Plot

Sally's parents' marriage breaks up when her father undergoes a mid-life crisis and impulsively weds a prostitute. Meanwhile, Sally's own marriage also begins to disintegrate.

Follows a pair of married couples, Alfie (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and Helena (Gemma Jones), and their daughter Sally (Naomi Watts) and husband Roy (Josh Brolin), as their passions, ambitions, and anxieties lead them into trouble and out of their minds. After Alfie leaves Helena to pursue his lost youth and a free-spirited call girl named Charmaine (Lucy Punch), Helena abandons rationality and surrenders her life to the loopy advice of a charlatan fortune teller. Unhappy in her marriage, Sally develops a crush on her handsome art gallery owner boss, Greg (Antonio Banderas), while Roy, an author nervously awaiting the response to his latest manuscript, becomes moonstruck over Dia (Freida Pinto), a mystery woman who catches his gaze through a nearby window.—Sony Pictures Classics

In London, Helena Shebritch (Gemma Jones) has a broken heart since her husband Alfie (Sir Anthony Hopkins) had had a third age crisis and left her seeking his lost youth. She meets the charlatan fortune teller Cristal Delgiorno (Pauline Collins) and follows her esoteric advices believing in the power of prophecy. Alfie meets the younger call girl Charmaine Foxx (Lucy Punch) and proposes to her. Meanwhile, their daughter Sally Channing (Naomi Watts) has financial difficulties with her husband and aspirant writer Roy Channing (Josh Brolin). Roy has graduated from medical school, but has never worked as a doctor since he had written a successful first novel and decided to follow the career of writer, but he never succeeds in writing a good second novel. Sally starts working in the Geller Gallery and has a crush on her handsome boss Greg (Antonio Banderas), while Roy peeps and flirts through the window with his neighbor Dia (Freida Pinto), who is always dressed in red. When Roy's poker friend Henry Strangler (Ewen Bremner), who had written a magnificent novel and showed only to Roy, has a fatal car accident with their other poker friend Mike, Roy misunderstands that Strangler died and he steals his manuscript which is successfully accepted by the editor to be published. Their lives change when Helena meets a widower that is her twin soul and Alfie finds that he is a cuckold and Charmaine is pregnant. Roy and Sally split, and Sally, who had fantasized an affair with her boss, finds that Greg sees her as a co-worker and friend only. Further, her mother will no longer lend a large amount to her to open her own gallery following Cristal's advice. And Roy, who moved to Dia's apartment, finds that Strangler has not died, but is in coma instead.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In London, two marriages in crisis are presented. The first, which has already ended, is the forty year marriage of Alfie (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and Helena Shipridge (Gemma Jones). Alfie, who is going through a post-mid-life crisis, still sees himself as a young man, while he only sees Helena getting older. The second, which is slowly disintegrating, is the relatively young marriage in comparison of the Shipridges' daughter, Sally Channing (Naomi Watts), and her American author husband Ray Channing (Josh Brolin), their problems largely stemming from Ray's seeming inability to live up to the potential of his first novel, while earning a true wage to support him and Sally. With the Shipridges, Alfie only envisioned a new, energetic life with at least a young at heart partner. His life ends up being nothing as he suspects, that is until he meets Charmaine (Lucy Punch). However, he may not be able to see in Charmaine what the rest of the world sees in her. Helena knows that her life as she knew it is over with the divorce. She changes her tune when she starts seeing Cristal (Pauline Collins), a psychic who only seems to see positive things for her future, while only seeing the worst for Ray, who Cristal knows Helena does not like. With the Channings, their marital problems are only exacerbated by Helena's constant unannounced visits, she who seemingly needs not only to fill them in on any of Cristal's latest news of her/their life/lives, but drink them out of house and home. Ray, who has a medical degree, knows that he will never return to medicine as a career, despite the writing being stalled, and the time needed for the writing impinging on his ability to do any other work. The only thing that seems to give him any pleasure is watching the exotic young woman Dia (Freida Pinto) in red in a window across the courtyard. But he may sense fate is watching out for him with some tragic news, and Sally has returned to work putting her art history background to use in working in the art gallery owned by Greg Clemente (Antonio Banderas). This employee status is far away from what was her original professional dream of owning her own gallery, which she was planning on opening when Ray made his writing fortune. But Sally slowly begins to realize that the more her marriage seems to be deteriorating, the more she desires married Greg. As each of Alfie, Helena, Ray, and Sally pursue their dreams and desires, the illusion may be more palatable than reality.—Huggo

Helena, an older woman whose husband has left her after 40 years of marriage, goes to a psychic named Cristal for advice. Cristal points out that Helena is constantly blaming herself for the problems in her life, but she sees better times coming for her.

As a narrator elucidates, Helena's husband Alfie had suddenly become terrified of dying and then became obsessed with fitness. He put himself through a complete body makeover and wanted out of the marriage. As a result, Helena had a breakdown.

