fossey, initially unreceptive, grows increasingly attached to Campbell after several photo sessions with the gorillas, and the two become lovers, in spite of Campbell's marriage. Campbell proposes to divorce his wife and marry Fossey but insists that she would have to spend time away from Karisoke and her gorillas, leading her to end their relationship. Fossey forms an emotional bond with a gorilla named Digit, and attempts to prevent the export of other gorillas by trader Van Vecten. Appalled by the poaching of the gorillas, Fossey complains to the Rwandan government and is dismissed, but a government minister promises to hire an anti-poaching squad. Fossey's frustrations reach a climax when Digit is beheaded by poachers. She leads numerous anti-poaching patrols, burns down the poachers' villages, and even stages a mock execution of one of the offenders, serving to alienate some of her research assistants and gaining her various enemies. Sembagare expresses concern at Fossey's opposition to the emergent industry of gorilla tourism, but she nonchalantly dismisses his worries. On Boxing Day, 1985, Fossey is murdered in the bedroom of her cabin by an assassin with a machete. At a funeral attended by Sembagare, Carr, and others, she is buried in the same cemetery where Digit and other gorillas had been laid to rest. Sembagare symbolically links the graves of Fossey and Digit with stones as a sign that their souls rest in peace together before leaving. An epilogue text explains that Fossey's actions helped save the gorillas from extinction, while her death remains a mystery.

The Battle of France rages in June 1940. It has turned against both the British and French. RAF pilots evacuate a small airfield in advance of German advance forces. The pilots, along with British and French military, leave just as Luftwaffe aircraft arrive and execute a heavy strafing attack. As the deserted beaches of Dunkirk are shown, where retreating British forces were overwhelmed and driven into the sea by the Wehrmacht, the BBC reports British Prime Minister Winston Churchill 's declaration that "what General Weygand called the 'Battle of France' is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin." In neutral Switzerland, the German ambassador, Baron von Richter, proposes new peace terms to his British counterpart, Sir David Kelly, stating that with the fall of France and U.S. still determinedly isolationist continuing to fight alone is hopeless. Kelly retorts, "Don't threaten or dictate to us until you're marching up Whitehall... and even then we won't listen." Hitler delays, hoping that Britain will accept peace terms; British commanders use the delay to build up their strength, training pilots and ground controllers. The campaign to conquer Britain by air begins with the German air force launching an early morning assault on " Eagle Day ". It seeks to destroy the RAF on the ground before it has time to launch its Spitfire and Hurricane fighters. Two British radar stations at Ventnor and Dover are put out of action and a number of RAF airfields are damaged or destroyed, but losses are relatively light. A gruelling battle of attrition ensues, with airfields in Southern England under repeated attack. Tensions develop between commanding officers of RAF 11 Group, Keith Park, and 12 Group, Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Leigh-Mallory is tasked with protecting 11 Group's airfields while Park's forces are aloft engaging the enemy, but in raid after raid 12 Group aircraft are nowhere to be seen. Called to meet Dowding, Leigh-Mallory explains that the " Big Wing " tactic he has devised to assemble an air armada to attack the Germans from above takes time to form up, while Park complains that it takes too long, and the tactic is simply not working. The turning point in the Battle occurs when a squadron of German bombers lost in bad weather at night jettison their bombs, which accidentally fall on London. In retaliation to what was seen as attacks on London, the RAF attacks Berlin. An enraged Adolf Hitler publicly orders London to be razed. This takes the pressure off the RAF Fighter airfields, which had been suffering for some time before. Hermann Göring arrives in France to personally command the assault, confident that the end of the campaign nears. Their first northbound sorties skirt the RAF, which is still defending its airfields to the south, and the Germans bomb unopposed. Night attacks follow and London burns. To supplement Commonwealth forces, the RAF has begun accepting and training foreign pilots who have escaped German-occupied countries. The main difficulty is their lack of English-language skills. While on a training flight, a Free Polish Air Force squadron accidentally runs into an unescorted flight of German bombers. Ignoring commands to avoid engagement by their British training officer, they peel off and shoot down several bombers with aggressive if unorthodox tactics. Park