“…All my life I’ve lived a beautiful lie. The governor’s son with the bright future set for him. The middle child. The one who no one knew how bad he was suffering until it made the nightly news.”
-- Magan Vernon --
No Way to Live is a film that absolves any misunderstood, forgotten family member from dysfunctional, unfair family circumstances. It provides a light at the end of the tunnel for those who are misunderstood, ostracized, and often unheard in larger family units.
“Without purpose we destroy ourselves, but without inclusion we lose meaning”
ACT 1
Alexander is the token middle child in a patriarchal, multicultural family unit. He’s led a privileged, somewhat sheltered life, growing up in a conservative, ivy league New England town, the son of a self-made Egyptian businessman. Al decided to pursue a career in music, which was cut abruptly short after an incident occurred that briefly landed him in jail. Yet Al tried to right the ship of his life, and dedicated himself to helping his father’s business - working alongside his two conflicted brothers, who do not seem to have the company’s interests at heart. Al has made repeated futile attempts to curb his siblings’ reckless spending habits and sibling rivalry, but with minimal success. Daniel, the eldest brother, is an alpha male. Once a star boxer in college (now on the verge of alcoholism), he doesn’t like being told what to do by his little brother. As a result, he and the youngest brother Timothy manipulate their father, and engineer a way to oust Al from the “family” business. Heeding some sage advice from his wise grandmother, Al decides to leave his town, his dysfunctional family, and avaricious girlfriend Liza behind. He’s headed upstate to meet his long-lost “Uncle Billy.”
ACT 2
Al arrives at a dilapidated plot of land that houses an adult men’s cabaret, a bar, and a laundromat that his estranged Uncle Billy runs, and immediately second guesses his decision. Billy is happy to see him, and tells Al that he is welcome there as long as he wants, and that he’ll put him to work. He takes Al to the outskirts of town to see an unlicensed fight. Al is intrigued as the brutal battle unfolds. Aware of Al’s curiosity for what’s unfolding and his eagerness to try to help others, Billy asks if Al would like to give it a shot. Al dives right in. He’s beaten badly, knocked out, but comes back to consciousness with a bloody smile. He’s now found his new passion. Al obviously needs to be trained, and Billy arranges for a boxer that he knows to help out; a man named Raymon, who we learn is Al’s ousted family butler. When Al finally receives a call from his father, and he tells him where he is staying, his father becomes incensed and essentially cuts him off, financially. This mystifies Al, but he’s got his next fight to concentrate on. With Raymon’s help, he’s whipped into decent shape, and eager to get in the ring. At Billy’s club, Al meets Tasha, the no-nonsense Eastern European manager. She is a bit chilly toward Al, but he’s smitten. The following fight is in the basement of a seafood restaurant off the beaten path. Al’s opponent is massive, but Al finds a way to (luckily) win. Billy is quite pleased, as he’s actually making some much needed cash off Al now. Meanwhile, Raymon is set up by Tim (an heirloom goes missing from the estate), and is fired. He’s now able to train Al full-time, along with his lover Paco, a semi-pro boxer from Mexico. Al slowly gets Tasha to warm up, and a romance is sparked. This is almost derailed when Liza arrives at the trailer park where Al is staying with Billy. She unsuccessfully tries to convince Al that she is pregnant with his child, but Al doesn’t bite. She later beds Billy, causing a fracas between Al and his uncle. Nevertheless, the show must go on, and Al has his next fight in a converted barn space even further away from civilization. He’s about to win this one cleanly, when the police barge in to break it up. Al and Billy get away, but Raymon and Paco get into a scuffle against some racist policeman, with Raymon defending Paco and resulting in the two being jailed. Al then accidentally learns of Billy’s dire financial situation (he owes the IRS a huge amount of back taxes, and they are on the verge of seizing his property). He becomes determined to win enough cash from the next fight to bail Billy and his business out, along with Paco. The next battle is held in an empty pool at a mansion, organized by a shady Eastern European promoter. Al wins this one too, but soon learns that the promoter has fled with all the cash. Even worse, it’s revealed that his man is Tasha’s father. Time is running out now, and Al and his uncle need to concoct a plan, post haste.
ACT 3
With no other options, Billy contacts the most dangerous men in the area: the Albanian mob. They can get Al a fight, no problem, but there are fatal consequences if they are not repaid anything owed to them. Billy sets it up, and Al has to box a goon of gargantuan proportions. This match is truly epic, and somehow Al pulls through. Yet Billy did not have the confidence in Al that he professed; he bet against him, big. Billy obviously doesn’t have the money to pay the Albanian crew, and they hold him hostage. Al has one week to get the loot, plus interest, or Billy is in deep shit. Tasha can’t believe that he’s involved in this (she’s desperately fought to lead a clean life), and leaves Al high and dry as well. Upon returning to the trailer park, Al finds a note from Billy; he is his biological father, after a tryst with Al’s mother many years ago. That’s why Billy was excommunicated by Al’s dad - and Billy didn’t want to wreck Al’s cushy life by getting involved in any way. So now, the only people Al can turn to are his family. He treks home, and is denied the cash by his father. However, Daniel will give it to him: on the condition that he fights him. Al promptly agrees, stipulating that if he wins, Daniel must also have Raymon freed and reinstated as butler, and his boyfriend Paco. At the fight, held on the estate lawn, every character from both of these divergent worlds is assembled - including Tasha, who is there to support Al all the way (and stand up to the narcissistic Liza). It’s a barn-burner, as Daniel still has some innate boxing chops. He ultimately beats Al - but all Al cares about is freeing Billy. He does so, and he and Billy drive back home so they can all come to some sort of closure with Al’s “dad.” Al is offered his job back with the company, but politely declines, as he and Tasha ride off together, destination unknown. Sometimes we have to get knocked down to win. Al has goes from solely taking care of others to finally taking care of herself, completing his journey.