Amnesia: The James Brighton Enigma (2005) - full transcript

Although inspired by
real people and events,

the film you are about to
see is a work of fiction.

It happened a year ago.

James is waking up.

The danger is past.

Or at least he's forgotten.

The life set out for him,
but which didn't suit him.

The pain inflicted,
which he didn't provoke.

The love he lost.

It's all been erased.

How is it possible?.



Why?.

Can one feel pain or joy so
strongly

Would I be capable of that?.

James wakes up in a
deserted parking lot.

JAMES WAKES UP NAKED

He's forgotten everything.

AMNESIA: THE JAMES
BRIGHTON ENIGMA

Your name, please.

Sir, what's your name?.

Don't bother, it's useless.

Careful, guys, it's hot!

JAMES' RING

"De... corat."

"Decorate."



"To disguise."

- "Defend." -
Yes, "to defend."

- "Crud??'
- "Crude."

How old is he?.

He's a good boy.

Thank you.

How are we feeling?.

James, wait!

I need to talk to you.

What's happening?.

JAMES AND LOVE?.

Sorry.

I was daydreaming.

What are you doing?.

Is this about that amnesiac?.

Is it for that school project?.

Yes.

We never knew if
he told the truth.

Would you believe him now?.

Have you had any news about him?.

From his family, the FBI?.

No.

Did you contact him?.

Maybe you should.

If your research is serious,

you'll have to confront reality.

First I have to finish my
reading.

- Methodology, you
know. - I can help you.

I was there.

Yes, but I prefer to
work alone for now.

They never found out
if he was really gay.

Is that what turns you on?.

I'm a university
linguistics professor.

You know what you like.

Excuse me.

May I take a shower please?.

Thanks.

What you're doing is dangerous.
Taking in an amnesiac.

For all you know, he
could be a serial killer.

It was the shock of discovering
he's gay at the Black and Blue.

Look, he turns up naked
by the Convention Center.

He'd been to the world's
biggest gay rave.

It's possible, lots
of straights go.

He's straight, he's married.

All he had on was
a wedding ring.

I read it in the paper.

He has sex with a guy,
it's a huge shock.

He flips out, and his old
personality goes poof!

What do you think?.

I don't think it's that simple.

How is it that he knows he's gay
if he can't remember anything?.

I know this music!

And you like it?.

Yes!

What?.

- Was the medical
diagnosis clear?. - Yes.

Dissociative amnesia
caused by mental trauma,

or more specifically,
the fugue syndrome.

Re-opening the file?.

No, I work at the archives.

It's for my own research,
a PhD in criminology.

My thesis is on identity
crimes and impostors.

- Still think he was lying?.
- Well, maybe he wasn't.

I came across an FBI report
that had been misfiled.

A credit card stub
signed Matthew Honeycutt

at a gas station in New York
State a day before he got here.

The FBI questioned the
attendant.

He formally identified
Matthew Honeycutt,

who was with three other men.

At one of his sessions
with Dr. Montoya,

he remembered being in a car

in the Adirondacks
with other people.

But as I said, it
wasn't conclusive.

With truth serum,

your imagination can
color your memories.

He had a funny accent
that changed over time.

Yes, British, some thought.

But he learned Frrench easily.

The doctor called
it a unique case.

No brain trauma, no sign
of violence or drugs.

He was healthy, though
he'd lost weight,

probably due to his
permanent state of anxiety.

After 37 days in the hospital,
the police had no leads.

So the doctor suggested he
contact a gay helpline like

The police should have
set to work more quickly.

It's critical early on.

It's now been two months.

Your story is
absolutely incredible.

They called you in

because all he remembered
was being gay?.

Yes.

Usually at Gay SOS we
never meet our callers.

It's one of our policies.

But his case was so unusual.

He remembered his name.

And that he's from Morristown,
New Jersey, in the US.

He had the town's
name jotted down.

And he recognized some
images on the Net.

Like the town hall, he's
sure he recognizes it.

Willyou go there to help
him recover his memory

and look for family and friends?.

He can't enter the US. He
doesn't have a passport.

Until he recovers his identity,
he can't go anywhere.

When we were preparing the show,

James seemed to recognize

some equipment in the studio.

All this...

Is it possible, or is it true?.

What will you do now?. What
are your plans for the future?.

I hope someone watching this
program will recognize me.