rewards the unit by elevating it to operational status, leading Dowding to do the same for the Canadian and Czech trainees. While discussing the day's events, Park and Dowding examine the German switch to London. Given a respite, Park notes that he will be able to repair his airfields and bring his squadrons back to near full strength. Dowding observes that although enemy bombers can reach London, their fighter escort can only provide ten minutes of cover. He concludes that "turning on London could be the Germans' biggest blunder." The next German daytime raid is met by large groups of RAF fighters attacking en masse, which overwhelm the German raiders. Luftwaffe losses are so severe an incensed Göring orders German fighters remain with the bombers. Deprived of both of altitude and speed, they are easy prey for British fighters attacking from above. For the first time German losses outweigh British. The climactic air battle of 15 September 1940 arrives, with British ground control ordering every squadron into the air, leaving no reserve. Intense combat over London leaves both sides with heavy losses. The next day the RAF anxiously await a raid that never comes. Both German air and naval forces withdraw from the coast, leaving airfields abandoned and harbors empty. Göring leaves the front, accusing his commanders of betrayal. Dowding looks out over the gardens and up to the sky where the words of Winston Churchill appear onscreen: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

In 1194, English nobleman Robin of Locksley has spent years in an Ayyubid prison in Jerusalem, having followed King Richard the Lionheart on the Third Crusade. Robin and his comrade Peter Dubois escape, saving the life of a Moor named Azeem Al Bakir. Mortally wounded, Peter makes Robin swear to protect his sister Marian, and Azeem vows to accompany Robin until his life debt is repaid. In King Richard's absence, George, the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham, plots to seize the throne for himself, and has Robin's father killed for remaining loyal to King Richard. Arriving home four months later, Robin saves a young boy named Wulf from the Sheriff's ruthless cousin, Guy of Gisbourne. He finds his father Lord Locksley's corpse and his family's servant Duncan blinded by Gisbourne; Duncan explains that Lord Locksley was falsely accused of devil worship. The Sheriff consults the witch Mortianna, who foresees King Richard's return and that Robin and Azeem "will be our deaths". Robin tells Marian of Peter's death, but she sees little need for his protection. Fleeing the Sheriff's forces into Sherwood Forest, Robin, Duncan and Azeem encounter a group of outlaws led by Wulf's father Little John, who challenges Robin to a duel. Robin wins and earns John's friendship but the bandit Will Scarlet refuses to trust him. Confronting the corrupt Bishop of Hereford for his role in Lord Locksley's death, Robin humiliates the Sheriff, who sends Gisbourne to terrorize the peasants in the search for "Robin of the Hood". Despite the price on his head, Robin shapes the growing band of outlaws into a formidable force against the Sheriff. They rob rich folk passing through the forest and distribute the stolen wealth and food among the poor, and coerce the beer-loving Friar Tuck to join them. Marian offers Robin any aid she can and they fall in love. Robin's success and public support infuriate the Sheriff, who worsens his abuse of the peasants and kills Gisbourne for failing to stop the outlaws. Mortianna advises the Sheriff to recruit fearsome Celtic warriors from Scotland and that he must marry someone of royal blood: Marian, King Richard's cousin. Betrayed by the Bishop, Marian is taken prisoner and Duncan rides to warn Robin, unknowingly followed by the Sheriff's men. They storm Sherwood with Celtic reinforcements and burn Robin's hideout, capturing many of the outlaws and killing Duncan. With Robin presumed dead, the Sheriff threatens the prisoners and their families, forcing Marian to agree to marriage. Will bargains with the Sheriff to betray Robin and returns to Sherwood, but instead reveals that he is Robin's half-brother, and they reconcile. On the day of the wedding, Robin and his men infiltrate Nottingham Castle and save the outlaws from being hanged. With the help of Azeem's explosive powder, they free the prisoners, and Azeem inspires the peasants to revolt, forcing the Sheriff to retreat with Marian into his keep. The Bishop hastily performs the marriage but before the Sheriff can consummate it, Robin bursts in. Friar Tuck finds the Bishop fleeing with gold, burdens him with additional treasure and defenestrates him. In a fierce duel, Robin kills the Sheriff, and Azeem kills Mortianna in defense of Robin, thus fulfilling his life-debt. Later, Robin and Marian's wedding in Sherwood is interrupted by the return of King Richard, who blesses the marriage and thanks Robin for saving his throne.

