When the rhythm guitarist of a band is pushed to attempt a solo, he instead starts to reveal some haunting hidden talents.

A quantum physicist develops a machine that creates a tunnel to a subatomic universe. In his quest to prove the machine's efficacy, he inadvertently discovers a radical treatment for cancer in lab rats. He now seeks human volunteers.

Lynn Shelton's "My Effortless Brilliance" is a study in the relationship between cocky, fussy, thoroughly-city-mouse author Eric (Sean Nelson) and his ex-best-friend, the tersely powerful journalist and wood-chopper Dylan (Basil Harris). Dylan, fed up with Eric's self-involved antics, dumps him and disappears to live in a log cabin in the woods of Eastern Washington; two years later, Eric arrives (sporting a Prius, white sneakers, and a fear of spiders) to mend the friendship.