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?.
An hors d'oeuvre?.
Sure.
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.