Meteorology student Pavel "Pasha" Danilov is spending the summer as an intern at an isolated, Soviet-era weather station on a remote Arctic island with only the older, experienced geophysicist Sergei Gulybin for company. Their sole job is to collect weather and tide statistics every four hours and transmit them by radio to the meteorology center. Sergei takes the boat on an unauthorized fishing trip for a few days. When the radio operator urgently asks to speak with Sergei, Pasha makes up excuses. Eventually Pasha is told that Sergei's wife and young son have been "gravely injured" in an accident, although it is apparent they have been killed. He is told that a ship, Academic Obruchev, is coming to get them. The news keeps Pasha awake, but when he does sleep he oversleeps; the data goes unrecorded. He hastily enters fake numbers in the logbook. Sergei comes ashore with trout and tells Pasha about his wife craving salted trout during her pregnancy. Pasha starts to say something, but Sergei interrupts and teaches him how to fillet a fish. Sergei quickly figures out that Pasha made up the numbers and explodes in anger. He tells him that the station has been continuously occupied since 1935, and that no one had faked the numbers out of sheer laziness, and that now all their work is worthless. He accuses Pasha of being a "tourist" in the Arctic in order to write a pointless essay, "How I Ended This Summer" (a play on the clichéd "How I Spent My Summer Vacation.") Sergei tells him an intimidating story about the time one geophysicist apparently killed the other due to their strained relationship. Frightened, Pasha does not tell Sergei about his family. When Sergei leaves to get more trout, Pasha is told that the ship is stuck in ice, but that a helicopter will come before the weather worsens. Pasha, carrying a rifle, heads to the lagoon to meet the helicopter. Pasha lights a flare, but the pilot cannot see it due to heavy fog and flies away. Pasha then notices bear pawprints. He sees the distinct white shape of a polar bear. The bear chases him. He begins to descend a steep embankment and trips. Pasha wakes up in Sergei's boat. As they disembark, Pasha tries to say that he needs to tell Sergei something, then finally blurts out that Sergei's family is dead. Sergei comes toward him, and Pasha, with an injured leg, falls to the ground. Thinking Sergei is going to attack him, Pasha fires at him but misses. He then runs away while Sergei picks up his gun and fires at him, and then keeps shooting into the air. Pasha takes up residence in an old abandoned cabin. He wakes up to hear Sergei outside and hides, still afraid. Sergei says he wants to talk to him. Sergei, who is carrying his rifle, hears Pasha step on something that makes a large cracking sound. Thinking Pasha fired at him, he fires his own rifle. Pasha runs away. Pasha huddles by an old radioisotope thermoelectric generator to keep warm before realizing he is exposing himself to radiation. He sneaks into the cabin when Sergei is away and tries to contact the main station for help but cannot reach anyone. Starving, he steals Sergei's fish. He screams and curses Sergei. He hangs fish up on the isotope beacon; he later sneaks back into the cabin and replaces Sergei's stash of fish with contaminated fish. One night Sergei sees the disheveled Pasha looking in the cabin window. He signals to Pasha to come inside and have some fish. He says the Academic Obruchev made it through the ice and will come in three days. Pasha confesses that the fish has been contaminated. Sergei goes to vomit up the fish he has just eaten. Sergei returns and says only that they do not have to tell anyone what has happened. Three days later, the Academic arrives. Sergei tells Pasha he plans to stay on the island. Pasha threatens to tell what has happened to force Sergei to get medical help. Sergei grabs Pasha, and hugs him, telling him that he needs to stay on the island alone.

