The Living

The Living is a 2014 American drama film written and directed by Jack Bryan. It stars Fran Kranz, Jocelin Donahue, Kenny Wormald, Chris Mulkey, and Joelle Carter. Teddy (Kranz) learns he has beaten his wife, Molly (Donahue), in a drunken rage. Her brother, Gordon (Wormald), hires an ex-con (Mulkey) to kill Teddy. The film premiered at the 2014 Manhattan Film Festival.

Teddy wakes up from a night of binge drinking. His wedding band is missing, and his fist is bloodied. When he cannot find his wife, Molly, he visits his mother-in-law's house. There, Molly's mother, Angela, and her brother, Gordon, explain that she wants nothing to do with him, as he beat her severely while drunk. Teddy protests that he does not remember the incident and calls out an apology to Molly. Angela and Gordon warn him off; to their consternation, Molly leaves with Teddy, though she warns him that it is not a reconciliation. She is only returning to the house, not to their relationship. At the same time, Angela berates Gordon for not sticking up more for his sister.

At a bar, Gordon tells a friend that he wants Teddy dead. His friend suggests a friend-of-a-friend, an ex-convict, may be willing to take the job cheap. Gordon does not answer, and instead suggests they return to work. There, at a supermarket, he runs into Teddy and Molly, who did not realize he had had exchanged shifts. After apologizing for his behavior, Teddy gives Gordon the opportunity to throw a punch at him. Gordon awkwardly declines and once again tells his friend how he wishes Teddy were dead. His friend offers to get the ex-con's number, and Gordon noncommittally agrees. At their house, Angela again berates Gordon for not being assertive enough to ask for better pay.

At their house, Molly insists that Teddy move out, though she agrees to give him a chance to make amends in the form of a dinner date the following day. She chooses a local restaurant, and they run into several of their friends, who are too embarrassed to comment on her battered appearance. When Gordon receives the ex-con's phone number from his friend, he learns that the man, Howard, lives in Mississippi. Howard insists that Gordon drive from Pennsylvania to his house to discuss the matter. When Gordon arrives, Howard forces him to strip naked to prove he is not wired and accepts the job.

As they drive back, Gordon becomes increasingly worried about Howard's violent temperament and begins to have second thoughts. At a roadside diner, Howard murders two people and tells Gordon that he will take his money one way or the other, but it's too late to back out of paying him. After taunting Gordon with threats to murder him, Howard expounds on his philosophy: he sees his actions as affecting the survivors more than his victims, as the living are the ones who must deal with the grief of loss. Meanwhile, Teddy and Molly slowly reconcile, and Molly allows him to move back into their house.