Helena's daughter Sally is married to Roy, who left his pursuit of a medical degree to become a novelist. His first book was a success, only his work ever since has not been as accomplished. As he struggles to complete his latest book, he becomes preoccupied with a young lady neighbor whom he can see in an apartment across the street.

Alfie is not exactly happy living like he is 30: he eats alone, women his age are frail, and he does not relate to the young people he meets. Yet he suddenly discovers a much younger woman whom he wants to marry.

Alfie's new engagement upsets Helena deeply, but Cristal foresees that he will not be happy with the new woman. Cristal further envisions that Helena will meet a handsome new stranger.

When Sally and Roy meet Alfie's new fiancé Charmaine, they are shocked by how scantily clad she is, and further by their speedy engagement. As the narrator reveals, Alfie has not mentioned that he initially hired her as a prostitute and then fell in love with her. Now he wants to have a son with her, because his only son died, and he has persuaded Charmaine to marry him for practical reasons.

Some friends hire Helena as a personal shopper, through whom she meets a rather unattractive older man, Jonathan, whose wife recently died.

Roy waves to the woman in the apartment across the street and learns her name is Dia. He invites her to lunch nearby and is unabashedly flirtatious, in spite of her engagement to Alan, who sometimes visits her but lives in Brussels.

Sally takes an assistant position in an art gallery and develops a crush on her new boss, Greg. One night he has an extra ticket to the opera and invites Sally to join him. Afterward he reveals that his marriage is not so happy, and though Sally pauses for a long goodbye, they do not kiss.

Roy happily spends many afternoons with Dia. His increasing flirtation has been flattering to her, and causing her doubt about her love for Alan.

Alfie gets an expansive and expensive apartment for Charmaine. He takes Viagra in anticipation of having sex with her, but she is dismayed that he needs to wait a while to achieve the desired effect.

Sally learns that a painter she has referred to Greg for a gallery exhibit is having an affair with him, and enjoying it quite a lot. Sally is crushed, and rushes home to tell Roy that she hates Greg and wants to open her own gallery. Just then Roy gets a call from his publisher with the bad news that his latest manuscript has been rejected. Complicating matters further, Helena shows up convinced that she has had a past life. Roy storms out, and Sally tells Helena she wants out of the marriage.

Roy then gets even worse news: some of his friends have been in a terrible accident, and one of them, a budding novelist, has died. At first Roy is shaken, but then he remembers how great his friend's latest manuscript had been, so he decides to steal it and use it as his own.

Alfie has trouble keeping Charmaine happy, so he agrees to go with her to a nightclub, where she dances with a younger guy.

After Sally tells Roy she wants a divorce, he begins spending even more time with Dia, making her extremely conflicted about her imminent marriage to Alan.

Charmaine buys new furs without asking Alfie, who only hints at the massive financial debt he is in.

Dia calls off the wedding, greatly upsetting both her and Alan's families.

Helena is excited to introduce Sally to Jonathan at the occult bookstore he owns. Sally expresses dismay about their romance, to which Helena responds, "He may not be a tall dark stranger, but hes become my stranger." Sally asks Helena for money to start her own gallery, and Helena tells her to confess her affections to Greg.

Sally tells Greg that she is leaving his gallery, and that she had begun to feel close to him, seeking to see if he felt the same way toward her. He admits to his affair with her friend, and does not give Sally the reciprocal attraction she wants.

Alfie sees Charmaine walking out of a hotel with a guy from their gym, having clearly slept with him.

Roy moves in with Dia, and is soon happy to receive great praise from his publisher about the manuscript he has submitted, which of course is plagiarized.

Alfie takes Helena to an old favorite restaurant and asks her to begin again, admitting he has messed up his recent life. Helena points out that he is married, and tells him that he will have another life after this one. Plus she is dating Jonathan, who shares her spiritual ideas.

At a séance, Jonathan seems to make contact with his dead wife. Helena presses him to ask her for approval of their relationship, and Jonathan says that he is still in love with her, making Helena quite upset.

Roy introduces Dia to his friends, and is distressed to learn that the author whose work he has stolen is in fact not dead but in a coma, with a good chance of recovery.

Alfie catches Charmaine in flagrante delicto with the man from their gym, leading to a fistfight between the two men. Later, in trying to make him feel better, Charmaine tells Alfie she is pregnant. Alfie immediately distrusts her, and insists he wants a paternity test.

Helena tells Sally that her relationship with Jonathan has ended, but Cristal is optimistic for her. Sally explains she needs a bigger loan for her new gallery, but Helena says Cristal has told her that the stars are not aligned for any large financial transaction. Sally becomes incredulous and tells Helena that Cristal is a fraud.

Roy goes to see his comatose author friend with his other buddies. They try to stimulate him by speaking to see if he will respond, and when one of them mentions Roy's supposed novel, the author seems to move his eyes. Roy walks away, ruminating.

The narrator tells us that the story is now closing. Jonathan returns to Helena to tell him that his widow has agreed he can marry her. As with Cristal, she speculates that sometimes illusions work better than medicine.