The film opens and follows a young man, Martin, traveling on an overnight train from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh. Martin sedates a woman with a syringe full of narcotics, rapes her, slices her forearm with a razor blade, then drinks her blood, allowing her to slowly bleed to death. The next morning, he is met at the train station by his elderly cousin, Tata Cuda, who escorts him to a second train destined for Braddock, Pennsylvania. Martin claims to be much older than his appearance would suggest. He has romantic monochrome visions of religious icons, vampiric seductions, and torch-carrying mobs, but whether these are memories or fantasies is not specified. Cuda has reluctantly agreed to give Martin room and board alongside his granddaughter, Christina. Cuda is a Lithuanian Catholic who treats Martin like an Old World vampire, referring to him as " Nosferatu." He tries unsuccessfully to repel Martin with strings of garlic and a crucifix. Martin mocks these attempts. Christina is also highly skeptical and critical of Cuda's beliefs, and thinks Martin should receive psychiatric treatment. Cuda warns that if Martin murders anyone in Braddock, he will stake him through the heart. Martin seeks advice from a local radio disc jockey, who dubs him "The Count." He rejects many common perceptions about vampires, saying there is no "magic stuff." The DJ's listeners consider Martin to be a hit. Martin gets a job at Cuda's grocery store delivering groceries to customers. One of his customers, Abby Santini, a depressed housewife, becomes taken with Martin. Martin phones the radio show host to describe his infatuation with Abby and senses that she wants to have sex with him. Martin confides that he has never had sex with a woman who was awake. One day, unbeknownst to his family, Martin goes to Pittsburgh and targets a woman he sees at a grocery store. Believing her to be alone while her husband is away on business, he breaks into her house but finds her in bed with a lover. After a series of struggles, Martin kills and feeds on the man instead of the woman, then drugs and rapes the woman before leaving the scene. After Sunday church, Cuda brings home Father Howard, asking about the possibility of exorcism and demon possession. Father Howard calls Father Zulemas at Cuda's request. Together, Cuda and Zulemas confront Martin and attempt to perform an exorcism on him. At this point, Martin has a vision of people trying to exorcise him, then fleeing. Martin then escapes from Cuda and Zuelmas himself. Later that night, Martin terrorizes Cuda in a playground, donning a cape and false fangs. When Cuda attempts to strike him with his walking cane, Martin removes his teeth and makeup, stating, "It's just a costume... It's only a costume," then drifts away into the night. Christina, becoming increasingly frustrated by her disagreements with Cuda, ultimately moves out of his house to live with her boyfriend Arthur and bids Martin goodbye. Later, Martin has sexual intercourse with Abby and they begin an affair which lessens his appetite for blood. Worried about experiencing withdrawal, Martin attacks a pair of homeless derelicts and narrowly escapes the police. Upon returning to Braddock, he visits Abby only to discover that she has committed suicide by cutting her wrists in a bathtub. Cuda, who has learned of Abby's death, believes Martin to be her killer and fatally stakes him through the heart before burying him in a backyard flower bed. Radio callers inquire and speculate about "The Count" while Cuda places a small crucifix atop Martin's grave.

