In Montreal, an elementary school teacher hangs herself. Bashir Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant, then offers his services to replace her, claiming to have taught in his home country. Desperate to fill the position, the principal takes him at his word and gives him the job. He gets to know his students despite the cultural gap evident from the very first day of class and despite his difficulty adapting to the school system's constraints. As the children try to move on from their former teacher's suicide, nobody at the school is aware of Bashir's painful past, or his precarious status as a refugee. His wife, who was a teacher and writer, died along with the couple's daughter and son in an arson attack. The murderers were angered by her last book, in which she pointed a finger at those responsible for the country's reconciliation, which had led to the liberation of many perpetrators of huge crimes. The film goes on to explore Bashir's relationships with the students and faculty, and how the students come to grips with their former teacher's suicide. One student, Alice, writes an assignment on the death of their teacher, revealing the deep pain and confusion felt by each of the students.
After contemplating suicide by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, 15-year-old Craig Gilner (Keir Gilchrist), decides to go to the hospital to seek help. Craig tells Dr. Mahmoud (Aasif Mandvi) that he needs immediate help to which Dr. Mahmoud registers Craig for a one week stay in the hospital's psychiatric floor. It is revealed that Craig has a lot of pressure at his high school, Executive Pre-Professional (based on Manhattan's Stuyvesant High School), stressing over the need to turn in an application for a prestigious summer school, his shortcomings in the shadow of his best friend, Aaron (Thomas Mann), whom he considers to be great at everything, and his dad who pressures him to do well. At first, Craig is uncertain if he made the right choice to stay, mostly due to the fact that his friends might find out when he misses school, especially Nia (Zoë Kravitz), his crush and Aaron's girlfriend. He is placed in the adult ward with a few other teenagers because the teenage ward is undergoing renovations.
The story opens in the 1950s, after the Korean War; it has been more than a decade since James Whale, director of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, has retired. He lives with his long-time housemaid, Hanna, who loyally cares for him but disapproves of his homosexuality. Whale has suffered a series of strokes that have left him fragile and tormented by memories: growing up as a poor outcast, his tragic World War I service, and the filming of The Bride of Frankenstein. Whale slips into his past, and indulges in his fantasies, reminiscing about gay pool parties and also sexually teasing an embarrassed, starstruck fan who comes to interview him. Whale battles depression, at times contemplating suicide, as he realizes his life, his attractiveness, and his health are slipping away.
A group of radicalised young British Muslim men aspire to be suicide bombers. They are Omar (Riz Ahmed), who is deeply critical of Western society and imperialism; his dim-witted friend, Waj (Kayvan Novak); Barry (Nigel Lindsay), a bad-tempered and extremely rash white convert to Islam; and the naive Faisal (Adeel Akhtar), who tries to train crows to be used as bombers. While Omar and Waj go to a terrorist training camp in Pakistan, Barry recruits a reluctant fifth member, Hassan (Arsher Ali). The visit to the training camp ends in disaster, with Omar misfiring a rocket backwards that kills fellow jihadists; however, he uses the experience to assert authority on his return to Britain.
After a car accident, sculptor Ken Harrison becomes a quadriplegic who sues for the right to end his life, no longer able to create art, make love or have any semblance of a normal existence. He hires a lawyer (Bob Balaban) who, reluctantly at first, represents Harrison while knowing that he is trying to win his client a death sentence.
Anjaana Anjaani is the story of Kiara (Priyanka Chopra) and Akash (Ranbir Kapoor). Kiara is based in San Francisco, while Akash is a New York City boy. Akash has to clear a loan of $12 million, which he is unable to partly due to the stock market crash. Unable to find any means, suicide seems the only option. He decides to jump off the George Washington Bridge. This is when he meets Kiara, who is also bound to commit suicide because she caught her fiancé Kunal (Zayed Khan) cheating on her. They both try to put an end to their lives but are deterred by the coastguards. Still keen on ending their lives, Akash deliberately gets hit by a car and Kiara falls on the bridge and breaks her neck. This proves to be yet another failed attempt and they end up in the hospital together. Kiara takes Akash to her house as his house was seized by the bank.