If you know anything that might
help James find out who he was,

please call the number that
appears on your screen.

James, one last question.

If your amnesia is linked
to a painful trauma,

aren't you scared about
rediscovering your past?.

This is truly an
incredible story.

James, Genevieve, Bob,

thanks for coming here to
tell us this touching story.

And good luck for
whatever comes next.

We'll take a short break
and be right back.

I never throw anything away.

JAMES STILL DOESN'T
KNOW WHO HE IS

We had to use our
gay connections

to getyour detectives
back on the case.

A friend called the Gay
and Lesbian Task Frorce

who phoned the police
liaison officer.

Within hours Christian
Leclerc called.

The case was reopened.

Then you guys went to work.

But at the first pretext,
you turned against him.

As if you thought he might be
lying, despite his cooperation.

I never understood why.

I don't know. I wasn't
with the force then.

But I want to understand too.

Okay.

Here's the situation.

We can find no trace of
anyone called James Brighton

in any file here,

or in New Jersey, or
at the FrBI or Interpol.

The phone number you
had on a piece of paper

doesn't exist in New Jersey.

Your memories of
Morristown only surfaced

after you'd seen
pictures on the Net.

So they may not be real.

Okay.

I just got the database search
on your DNA and fingerprints.

It's negative.

We even checked the British
embassy here and in the US.

All that means is that if
you are James Brighton,

you're not a criminal.

Or to be precise, you don't
have a criminal record.

Things'll work out.

A canape?.

A canape?.

An hors d'oeuvre?.

Sure.

Thanks.

Thanks.

No, thanks.

- Hi, Felix.
- Hi.

This is Marcel Beaupre. He's
a PR agent for the force.

Felix Blain.

Nice Christmas tree.

Sorry, but I didn't bring a
gift.

That's okay. James doesn't want
to

so I'm throwing a party
for him tonight instead.

A canape?.

James has really changed.

He no longer keeps to himself.

Everyone's drawn to him.

Who's that girl?.

Bobbie, a friend of Dom's.
Here...

I'm in negotiations with
a producer in New York.

She works for Real Facts.

You know, the TV show.
It runs nationally.

- Hello.
- Hi!

- May I join you?.
- Sure.

His picture and everything...

We thought maybe
you could help us.

I have to find new
friends, a family,

people to love.

What's so strange, Officer,
is that it could be anybody.

You understand?.

Sure I do.

When you have no identity,

you have to create
a life from scratch.

And you don't know how to choose

because you've forgotten

what you liked or didn't
like in a person, but...

we never really do anyway, do
we?.

- I mean, Officer...
- Call me Christian.

- Christian...
- Yeah.

Do you know why

you love someone?.

Ready?.

We're going dancing
in an after-hours.

- Why not?.
- Because.

- Are you mad?. -
No, I'm not mad.

- Want me to stay?. -
Why?. This is your party.

Do what you want.
Go have fun!

Okay, good night.

Everyone commented how
James and Bobbie hit it off.

They wondered if he was
flirting.

Well, wasn't he?.

James is gay, remember?.

His story is so much at
the core of gay identity,

it's almost a metaphor for it.

As a teen, when you discover
you're gay, like him,

you lose all your references.

You have to forge a completely
new identity from scratch.

All gay teens go through that.

You're born heterosexual

and you become a homosexual.

Can you help me tidy up?.

I hate waking up to a mess.

What's going on?.

"Meeting you reminded me of this
essential part of myself..."

...that I buried and is
now asserting itself.

I have to cast off
the role I've assumed.

Change my life, change
my career. Change.

I'm scared.

If I fail,

I'll go on living this
fiction I created long ago.

What I wanted to be: a cop,
strong and independent,

needing no one,

and now lonely and without love.

I admire your courage,

even if it's buried
in your unconscious.

I still cling to my role,

my work, as if that's all there
is.

Is that all I am?.

" Is that all I am??'

" Is that all I am?.

"If you've guessed who I am,

"you'll understand
why I won't sign this.

"It's crazy enough
even to send it.

"I'm mixng my private
life and work. But... "

Hi, this is Frelix Blain, please
leave your name and number.

I'll call you back.

James is alone in the city.

In three months no one's
come looking for him.

Are you still someone
when you're this alone?.

If no one loves you,

if you have no one to love...