Lifelong vegetarian Justine begins her first semester at veterinary school, the same one her older sister Alexia is attending and where their parents met. On her first night, she meets her roommate Adrien, who claims he's gay, and they are forced to partake in a week-long hazing ritual, welcoming the new students. They are brought to a party, where Alexia shows Justine old class photos of students bathed in blood, including one with their parents. The next morning, the new class is splattered with blood and is forced to eat raw rabbit kidneys. Justine refuses because of her vegetarianism, but Alexia forces her to eat one. Justine leaves with Adrien and later discovers an itchy rash all over her body. She consults a doctor, who diagnoses her with food poisoning and gives her cream for the rash. The next day, Justine begins having cravings for meat, which makes her feel ashamed. After a failed attempt to steal a burger from the cafeteria, she and Adrien take a late-night trip to a gas station so no one will see her eating meat. Unsatisfied, she eats raw chicken in the morning, and later throws up a long bundle of her own hair she had been chewing on. That night, Alexia attempts to give her a bikini wax, but when Alexia tries to cut the wax off with sharp scissors, Justine kicks her away and Alexia accidentally cuts off her own finger. Alexia faints, and Justine picks up the finger, tastes the blood, and starts eating it. Alexia wakes up to find Justine doing this but later tells their parents that her dog, Quicky, ate it. The next morning, Alexia takes Justine to a deserted road, where Alexia jumps in front of a car, causing the two people in it to crash into a tree. Alexia starts eating one of the passengers so that her sister will "learn"; Justine is dismayed. Despite this, Justine's craving for human meat grows and she starts lusting after Adrien. That night, she arrives at a party, where paint is thrown at her as part of another hazing ritual and she is forced to make out with a boy. While kissing, Justine bites the middle of his bottom lip off, leaving the other party guests shocked and disgusted. Justine returns to her dorm and takes a shower, where she picks a chunk of his lip out of her teeth and eats it. Justine confides in Adrien and they end up having sex, during which Justine tries to bite Adrien but instead bites her own arm until it bleeds profusely, seeming to orgasm while doing so. At another party, Justine becomes extremely intoxicated and Alexia takes her to the morgue. The next day, everyone in school stares at Justine, some avoiding her. Adrien shows her a video where Justine is crawling on all fours, attempting to take a bite out of the arm of a corpse as Alexia eggs her on, to boos and cheers from a crowd of watching party guests. Justine confronts Alexia and fights her, eventually biting each other until they are pulled apart by other students. Justine helps Alexia up, and they walk each other back to their dorms. The next morning, Justine wakes up in bed with Adrien and notices she is covered in blood. She pulls off the blankets, finding Adrien dead with most of his right leg eaten and a stab wound in his back. Justine then sees a bloody Alexia slumped on the floor. Justine is initially furious that Alexia killed Adrien but then cleans Alexia and herself up in the shower. Alexia is imprisoned for the murder of Adrien, and Justine is sent back home. There, Justine's father tells her that what happened is neither hers nor Alexia's fault. He explains that when he first met their mother, he could not understand why she did not want to be with him. Her father says he finally realized when they kissed the first time, indicating a scar on his lip. He then opens his shirt, revealing scars and missing chunks of his chest, and assures Justine that she will find a solution.

Following his usage in a "guess the weight" contest at an agricultural show, orphaned piglet Babe is brought home to the farm of the contest winner, Arthur Hoggett. There, he is taken in by Border Collie Fly, her irascible husband Rex and their puppies and befriends a duck named Ferdinand, who wakes people by crowing like a rooster every morning so he will be considered useful and be spared from being eaten. Dismayed when the Hoggetts buy an alarm clock, Ferdinand persuades Babe to help him get rid of it. In doing so, they wake Duchess, the Hoggetts' cat, and wreck the house in the ensuing chaos. Rex sternly instructs Babe to stay away from Ferdinand and the house. Seeing Fly saddened when her puppies are put up for sale, Babe lets her adopt him. With the Hoggetts' relatives visiting for Christmas, Hoggett decides against choosing Babe for Christmas dinner and tells his wife Esme that Babe may bring a prize for ham at the next agricultural show. Ferdinand's love interest Rosanna is served instead, prompting Ferdinand to escape the farm. Babe investigates the fields, where he witnesses a pair of sheep rustlers stealing Hoggett's sheep and quickly alerts Fly and Hoggett, preventing the rustlers from taking them all. Impressed after seeing Babe sort hens, separating the brown from the white ones, Hoggett takes him to try and herd the sheep. Encouraged by the elderly Maa, Babe gets the sheep to cooperate by asking nicely, but Rex perceives Babe's actions as an insult to sheepdogs. When Fly stands up for Babe, Rex attacks and injures her and bites Hoggett's hand when he tries to intervene. Rex is subsequently chained to the dog house and sedated, leaving the sheep herding job to Babe. One morning, Babe scares off