Plot:
In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the rules of The City, are taken to The Hotel, a restrictive regime where they are obliged to find a matching mate in forty-five days. If an occupant manages to find a partner among others, the new couple is given a month to try to live together in a special section of the facility, after which they are freed; failing results in being killed and reincarnated in an animal of one's own choice, and sent off into The Woods surrounding the structure.
David arrives at The Hotel. He brings with him a dog – which the audience learns is his brother, who has been transformed into an animal of his choice after failing to find a partner during his time at the hotel. Each singleton arriving at the hotel is given 45 days to find love, but they can extend this period during "the hunt". During the hunt, occupants of The Hotel must use tranquiliser darts to shoot at escapees from this dystopian society of enforced coupledom, the so-called 'loners': each loner captured guarantees one more day of humanity to the shooter.
During their stay at the hotel guests participate in a range of activities, including propaganda for the benefits of partnership. Masturbation is banned but awkward stimulation by the hotel maid is a requirement.
Early in his stay at the hotel David falls in with The Limping Man and the Lisping Man. The Limping Man is hoping to find a partner with a limp. When no such candidate arrives however he is able to feign a recurrent nose bleed by smashing his nose against an array of hard surfaces. This wins him the affection of Nosebleed woman and the two move to the couples section to begin the month of trial relationship needed to leave the facility.
Inspired by this David seeks to win the heart of the most cold-blooded woman in the hotel – the best hunter. When he watches idly as she appears to choke to death she decides that he may be a match for her and they begin their trial relationship. But difficulties slowly appear and ultimately David is unable to contain his tears when she brutally murders his brother, the dog. Seeing that their relationship is built on a lie she begins to march him to the head of the hotel. But en route he escapes and, with the help of the hotel maid, tranquilises her. He transforms her into an animal – what type we do not discover.
David escapes and finds himself among the loners. They live a wild life, catching rabbits and hiding from the hunt. They have far fewer rules than The Hotel but have an absolute prohibition on any sort of flirting or entanglement, with gruesome punishments. One of them, the short-sighted woman, quickly falls for David and he for her, since he too is short-sighted. They go together on covert missions to The City where their cover requires them to appear as lovers, which they secretly enjoy.
The loners launch a raid against the hotel in which they ruin a number of relationships. David reveals to Nosebleed Woman that The Limping Man has been faking his nosebleeds, and other loners give the hotel manager's husband the chance to shoot her to save himself. Despite having professed his love for her he pulls the trigger – the chamber is empty – and the two are left to face each other.
The leader of the loners uncovers evidence of the short-sighted woman's affair with David and she is blinded. She and David conspire to escape, placing the leader of the loners in a grave. David and the short-sighted woman reach The City. In a restaurant, David takes a steak knife to the bathroom and attempts to muster the courage to blind himself and recreate his connection with his partner. The film ends and it remains unclear as to whether or not David blinded himself.