When can you risk letting
go, opening up to others?.

Taking risks,

trusting people.

You create a life that
fits others' expectations.

You become a character in
their stories, their lives...

and lose your own.

You lie to please other people,

you lie not to be alone.

But you are, more and more.

No, I haven't heard from James.

We weren't that close.

He was more a friend of Dom's.

You went dancing with him
once, before Christmas,

after a party at Felix Blain's.

Right, I'd forgotten.
It's been a while.

How was he that night?.

He wouldn't let go of me.

I think Dom made him nervous
hitting on him like that.

So I was his protection.

Most people have told
me they find him sexy.

Yes, in his own way.

His vulnerability
made him attractive.

You wanted to protect him.

Were you interested?.

That's a very personal question.

Is this still foryour thesis?.

I'm trying to recreate
his life here,

a psychological portrait.

You're really moved by his
story.

Yes.

A new twist in the case
of James Brighton,

the amnesiac who woke up naked
last October in Montreal,

and whose sole memory
was beinggay.

The US TV show Real Fracts

broadcast his story
nationwide last night.

It seems the story led to more
than Brighton anticipated,

including a visit from the
police.

Gay SOS volunteers
were shocked to learn

the man they'd so
generously cared for

may be an impostor who
faked his amnesia all along.

Brighton, in reality
Matthew Honeycutt,

was identified by
four different people,

including the aunt
who raised him

and his brother, who revealed
he's wanted in Tennessee,

whereas previously he was
believed to be from New Jersey.

He is charged with
public mischief

and obstruction of justice

for using a fake identity.

They say he's done it before

and cited bouts of schizophrenia
and hallucinations.

But hisfamily is
collaborating with us.

We asked Lt. Beaupre
if they were sure

that Honeycutt faked his
amnesia.

Here's his answer:

Even a schizophrenic may
know what he's doing.

We plan to investigate

and may request a new
psychiatric evaluation.

We tried to contact the doctors
who treated Mr. Honeycutt,

to ask if they think there's
a need for a re-evaluation,

but without success.

We always knew there was a risk

or a possibility that when
we uncovered James' past,

there might be
unpleasant surprises.

But it's a risk we took.

I think he has amnesia.

Why would he go on TV if
he wanted to disappear?.

For the record let me say

my client has no history of
hallucinations or amnesia.

The police misunderstood
hisfamily.

He was hospitalized
for depression,

but that was years
ago, as a teenager.

Penthotal is used as
a general anesthetic.

In narcoanalysis, we
administer small doses

until the patient's speech

becomes slurred and labored.

If someone wants to
lie or hide something,

they can do it
under narcoanalysis,

and under hypnosis too.

You can tell the truth now.

We know who you are.

Why'dyou make up that story?.

To start over?.

Okay.

Let's try again.

You don't remember buying a car

using your brother's
driver's license?.

My brother?.

He's your cousin, but he
considers himself a brother.

He saysyou bought a Chevy
Impala with phony papers.

When did I buy it?.

I don't have that information.

What we do know is
you two quarreled

when he found out you'd
used his ID to buy the car.

You were going to talk the
next day, but you took off.

Pardon?.

Yes, a Pentecostal minister.

James, that's enough!

I'm not James Brighton, right?.

All the clues,

all the leads...

they were nothing but dreams.

They wake me up at night
but they mean nothing.

I can't trust my dreams,

my memories, my
nightmares or anything.

You said your
sister's name is Mary,

but you have no sister.

That's your aunt's name.

Michael'syour cousin's middle
name, notyourfather's.

You think I lied.

Everything I've said,

I believe.

Your phone.

Hello?.

Hi, it's Marcel.
You called?.

Yeah.

I woke you. Should
I call back?.

No, that's okay, I'm awake.

I want some details

on the Honeycutt-Brighton case.

They won't give me
Christian Leclerc's number.

Since leaving the force,
he's a private citizen.

He and I aren't that close
anymore.

Maybe you could help me.

Sure, I'll do my best.
What do you want to know?.

Why didn't you trace
the woman who called,

Allison Pearce?.

When we learned that James
was really Matthew Honeycutt,

the leads to identify
a James Brighton

became totally irrelevant.

We did ourjob, period.

We committed no errors.

Everyone wanted James to
fit their image of him.

We prefer first impressions to
looking deeper for the truth.

Is that his mom?.

