Fiery but feeling his years and his illness, ailing filmmaker Leonard Fife (Richard Gere) wants to tell his life story, unfiltered, before it's too late.
As the director of lauded documentary exposés, he has much to be proud of, but his avoidance of the Vietnam War draft and his past relationships harbour thorny truths. Finally choosing to reveal the truth and lies in his life and career, Leonard sits for an extended filmed interview with his former student Malcolm (Michael Imperioli), charging ahead with candid stories about his younger self (Jacob Elordi) in the fractious 1960s and beyond. At Leonard's insistence, his wife and indispensable partner, Emma (Uma Thurman), hears it all.
Leonard's successes are held up against his failings - the fibs held up against the facts - and as the man in full is cleansed of the myth, Leonard must confront what is left.