American Exit

Charlie Bond (Dane Cook) is at a crossroads. Divorced from his wife, and kept from seeing his fourteen-year-old son Leo (Levi Miller), he makes a desperate decision: he picks Leo up after school, telling him that his mother asked him to take Leo for the weekend. Leo is suspicious, but agrees. He knows that something is wrong, but he's curious. Charlie stops by a gallery that deals in black market art. Charlie has worked for the owner Anton (Udo Kier) before, and while Anton is distracted by Leo, Charlie steals a priceless object. Now they are on the run. Charlie takes Leo and drives his Land Rover Defender across the desert of Southern California, towards Mexico, where he has a buyer for the stolen piece. Leo is unaware, and the time he spends with Charlie is precious: Charlie lets him drive, they explore the landscape and stay at hotels. But one night when Leo answers Charlie's phone and talks to his mother, he realizes that his father may be dangerous. His mother begs him to come home, to call the police, but Leo never recovered from his parent's divorce, and he desperately wants to understand his father, to believe that Charlie has not abandoned him and that he still values and cares for him. Leo spent too long hoping that his father would come back, and when Charlie showed up at school that afternoon, Leo was resentful and hostile, but deep down, the love that he has for Charlie is beginning to thaw. And now his mother is telling him to turn around. He just can't. But he can't trust his father either. And one night, this leads to a violent argument. Charlie is rushed to a hospital. It is then that Leo finally understands that his father is hiding a terrible secret. Meanwhile, Anton has uncovered the robbery and is determined to make Charlie pay. With the help of a hired gun, he tracks Charlie's path across the desert. Each day, he closes in. Leo’s mother has informed the police, who are also on the lookout. Taking empty backroads, Charlie stops at the home of his reclusive father (John Savage), a man he hasn't seen in years. Leo can see the tension and resentment he has with his father reflected in their relationship. Generations of fatherless men in a bitter world. Charlie leaves Leo at the house, promising to return soon. The buyer in Mexico is no longer an option, and Charlie must confront Anton and face the consequences. Will he ask forgiveness, or is this a final showdown? As the tragic events unfold, Leo finally learns his father's secret, and the desperate measures people will take to atone for a lost life. American Exit is the heartbreaking story of a man who realizes that his entire life has been driven by an empty ambition that has kept him from experiencing the actual value in the journey.