影片主角是壹个⑦⑧岁的日不落著名作家，他身患重病却仍然酗酒成幸，口不择言。夜晚不时陷于噩梦的缠绕中，令他想入非非，壹边琢磨着他最后壹部作品的情节构思，壹边回忆着他的往事。于是，噩梦、他的想象加上往事的回忆相互混淆在壹起，共同构成了他作品的叙事框架。　　影片将文学创作的过程跟幻想、愤怒等融为壹体，制造了壹个精致的弗洛伊德哑谜。这是雷奈的第壹部用英语拍摄的影片。剧本比较拗口罗嗦，有较重的文学味，影片被认为是雷奈的杰作，博加德的演出尤为精湛，但壹般观众可能会觉得单调乏味。　　Clive Langham (Sir John Gielgud) spends one tormenting night in his bed suffering from health problems and thinking up a story based on his relatives. He is a bitter man and he shows, through flashbacks, how spiteful, conniving and treacherous his family is. But is this how they really are or is it his own vindictive slant on things