MovieChat Forums > Imaginary Friend (2012) Discussion > Am I the only one who was completely con...

Am I the only one who was completely confused?


I get that Brittany was Emma's imaginary friend....so how did she become Brad's lover? How did he confuse Brittany with the other woman who was his patient..can't remember her name. How did he all the sudden go nutso when it was Emma who was crazy at first. It was a little...no a lot hard to follow lol. I think I may watch it again the next time it comes on to see if I can follow it better knowing the outcome.



"Eat some makeup because you are so ugly inside" - Olivia Blois Sharpe

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Yes, please watch it again because you are a little off in your assumptions. A second time may clear it up for you. Its pretty obvious and I really enjoyed it and plan on watching it again from beginning to end. I'm watching the last hour now.

Please post again after you watch it a second time. Like to see what you say then.

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Not sure exactly of the details, but the way I saw it:

1. Brad cheated on Emma with one of his patients in the past who had multiple personalities. (Or, he specifically fell in love with one of her personalities.)

2. Emma actually had mental problems because of her parents' murder/suicide as well as the abusive tendencies of her father.

3. Brad wanted Emma's money, but wanted to be with Brittany, so he had to convince Emma that she was too crazy to be on her own and she'd agree to be committed. So he had Brittany pose as an adult version of Emma's imaginary friend.

4. Brittany told Emma what Brad was up to because she genuinely felt bad about what he was doing. (After the conversation where he was talking about possibly killing Emma because things weren't going the way he expected)

5. Emma and Brittany came up with the plan to "kill" her imaginary friend and make Brad think that she actually killed his lover.

6. Brittany kept showing up after Brad was told she was dead, forcing him to believe he was going crazy himself. Emma did the same thing he did to her by telling his friends, her doctor, the lawyer, and everyone that he was hallucinating and self-medicating.

This is where I'm not sure about it... but since "Brittany" was a patient who had multiple personalities to begin with, it's possible that Brad's pushing her to pose as Emma's imaginary friend led her to actually develop that alternate personality. He had to have told her a lot about Lily for her to be convincing to Emma, so all of that information could have led her to believe she really was Emma's childhood friend. That would further explain why she turned on him and agreed to work with Emma to get him committed. It would also explain why they do the finger thing at the end, if she actually thinks she's Lily.

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Yes, but #6 is just conjecture on your part--it's not in the movie. I don't think we should have to fill in the plot for the writers, and maybe that's not what they meant at all.
Also, where did the attractive office secretary fit in? I got her confused with Brittany. Didn't Brad give the exact same necklace to both her and Brittany? I didn't understand the dialogue between her and Brad in the beginning, when she said something like "What do we do first?", or was that Brittany?
If Brad talked this former patient into impersonating the imaginary friend, why didn't he remember that she had both the names Brittany and Rachel?

Where in the sceenplay did #5 happen? I did not see it-I managed to figure it out on my own, but thought this was an abrupt switch, with nothing leading up to it.

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Yes, but #6 is just conjecture on your part--it's not in the movie. I don't think we should have to fill in the plot for the writers, and maybe that's not what they meant at all.


#6 was in the movie. It was the whole second half. Unless Emma actually DID kill Brittany, and her imaginary friend who looks exactly like Brittany somehow became real and started appearing to Brad. But that would just make no sense. She'd have to be a ghost or some other transdimensional being or whatever.

Brittany feeling bad about what he was doing to Emma and turning on him is the only plausible scenario of what went on after Emma told Brad she "killed" her imaginary friend. She also looks really uncomfortable in the scene with Brad in his home office or wherever it was.

Also, where did the attractive office secretary fit in? I got her confused with Brittany. Didn't Brad give the exact same necklace to both her and Brittany? I didn't understand the dialogue between her and Brad in the beginning, when she said something like "What do we do first?", or was that Brittany?


That was pretty confusing. Don't remember him giving her a necklace, but they certainly made a mistake casting those two actresses for the roles. If I remember correctly, the first time we see Brad talking to Brittany is in the house with Emma sitting outside as they're discussing his plan to convince Emma she's crazy. Up until then, we're not supposed to know that she's real and the two of them are in on a plan to drive Emma crazy, so his secretary is probably the one in any earlier scenes.

If Brad talked this former patient into impersonating the imaginary friend, why didn't he remember that she had both the names Brittany and Rachel?


Because he fell in love with her "Brittany" personality? Also, I don't remember if they explained when the relationship started, but it seemed to be relatively new (since I think they said she was a patient a year or two prior and it didn't seem like they'd been sneaking around that whole time) So maybe when she came back into his life she introduced herself as Brittany and he didn't go back through his records to verify if it was her real name. He may have just believed that "Brittany" was the only personality she now had, and therefore, was her actual self.

Where in the sceenplay did #5 happen? I did not see it-I managed to figure it out on my own, but thought this was an abrupt switch, with nothing leading up to it.


It didn't actually happen on screen, because if it did, the whole second half of the movie would have been ruined. The point of the second half is for the audience to not be sure what exactly is going on. Showing a scene with Brittany coming clean to Emma and the two of them talking about turning the tables on Brad would make the whole second half pointless. When Emma tells Brad she realized she had to kill her imaginary friend, we are supposed to be finding out with him that Emma may have just murdered a real person.

However, Brittany's reaction to what Brad was saying during their discussion in his home office could be a clue to her not being completely on board with his plan, and potentially willing to explain everything to Emma. So you could say there was something leading up to it, although it was subtle.

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The first dialogue with secretary refers to Ema's birthday party later. At the party Emma says to her "You were in on it the whole time?" and she says "Absolutely" Clearly she was organising the party and her "I'll be leaving at noon" refers to something she had to do.

Necklace is I think same one. Secretary just models it for him at the shop, so he can see how Brittney would look wearing it, I think. Notice she is never seen wearing it again and keeps wearing her necklace.

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I understood immediately that Emma and Brittany were now working together when she suddenly said she killed her but he could never find the body!

And then of course all her appearances/disappearances.

But what about the lawyer and the banker? I guess when Emma said what if we get divorced, that was the moment when it was OBVIOUs she and her longtime lawyer had a plan to keep Brad from the money.

After all, lawyer brought over a limited POA.
Still to find the lawyer gone was disconcerting and then the bank acct closed, etc.

i guess she was mental and taking those meds and then when Brittany showed up she really thought she had lost it. But then Brittany revealed the truth, Emma quit taking the hallucinogenics and they hatched a plan.

But DR Kent? He seemed to genuinely believe that Emma needed help altho he suggested out patient therapy to start.
I guess he was ok.

Pretty good movie.

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