Plot
A graduate student, Ian Gray, is researching the evolution of human eyes with Karen and Kenny, in order to discredit creationists by proving that eyes have evolved. At a Halloween party he meets an interesting woman, Sofi, and photographs her eyes. They start to have sex in a washroom, but she abruptly leaves without providing her contact information.
One day, Gray sees a number of elevens all at one time. He gets on bus number 11, but gets off when a guide-dog starts barking at him. He sees a billboard cosmetics ad featuring Sofi's unmistakable eyes, and uses it to track her down. Despite their different belief systems, Gray's and Sofi's relationship develops and they eventually plan to marry. On their would-be wedding day, Karen calls Gray, informing him of a species of worm that is blind, but has the DNA required to develop an eye. This is the breakthrough they have been searching for.
Sofi is upset, and suggests that humans are like the blind worm. Just because they cannot see light doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Just because humans can't see God doesn't mean that God doesn't exist. Gray argues with her and grows impatient with her views. In the midst of their argument, the elevator they're riding breaks down and, in a freak accident, Sofi is killed. Gray blames himself and never forgets his last words to Sofi - calling her a child because of her belief system. He is distraught, and his lab partner, Karen, takes over much of his research. One evening, while Gray is still in mourning, Karen brings him a meal at his home. He breaks down, and she comforts him, which leads to a more intimate situation.
Seven years later, Gray has written a book slamming the creationists and their belief that eyes haven't evolved. Karen is pregnant with their first child. When the child is born, the hospital takes an iris scan of the baby. When it is entered into the database, they appear to match with another person's eyes. Initially the thought of this is tossed off as a glitch with the new system.
A few months later, a Dr. Simmons calls and suggests they test the baby for autism. The unusual test studies lead Gray and Karen to determine to do additional research on this scientist. This leads Gray to travel to Idaho, where he finds that the person whose eyes matched their baby's had died two years earlier, just before their baby was conceived, suggesting that their son may be some sort of reincarnation of the deceased man.
Gray's former research partner, Kenny, is the creator of the iris database. He helps Gray and Karen run some iris photos of deceased people through the database to see if there are any recent matches. Sofi's eyes match those of a young girl in India.
Gray travels to India to find her. He meets a preacher (a mysterious character in black who claims to be doing God's work and seems to have a more than passing interest in Gray and suggests they might meet again; he is also seen in the background in the lobby entering an elevator after the memory recall scene concerning the elevator accident) in his hotel elevator, but snubs his friendly approach. He finds the facility that did the scan, but learns from Priya that the girl is an orphan and will be hard to find. To aid his search, he places an ad on a billboard with a picture of Sofi's eyes and the offer of a reward to the person if they call. He later finds a little girl staring at the billboard, and her irises match Sofi's. He takes the girl, Salomina, back to his hotel and contacts Karen over Skype. With her help, he conducts a simple test on Salomina, hoping that she will select the images associated with Sofi. Although she correctly picks some images specific to Sofi, the results are inconclusive, falling within the "random" range, and he admits to Karen that he feels foolish. But when he prepares to leave the hotel with Salomina, she panics and cries at the sight of the elevator, and Gray seems to accept the idea that she may be connected to Sofi in ways that can't yet be proven through science.
A post-credits scene shows Dr. Simmons continuing her tests and scanning the irises of deceased famous figures for matches, with some success.
|
|
