Innocent Little Crimes

Lila Carmichael—a crass, obscenely rich comedienne—has revenge on her mind. Even though she has reached the pinnacle of her comedy career, she intends to destroy the small group of college “friends” who played a cruel joke on her fifteen years ago. The five flattered guests invited to her private island to attend a cozy reunion are unaware that Lila has been orchestrating their downfall all these years. Not coincidentally, all are teetering on the brink of ruin, hoping secretly that the famous, influential Lila will come to their rescue. But Lila has other plans for the handful of former theater students.

During the weekend, Lila plies her guests with booze, exacerbating the already-mounting tension. Dick Ferrol, a politician facing embezzlement charges, makes no attempt to hide his disgust for his weak, spineless wife, Millie. Jonathan Levin, hotshot Hollywood director, pretends his hard-earned career isn’t plummeting him into bankruptcy.

Della Roman, recovering from a botched suicide attempt, wallows in regret and bottles of prescription medication. Only Davis Gregory, college stage star-turned-real estate mogul, hasn’t a care in the world. He is about to marry Cynthia, a young, rich innocent who worships him.

Lila forces her guests to play “Wolves,” a vicious parlor game that begins in amusement, then turns mean as Lila and her guests expose each other’s deep secrets. One by one, the players are thrown to the “wolves,” proven unworthy to remain in the game. In horror, they learn how Lila has bribed and maneuvered her way into each of their lives, controlling every outcome, every success, every failure. She now holds their fate in her hands and tempts them with dreams of wealth and fame. To exonerate their guilt, she demands they convince Davis to make good his promise of marriage, frivolously made in order to seduce her before the opening night of the school play. Davis, horrified, now discovers all his real estate holdings are owned by Lila’s corporations. He is ruined.

Trapped and fearful, her guests turn desperate. Their panic foments into a literal wolf-hunt as Lila gives them until noon, Sunday, to accomplish their task. Davis rushes out into the night as a storm whips the island.

The others chase after him. As the “wolves” hunt down their prey, Lila confides in her assistant, Peter. She tells him the story of her stifling childhood, her oppressive preacher-father, and the cruelty perpetrated by the members of the drama group. He hears how Lila turned bitterness into comedy, cynicism into riches—then hardened into a wolf to survive in the world. For it is her anger and hurt that have propelled her to success, but have also denied her happiness.

Near dawn, Lila tracks down her guests, curious to see how the chase progresses. She finds them at the shore, with waves breaking in fury. There, Davis lies in the water, surrounded by his hunters. Lila, spilling over with fifteen years of hurt, hurls accusations at him. Davis admits his error and asks for her forgiveness. Before Lila can respond, a sneaker wave rips up the beach. Davis disappears. The guests frantically search the water and finally find Davis’s body. The “wolf hunt” is over.

Six months later, Lila’s HBO Special airs on television. The survivors of the disastrous weekend watch her show. We see how they have tried to piece their lives together, free of Lila’s grasp. All have had to face the wolf within, and that confrontation has changed them—some for the worse, some for the better. They have all paid the price of committing innocent, little crimes, but none has suffered more than Lila. Her weekend of revenge came at great price—not just in the loss of Davis’s life, but with the end of her lucrative career, a career fueled and fed by the dream of revenge.