a trio of feral dogs attacking the sheep, but Maa is mortally injured and dies as a result. Hoggett, thinking Babe was responsible, attempts to shoot him dead, but Fly finds out the truth from the other sheep and distracts Hoggett long enough for Esme to inform him about the dogs' attacks on neighbouring farms. When Esme leaves on a trip, Hoggett signs Babe up for a local sheep herding competition. As it is raining the night before, Hoggett lets him and Fly into the house, where he is scratched by Duchess, who in turn is temporarily confined outside as punishment. When she is let back in later, she gets back at Babe by revealing that humans consume pigs. After learning from Fly that this is true, Babe runs away and Rex finds him the next morning in a cemetery. Hoggett brings a demoralised Babe home, where he refuses to eat. After Hoggett sings " If I Had Words " and dances a jig for him, Babe's faith in his affection is restored. At the competition, Babe meets the sheep that he will be herding, but they ignore his attempts to speak to them. As Hoggett is criticised by the bewildered judges and ridiculed by the public for not using a dog, Rex runs back to the farm to ask the sheep what to do. After he promises that he will treat them better from now on, the sheep disclose to him a secret password. He returns in time to convey the password to Babe and the sheep now follow his instructions flawlessly. Amid the crowd's acclamation, Babe is unanimously given a perfect score. When Babe sits down next to Hoggett, the latter praises him with the standard command to sheep dogs that their job is done, "That'll do, Pig. That'll do."

In late 2010, Matt Ryder is an A&R representative at a Manhattan record label who is in danger of losing his job after his company's biggest client signs with another label. He is estranged from his father Ben, a famous photographer. Ben's assistant and nurse Zooey informs Matt that Ben is terminally ill with liver cancer. Though they have not spoken in over ten years, Ben has requested that Matt drive him to Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas, the last shop that develops Kodachrome film. Ben has several rolls he wants to have processed before he dies, and time is short as even Dwayne's Photo will soon stop operating because Kodak is no longer making the dyes. Ben's manager Larry persuades Matt to make the trip by arranging a meeting between Matt and the Spare Sevens, a band he has been trying to sign. Matt, Ben and Zooey start the journey, and Ben insists on taking backroads so he can take photos and enjoy the scenery. In Ohio, the group visits Ben's brother Dean and Dean's wife Sarah, who were Matt's surrogate parents following his mother's death. Zooey and Matt bond over Matt's old music collection, and later a drunk Matt leans in to kiss her, but falls off the bed. He sleeps on the floor, and they share stories of their failed marriages. The next morning, Zooey is awakened by Ben, who has fallen in the bathroom and needs help to stand. Ben irritates Dean and Sarah at breakfast by mentioning that he and Sarah once had a sexual relationship. Sarah explains that it was before she and Dean dated, which does little to assuage Dean's anger. In Chicago, Matt makes his pitch to the Spare Sevens, and follows his father's advice not to tell the band how great they are, but to point out what they are doing wrong and why they need Matt to fix it. Lead singer Jasper and the other members admire Matt's nerve and begin to agree to the outlines of a deal, but start to mock Ben when he accidentally urinates on himself. Though it will probably cost him his job, Matt tells them he does not respect them and leaves the meeting to check on his father. At their hotel, Ben expresses disappointment that Matt did not close the deal. Zooey points out that Matt made a career-ending decision to defend his father, which leads to Ben firing her. Zooey joins Matt at a bar, where he receives several texts from his boss confirming that he has been fired. They continue to drink, then spend the night together. The next morning, Zooey says she regrets spending the night with Matt and returns to New York. Matt receives no answer at Ben's door and has hotel staff open it. Ben is unconscious on the floor, and Matt rushes him to the hospital. The doctor tells Matt that Ben's cancer can no longer be treated, he cannot travel, and he should be placed in hospice care. That night, Ben struggles to load film into a camera, eliciting Matt's help. Through tears, Ben tells Matt that he does not expect forgiveness for his shortcomings as a father, but that he loves him. Matt and Ben embrace. The next day, Matt and Ben leave the hospital to finish the trip to Parsons, which will require driving nonstop overnight to make it to the photo lab in time. They drop off Ben's film at Dwayne's, where Ben is recognized by several patrons, most of whom are well-known photographers. Several ask to have photos taken with Ben, giving Matt insight into his father's influence and legacy. In their hotel room, Ben is cleaning his camera when he dies. Larry arrives to make funeral arrangements and Dwayne delivers the developed photos. Matt offers them to Larry, but Larry refuses, saying Ben's wish was for Matt to curate them for a showing. At Ben's home, Matt loads the photo slides into a projector and is surprised to see dozens of pictures of himself as a boy, many with his deceased mother, and some with his father. Zooey arrives and asks if he would like company, then they stand together as they view Ben's slides.