Tom Thompson (David Schwimmer) is a 25-year-old man who sleeps in a bunk bed and lives with his mother. One day Tom is contacted by his high school classmate's mother, Ruth Abernathy (Barbara Hershey), to tell him that his 'best friend,' Bill Abernathy, committed suicide, and is asked to give a eulogy at the funeral. Tom does not remember his friend, but out of sympathy attends the funeral as a pallbearer. While Ruth struggles with her loss and Tom with his supposedly failed memory, the two develop a romance. Meanwhile, Tom's unrequited high school crush, Julie DeMarco (Gwyneth Paltrow), re-enters his life.
The film is set in Ghent, in the Flemish Region of Belgium, and explores the lives of Didier and Elise over seven years as they fall in love through their passion for bluegrass music. They have a daughter, Maybelle, who develops cancer after her sixth birthday, and succumbs to it within a year. The outcome of Maybelle's illness has a devastating effect on their relationship and their lives.
Milo (Hader) writes a suicide note and cuts his wrists. Meanwhile, Maggie (Wiig) is in her bathroom preparing to swallow a handful of pills, but is interrupted by a call from a hospital informing her that her brother – whom she hasn't seen in 10 years – has unsuccessfully attempted suicide. Maggie visits Milo in the hospital in Los Angeles, and suggests that she comes to stay with him in their hometown of Nyack, New York for a while; he reluctantly agrees. Milo meets Maggie's gregarious husband Lance (Wilson), who states that he and Maggie are trying to have a baby, which surprises Milo, as Maggie never wanted children. Milo reacquaints himself with the town, and observes Rich (Burrell), a middle-aged man working in a bookstore. Meanwhile, Maggie is taking scuba lessons, and having sex with the instructor, Billy (Holbrook).
Trelkovsky (Roman Polanski), a quiet and unassuming man, rents an apartment in Paris whose previous tenant, Egyptologist Simone Choule, attempted to commit suicide by throwing herself out the window and through a pane of glass below. He visits Choule in the hospital but finds her entirely in bandages and unable to talk. Whilst still at Choule's bedside, Trelkovsky meets Simone's friend, Stella (Isabelle Adjani), who has also come to visit. Stella begins talking to Simone, who becomes aware of her visitors. Initially showing some signs of agitation upon seeing them, Choule soon lets out a disturbing cry, then dies. It isn't clear which of the two has caused this reaction. Apparently unaware that Choule is now dead, Trelkovsky tries to comfort Stella but dares not say that he never knew Simone, instead pretending to be another friend. They leave together and go out for a drink and a movie (1973's Enter The Dragon), where they fondle each other. Outside the theatre they part ways.
The movie begins in a theatre, where Dominik Santorski and his parents listen to Schubert's lied "Der Doppelgänger", which provides a key to the interpretation of the whole film. His parents have success-driven careers and are out of touch with their son's life. Dominik is popular at his private school, but is also spoiled by the perks given to him by his wealthy parents. While at school, his friends stumble upon a self-harm video while using his computer. Later, he watches the rest of the self-harm video and leaves a comment for the poster.
1928 Kansas: Wilma Dean "Deanie" Loomis (Natalie Wood) is a teenage girl who follows her mother's advice to resist her desire for sex with her boyfriend, Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty), the son of one of the most prosperous families in town. In turn, Bud reluctantly follows the advice of his father, Ace (Pat Hingle), who suggests that he find another kind of girl with whom to satisfy his desires.
Wealthy ad man Eddie Anderson makes a failed suicide attempt in his car. He is contemptuous of life and its "arrangements." His long marriage to Florence is now devoid of passion, and he has become the lover of Gwen, a research assistant at his Los Angeles advertising agency.
In 1952, Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford (Casey Affleck) is a pillar of the community in his small west Texas town — patient, dependable, and well-liked. Beneath his pleasant facade, however, he is a sociopath with violent sexual tastes. As a teenager, Lou was caught raping a five-year-old girl in the back of a parked car by his adopted brother Mike, who pleaded guilty to the crime and served prison time to protect Lou. After being released, Mike was hired by the construction firm of Chester Conway (Ned Beatty). Mike died on the job after slipping and falling off a beam through several floors in a building under construction. Lou believes that Conway planned the accident.
Brandon (Michael Fassbender), a New York City executive, flirts with a woman wearing an engagement ring on his morning commute. She reciprocates, but when they exit, she disappears into the crowd. He masturbates in the bathroom at work. Brandon and his married boss David (James Badge Dale) hit on women at a club; later, Brandon has sex in a tunnel with the woman David was pursuing.