
28 Days Film Synopsis
After wrecking her sister’s wedding and facing jail, a young woman enters rehab for 28 days. Resistant at first, she slowly opens to therapy, friendship, and family reconciliation. Confronted by tragedy, she learns to reject toxic relationships and embrace sobriety, leaving with hope for a new beginning.
A Life of Chaos
Gwen Cummings lives a fast and reckless lifestyle in New York City. She spends her nights drinking heavily with her boyfriend, Jasper, and their time together is consumed by endless parties and intoxication. Gwen appears confident and carefree, but her choices reveal a dependence on alcohol that governs her life. This dependence becomes especially visible when she attends her sister Lily’s wedding.
On the day of the ceremony, Gwen and Jasper arrive late, unkempt, and clearly hungover. Instead of blending into the joyous occasion, Gwen causes disruption. While attempting to interact with guests, she stumbles into the wedding cake, knocking it over and ruining the reception centerpiece. As the embarrassment spreads through the room, Gwen drunkenly decides to steal a limousine parked outside. Unable to control the vehicle, she crashes it into a house. Her reckless behavior results in criminal charges and forces her to face the consequences of her addiction.
Court-Ordered Treatment
In court, Gwen is offered a choice: serve jail time for her crimes or spend 28 days in a rehabilitation facility. She reluctantly chooses rehabilitation. Though she avoids prison, Gwen enters the program with hostility, unwilling to recognize her drinking as a problem.
At the rehab center, Gwen meets several fellow patients, each struggling with their own addictions. Among them are Oliver, a hypersexual cocaine addict; Daniel, a former doctor whose career collapsed due to substance abuse; Roshanda, a mother of two; Bobbi Jean, an older woman battling long-term dependency; and Gerhardt, a Dutch immigrant whose optimism endears him to the group. Gwen is assigned a roommate, Andrea, a teenage heroin addict with a defensive personality and sharp tongue. Gwen’s reaction to the facility is immediate resistance. She refuses to admit she is an alcoholic, mocks the therapy sessions, and dismisses the other patients’ stories.
Underlying Gwen’s resistance are painful flashbacks of her childhood. She remembers her mother, also an addict, who died from an overdose when Gwen and Lily were young. These memories haunt Gwen, but instead of pushing her toward change, they deepen her bitterness and denial.
Defiance and Temptation
During visiting day, Jasper arrives at the facility. He has little understanding of Gwen’s situation and continues to encourage her old habits. Slipping her a bottle of painkillers, he sneaks her away for a day of intoxication. They laugh and enjoy themselves, but the episode threatens Gwen’s place in the program. Cornell, the director of the rehab center, confronts her afterward. As a recovering addict himself, Cornell recognizes Gwen’s refusal to face her dependency. He prepares to expel her and send her to jail. Gwen still denies responsibility, claiming she is not like the others.
Frustrated, Gwen storms back to her room and contemplates taking one of the painkillers Jasper gave her. She puts a pill in her mouth but ultimately spits it out, realizing her hesitation. Determined to reject Jasper’s influence, she throws the entire bottle out of her third-story window. However, withdrawal soon sets in, and she spends the day battling its painful symptoms alone. Eventually, desperation overtakes her. She climbs out the window to retrieve the discarded pills. The attempt ends in disaster when she falls, severely spraining her ankle. She is rescued by Eddie, a new patient recently admitted to the program.
Turning Toward Recovery
The fall becomes a turning point for Gwen. Humbled and in pain, she acknowledges to Cornell that she does have a problem and pleads for another chance. Cornell agrees, and Gwen begins to truly engage in the recovery process. She participates in group sessions, attends activities, and listens to the struggles of others. Though her progress is gradual, it marks a meaningful change in her attitude.
When Jasper returns for another visit, he brings champagne and proposes to Gwen. Instead of accepting, Gwen throws the bottle into a nearby lake, rejecting both the alcohol and Jasper’s shallow attempt at reconciliation. Back in her room, Gwen prevents Andrea from self-harming, deepening her connection with her troubled roommate. Over time, Gwen grows closer to Andrea and other patients. Many of them warn her that Jasper is not supportive of her sobriety and will only drag her back into destructive patterns.
New Connections
As Gwen continues to settle into the facility, she spends more time with Eddie, the man who rescued her. She learns that he is a professional baseball player whose career has been derailed by substance abuse. They share an impulsive kiss but decide not to pursue romance, recognizing that both are vulnerable and in early recovery. Instead, they develop a supportive friendship that strengthens Gwen’s commitment to change.
Gwen also discovers that Eddie is a fan of Santa Cruz, a soap opera beloved by Andrea. Gwen arranges group viewing sessions, allowing Andrea to feel connected and supported. These activities help Gwen realize the importance of community and shared experiences in recovery.
Meanwhile, Lily visits the facility to take part in a group therapy session. She expresses her deep hurt over Gwen’s behavior at the wedding, particularly the humiliating drunken speech Gwen delivered. Instead of apologizing, Gwen dismisses Lily’s feelings. The session ends in disaster, with Lily leaving in disgust, highlighting the broken bond between the sisters.
Bonding and Tragedy
As time passes, Gwen grows more invested in the wellbeing of those around her. She arranges a farewell skit for Andrea, who is soon scheduled to be released. The skit brings the group together and demonstrates Gwen’s new sense of responsibility.
However, the fragile progress is shaken when Jasper suddenly arrives at the facility unannounced. He finds Gwen with Eddie, becomes jealous, and insults them both. Eddie retaliates by punching Jasper, straining his budding friendship with Gwen. The argument leaves Gwen confused about her loyalties, but the conflict with Jasper deepens her doubts about their relationship.
Tragedy soon strikes when Gwen discovers Andrea dead in their bathroom from an overdose. The loss devastates Gwen and the rest of the group. Confronted by the fragility of life and the deadly reality of addiction, Gwen resolves to repair her relationship with her sister. She commits herself fully to treatment, realizing that recovery extends beyond herself to those she loves.
Reconciliation and Completion
Gwen reaches out to Lily, and the sisters reconcile. Lily recognizes Gwen’s genuine effort to change, and the bond between them begins to heal. After completing her 28 days, Gwen prepares to leave the facility. Before she departs, Eddie warns her that Jasper remains a threat to her sobriety and must be avoided if she hopes to remain clean.
Outside the facility, Jasper makes another attempt to win Gwen back. He promises to change but reveals through his actions and words that he has no real intention of supporting her recovery. Gwen sees through his façade. When Jasper invites her to rejoin him and their old party friends at a bar, she declines. On the way home, she encounters a horse in the street. During her time in rehab, she had struggled with an exercise involving lifting a horse’s hoof. This time, on her second attempt, she succeeds—after asking for help. The moment symbolizes her progress: she can achieve her goals when she accepts assistance from others.
Moving Forward
Gwen firmly breaks up with Jasper, ending their destructive relationship. She steps into a new life, no longer bound to her past habits. Later, she encounters Gerhardt, her fellow patient, now sober and working in a floral shop. Their reunion provides hope that recovery is possible and that the bonds formed in treatment can extend into everyday life.
In a mid-credits scene, Eddie encounters an actor from Santa Cruz arriving at the rehab center as a new patient. The lighthearted moment reflects the continuity of life at the facility, where new patients begin their journeys toward recovery as others leave to continue theirs outside.