Split Gas

Oliver, a suicidal freshman philosophy student accepts a ride up the Pacific Coast Highway from a stranger, Jack, a happy-go-lucky creative writing grad student, with the intention of jumping off a cliff at Big Sur to end his life. As they drive up the coast en route to San Francisco, Jack – oblivious to Oliver’s fatal plan – attempts to connect with Oliver and expose him to the fun and beauty of the world. His initial efforts are rebuffed by Oliver’s vigilant pessimism and intellectual superiority complex, but Jack persists with limited success. Oliver simply wants to chronicle the last day of his life on his flip camera and get to the cliff as quickly as possible, but Jack wants to relax and relish the road trip with frequent pit stops, in no rush to arrive in San Francisco to visit his girlfriend for spring break. After picking up a quirky, philosophizing hitchhiker and an unplanned overnight stay in a seedy motel, Jack and Oliver arrive at Big Sur, where Oliver still plans to jump to his death. As Oliver’s life hangs in the balance, Jack reveals a few secrets of his own. Has Oliver’s bizarre road trip with this irritating stranger, during which he’s had a “negligible amount of fun,� convinced Oliver to go on living?