A Different Story 1978

Albert Walreavens, Perry King, is the chauffeur and lover of Sills, [Peter Donat], a wealthy pianist. When Sills discovers another chauffeur and lover, Albert is abruptly pushed out and ends up on the gritty streets of Los Angeles. A world of shifting loyalties and crowded rooms begins to unfold as Albert tries to navigate freedom, desire, and survival in a city that never sleeps.

Stella Cooke, Meg Foster, a sharp real estate agent who knows both Sills and Albert from their repeated rental visits, stumbles upon Albert as a squatter in one of her properties. She offers him a place to sleep on her couch, initially with the plan that he will move out the next day. But the moment Albert starts cleaning the place, organizing the clutter, and cooking a remarkable dinner, Stella senses an unexpected compatibility between them. The arrangement deepens: Albert remains, helps around the house, and even takes a part-time job as a valet, quietly becoming a fixture in Stella’s daily life.

Chris, Lisa James, arrives in Stella’s orbit as Stella goes on a date with him. The moment the two share a kiss, Albert realizes Stella is not straight, revealing a pivotal twist in their dynamic. Chris spends the night, and soon after, Phyllis, Valerie Curtin, another of Stella’s lovers, storms into the house, discovering Stella and Chris together. Stella’s apology to Phyllis preserves their ongoing relationship, while Albert begins to form his own attachments beyond Stella.

Albert soon meets another partner, Roger, Doug Higgins, whom he encounters at the baths. The two begin a discreet, mutually satisfying bond, even as Stella and Albert continue to spend much of their time together. The house becomes a hub for multiple relationships, and Stella’s parents inadvertently misread the situation, assuming Stella and Albert are dating in a conventional sense.

A turning point arrives when immigration agents come for Albert, revealing that he is an illegal immigrant from Belgium. To shield him from deportation, Stella marries him, sealing their unusual arrangement with a legal bond. On Albert’s birthday, they are intoxicated and share a newfound intimacy, marking a shift as they sleep in the same bed and begin to live as a heterosexual couple in practice if not in origin.

Stella becomes pregnant, and the couple’s life grows more complex. Phyllis, deeply distressed about her diminishing role in Stella’s life, becomes increasingly fragile, leading Stella to confront the precarious emotional balance of their circle. Phyllis’s troubles culminate in a crisis that brings Stella and Albert into Phyllis’s apartment to confront danger; a gun is involved, but it is not loaded, and Phyllis breaks down in tears.

With the baby’s arrival, Stella and Albert move to a new home. Albert takes on an apprenticeship in fashion design, a career shift that places him in a different circle than Stella’s real estate world, while Stella pauses her own career to focus on motherhood. Jealousy reenters the picture as Stella suspects that Albert may be involved with his fashion-world boss, Ned, Guerin Barry. The moment Stella discovers Albert naked in a shower at his workplace—not with Ned, but with a female model—she is struck by the unexpected turn of events and the emotional distance between them widens.

Unable to bridge the widening gap, Stella moves out with their baby and contemplates divorce. Albert makes a heartfelt, but ultimately insufficient, effort to repair the rift. When Stella again refuses to return, he drives away in a symbolic moment of rupture, only to have a tragic, yet non-serious, motorcycle accident as she watches in tears. She races to the scene, overwhelmed by emotion, but Albert survives the crash with little injury, leaving their future together uncertain and unresolved.

This story unfolds as a portrait of unconventional bonds, mutual dependence, and the thin line between companionship and romance. It follows two people who discover they fit together in surprising ways, only to have their arrangements tested by love, legality, jealousy, and the unpredictable tides of daily life in a bustling city. The film treats desire and partnership with a candid, nonjudgmental eye, presenting a narrative that centers on connection, conflict, and the consequences of choosing a life that defies conventional labels.