Living out his days in drunken disgust at the Motion Picture Home, Madden seems on a downward spiral until he encounters Cameron Kincaid (played by rising star Michael Angarano), a rebellious 17 year old from a broken home who tries to enlist him in a student film project. At first derisive and then realizing that this may be the road to his own personal salvation, Madden becomes more involved in the student project, a film about how contemporary society marginalizes the elderly. He enlists the long-out-of-work fellow members of the Motion Picture Home, as well as a celebrated screenwriter who has not been employed in decades (a delicate performance by film veteran M. Emmet Walsh). The making of the film, and the community that emerges from the collaboration, transforms the lives of all involved, including the young Cameron who learns valuable life lessons from his mentor. For "Flash", the experience allows him to rediscover his dignity so that he can accept his fate with peace and tranquility.