Charly Gordon is an intellectually disabled man who lives in Boston. He has a desire to learn and has attended night school for two years, taking a class taught by Alice Kinnian. He learns to read and write, though his spelling and penmanship are poor and he is unable to spell his own name. He works as a janitor at a bakery, where his coworkers amuse themselves by taking advantage of his disability, and he enjoys playing with children at a playground. Alice takes Charly to researchers Dr. Richard Nemur and Dr. Anna Straus, who have been investigating methods for increasing intelligence. Having successfully tested a surgical procedure on a lab mouse named Algernon, they are looking for a human test subject. They put Charly through a battery of aptitude tests and have him try to solve a series of paper mazes while Algernon runs through models of them. Charly consistently loses to Algernon, but is selected for the surgery. After surgery, Charly loses to Algernon again and is frustrated at not immediately becoming smarter. After some time passes, he finally beats Algernon and his intelligence begins to increase. His coworkers tell him to operate a complex machine, hoping that he will break it so they can have the day off, but he successfully operates it. Embarrassed and frightened by his new intelligence, they persuade the bakery owners to fire Charly. Alice continues teaching him, but his intelligence continues to increase and eventually surpasses hers. Lacking emotional maturity, Charly becomes infatuated with Alice and confesses his love for her, but she sharply rejects his advances. He flees in an act of rebellion but eventually returns to Boston, and the two start to consider marriage. Nemur and Straus present their research at a scientific convention. After playing the film of Charly's original aptitude tests, they bring him out for a question-and-answer session. He is now the intellectual equal or superior of everyone in the audience, but he has also developed a cynical view of humanity that the attendees mistake for humor. He reveals that Algernon has lost his enhanced intelligence and died, facts that the research team kept from him, and expects to undergo a similar decline. Fleeing the convention and seeing hallucinations of his previous self everywhere, Charly stops to help a busboy pick up a tray of dropped glasses after observing that he is intellectually disabled. Charly overhears Alice, Nemur, and Straus discussing his situation and offers to assist in finding a way to preserve his intelligence, but their combined efforts prove fruitless. He falls into a depression and asks Alice never to visit him again. Some time later, Alice sees Charly playing with children on the playground, having fully regressed to his original level of disability.

In August 2010, a group of 33 miners from Copiapó, Chile, work in the San José Mine when the mine collapses due to the owner's negligence in ignoring warning signs of instability. The collapse blocks the only path into the mine, leaving the miners trapped. They manage to make their way to a rescue chamber, but soon realize they are ill-prepared for a long stay. The radio is not working, the medical kit is empty, and there is very little food. Mario Sepúlveda emerges as a leader among the miners, taking charge of rationing food and keeping the group from spiraling into violence and despair. The mine company does not attempt to rescue the miners, and their families gather outside the gates of the mine. The Chilean government intervenes and orders the use of drilling to reach the trapped miners. The first few boreholes miss their target, but eventually, a successful one reaches the rescue chamber. The miners attach a note to the drill bit to let the surface know they are alive. The government sends in food, clothing, and establishes television communication with the surface. A second drilling system is prepared to retrieve the miners one by one. Over the next several weeks, there is much drama and tension as the rescuers work to free the miners. Finally, after more than two months of being trapped, all 33 miners are successfully rescued. The rescue becomes a source of inspiration and hope for people around the world.

