Based on actual events and persons who lived and worked around James Dean. During his all-too-short career (three starring roles in two years), James helped to radically redefine the way teenagers were portrayed onscreen, and the expressive naturalism of his performances did more to establish the "method" school of acting in the public mind. Looks at the star's short but troubled life, his years of struggle before his sudden rise to fame, and the car crash that took his life at the age of 24.