When nerdy Adam Sorenson, an English Literature major at Mercy, a fictitious Midwestern college, meets Evelyn Ann Thompson, an attractive graduate art student, at the local museum where he works, his life takes an unexpected turn. Never having the best success with women, he is flattered when Evelyn shows an interest in him and, at Evelyn's suggestion, gets a new hairstyle, begins a regular exercise regimen, eats healthier foods, dresses more stylishly, acts more confident and dominant, and begins wearing contact lenses instead of his usual eyeglasses. These initial changes regarding Adam's physical appearance are well received by Adam's friend, Phillip, and Phillip's fiancee, Jenny. Jenny takes such a liking to Adam's new physique that she makes a move on Adam and the two share a passionate kiss. It is left ambiguous as to whether or not Adam and Jenny have sex. Later, Evelyn cajoles Adam into undergoing plastic surgeryto fix his misshapen nose and succeeds in persuading him to cut himself off from Phillip and Jenny, whose relationship she ruins. Eventually, Adam learns that he has been part of Evelyn's MFA thesis project, a topic often mentioned in conversation but never fully explained. Evelyn presents Adam to an audience of students and faculty as her creation, announcing that she had been instructed to "change the world" by her graduate adviser, but that she had chosen to "change someone's world" instead. Her work consisted of "sculpting" Adam into a more attractive human being. Accordingly, none of the feelings she has shown him throughout the film are genuine; at no stage in their "relationship" has she fallen in love with him; her videotapes of their lovemaking are simply part of the project's documentation. She also announces that she is not going to marry him and the engagement ring he offered her is simply one of the exhibits of her art installation, the "capper to my time at Mercy". Publicly humiliated and emotionally devastated, Adam confronts Evelyn in the gallery, demanding an explanation for her actions. She responds by saying that he should in fact be grateful to her, claiming that, objectively speaking, she has been a positive influence on his life, making him a more attractive and interesting person in the eyes of society. He calls it a heartless joke, not art, and asks for the ring back, as it was his grandmother's. Evelyn agrees. He asks her if "anything you told me about yourself was true" and she tells him what she whispered in his ear the night they had sex on tape was true. Evelyn leaves Adam standing alone in the gallery. He goes over to the TV and pushes "Play" as it shows when the two of them were in bedmaking love. In tears, he watches it over and over again.