A United States Coast Guard vessel intercepts and boards an American yacht in the Caribbean Sea and finds evidence that the ship's owner and passengers, American businessman Peter Hardin and his family, were murdered by the piloting Colombian crew. CIA analyst Jack Ryan learns that Hardin was laundering money for the South American Cali Cartel, the leader of which, Ernesto Escobedo, ordered Hardin's murder for embezzling millions in drug profits. U.S. President Bennett, Hardin's close friend, discreetly authorizes National Security Advisor James Cutter to initiate covert operations in Colombia to destroy the cartel. Ryan is appointed acting Deputy Director of Intelligence when Admiral James Greer undergoes treatment for pancreatic cancer. Ryan requests Congress to increase funding to support Colombians fighting the drug cartels, giving his assurance there is no U.S. military involvement, unaware that Cutter will use the funds to assemble RECIPROCITY, a special forces team recruited by CIA operative John Clark and aided by Robert Ritter, the CIA Deputy Director of Operations. President Bennett sends Ryan to negotiate with the Colombian government to allow the United States to seize Escobedo's assets, including $650 million hidden in off-shore accounts, while Escobedo's intelligence officer, Colonel Félix Cortez, secretly orders the Cartel to ambush Ryan's convoy. Ryan survives the fracas, though several colleagues are killed, including Dan Murray and FBI Director Emile Jacobs. Cortez's identity is ascertained after he murders Jacobs’ secretary, Moira, who was an unwitting informant. Blamed for the attack, Escobedo organizes a meeting with the other Cartel heads. RECIPROCITY discovers this and launches an airstrike on their gathering, though Escobedo and Cortez, en route, barely escape unscathed. Cortez learns Americans were responsible and brokers a deal with Cutter: Cortez will kill Escobedo to assume leadership, then will reduce drug shipments to the U.S. and allow American law enforcement to make regular arrests to influence public opinion on the United States’ declared war on drugs. As part of the exchange, Cortez wants the location of RECIPROCITY disclosed to him and all CIA support to RECIPROCITY eliminated. Clark's team is stranded when Cutter accepts Cortez's deal, and are overwhelmed by Cortez's mercenaries in the jungle. U.S. surveillance monitored Cutter’s conversation with Cortez unbeknownst to him and Ryan accesses Ritter's computer to obtain evidence regarding the illegal Colombian operations. Ritter, however, warns Ryan that because he secured funding for the operation, Congress will hold Ryan solely responsible, revealing that he and Cutter have been granted President Bennett's pre-emptive pardons from any wrongdoing. Greer succumbs to his illness and Ryan flies to Bogota after the funeral to seek out Clark, unaware Cutter and Ritter have led Clark to believe that Ryan betrayed RECIPROCITY. Clark captures Ryan, but teams up with him when he realizes Ritter and Cutter played them both. Ryan and Clark procure a helicopter and fly to RECIPROCITY's last known position, where they find team sniper Chavez, who reports that most members were killed, and learn Captain Ramirez and one remaining squad member were captured. Ryan meets with Escobedo and informs him of Cortez's deception, while Clark simultaneously commences the rescue of his men who are being held captive in a coffee facility fronting Escobedo's cocaine operation. Escobedo confronts Cortez but is killed by Cortez's associate. Chavez kills Cortez during the escape, and Ryan narrowly escapes along with Clark and the freed prisoners. Back in the United States, Ryan refuses President Bennett's request to help cover up the conspiracy and instead testifies before the Congressional Oversight Committee about the recent events.