He doesn't recognize her.

Some people are ready

to believe the
worst about others.

But others are ready
to believe the best.

That's the main lesson I learned
from my stay in Montreal.

People have been so
generous with me.

I also want to say how sad I am

that some people think
I'm an impostor.

I also want to give special
thanks

to everyone at Gay
SOS who helped me.

I'm glad that I found
my family again,

but I'm sad to leave Montreal.

Now I have two families.

Thank you.

How is it you can
leave the country?.

Were charges dropped?.

For that kind of question

please ask Matthew's
lawyer, Mr. Laurent.

I hope we'll remain friends.

I'm scared.

You'll be fine.

Time fixes everything.

Matthewgoes back to the States,
to his hometown in Tennessee,

a city he doesn't know, to
people he doesn't recognize.

Who are they?.

Why weren't they looking for
him?.

Why have they become
perfect strangers?.

How can one forget
those once so close?.

How can one forget a house,

its odors and sounds,

the fears...

the laughter that was stifled.

Then Matthew hits the road,

the pedal to the floor.

He still knows who he is.

He leaves his hometown,

drives and drives.

The closer he gets to
the Tennessee state line,

the more he forgets.

He drives through Morristown,

sees its Viictorian town hall,

like so many others with their
trees and red-brick steeples.

Morristown, Tennessee,
not New Jersey,

as he thought he remembered.

But then, on the
outskirts of town,

he, who always tried to
conform and stay in control,

who sought to conceal
his true emotions,

he just lets go,

totally lost.

And then an angel appears.

A hitchhiker.

It's the real James Brighton.

James is wise and sophisticated.

He was born in England.

He is experienced,
and knows who he is.

They talk as only strangers can.

Matthewfalls madly
in love with him,

as one can only with a stranger.

JAMES AND LOVE?.

They head out again,
driving back roads.

James enjoys showing Matthew
an America he doesn't know.

And then Matthew,

who until recently
never acted impulsively,

who weighed his every gesture,

and avoided every potential
risk,

now does something
without thinking.

He stops to help three men
whose car has broken down.

They're drunk.

Three men headed to Montreal
for the weekend to party.

They make homophobic comments.

They look at Matthew,
who says nothing.

His silence puts him in their
camp.

Does he still see his family?.

No, he's not interested in the
Honeycutts, as he calls them.

It's been almost 12 months

that he hasn't spoken to them.

You speak great Frrench.

I teach Frrench at a college
here.

Did Matthew tell you?. No?.

That's how we met. He took a
class of mine when he came here.

When does he get off work?.

I lied.

He wasn't at the airport,
but not because of work.

He left early this
morning, before I got up.

But he left this for you.

Dear Sylvie,

Autumn has come to Viirginia.

The weather is similar

to that October in Montreal,

when I woke up,

the moment when,
as I feel even now,

my life began.

It makes me stop

and realize how far I've
come in these few months,

almost a year today.

At the same time,

it reminds me of a past
I have yet to find.

I still long to pack
my bags and take off.

I want to run away all the time.

Frrom what?.

I don't know.

The only way to find out

would be to seize
the past I've lost.

Then, perhaps,

I'd find the answer that
my unconscious seeks.

Then I would know peace.

Today

I was supposed to go
to the supermarket

to do the errands
people do on weekends.

I was going to the mall, to
lose myself in the crowd.

I wanted to be like everyone.

I wanted to talk like them

and, for those brief hours,

I wanted to be like them.

But that's not possible.

I found it strange and
fascinating

to read your doctoral thesis.

I turned the pages
with apprehension,

eager to know the ending.

Because I still don't know it.

Apparently I'd found true love
in the person of James Brighton

and then participated in the
murder of that very love.

How beautiful,
tragically speaking.

Too beautiful, no doubt.

It's possible it really
happened that way,

but my conclusion
remains the same.

As cruel as it may seem,

I have to bury my dead.

I prefer not to reopen
the investigation

or to meet you.

I'm sorry I waited till
now to make this decision.

I continue to have
nightmares at night,

but every morning
I wake from them,

and the days that
follow are unclouded.

I hope that you too can forget
me.

I wish you a happy life.

Matt.

James.

Today Matthew Honeycutt
lives in the United States.

He still hasn't
regained his memory.

In his eyes, he was born in
Montreal on October 12, 1998.