The Bourne Identity

In the Mediterranean Sea, an unnamed man flees onto the deck of a boat. He is shot several times and then falls into the ocean. As he struggles to remain conscious, he sees the boat exploding in the distance.

Nearby, a fishing vessel owned by two brothers recovers from the storm. They spot the man floating in the ocean, pull him aboard, and take him ashore to a doctor on Ile Port Noir, France.

Over the next several weeks, Dr. Geoffrey Washburn helps his patient heal from his severe head injuries. He was shot four times, with a gunshot to the head requiring surgery performed by Washburn. He hears the patient speak multiple languages and whisper in his sleep. He also shows the patient evidence that he has taken on many identities in his life: He has scars from surgery to “soften” his features, and he regularly wore contacts despite perfect eyesight.

Washburn shows the patient a photographic negative that was surgically implanted into his hip. It shows the name and address of a bank in Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a string of numbers that constitute a signature for the account holder.

Washburn continues to study the unnamed man’s mind. He explains that his brain underwent psychological trauma. To protect itself during the time in the ocean, his brain shut down completely. Now, the man is slowly getting back certain things, like his instincts, habits, and skills.

Despite these improvements, Washburn also points out that the psychical damage is irreversible. It’s likely that he will never be able to remember his past. In the end, they agree that the best path forward is the bank in Zurich. Washburn lost his job as a doctor in London, England, because of an alcohol addiction, and he is hopeful that his work with this patient will earn him his career back.

In the 19th week, Washburn secures the unnamed man a job working for one of his patients, who agrees to let the man, whom they now call “Jean-Pierre,” work on his boat. Washburn is confident that returning to the sea will help Jean-Pierre heal.

During his time on the fishing boat, Jean-Pierre is ruthlessly criticized for his incompetence as a fisherman. He is harassed by the crew and forced to do the worst work alone. On the third day, there is an altercation where Jean-Pierre inadvertently hits a man with a deck brush. In the ensuing fight, Jean-Pierre instinctually knocks the three men unconscious and severely injures them.

Jean-Pierre returns to Washburn, who warns him that the three men’s families are looking for him everywhere. Believing that there is no other choice, Washburn insists that it is time for him to go to Zurich. He gives Jean-Pierre money and his old passport, assuring him that he will find his way.

Washburn arranges for a boat to drop Jean-Pierre off near La Ciotat on the coast of southern France. After Jean-Pierre pressures him, the captain agrees to meet him in Marseilles that night and help him get Washburn’s passport changed to look like him.

Desperate to find money, Jean-Pierre wanders around La Ciotat. In a butcher shop, he overhears the men talking with a woman who serves the Marquis de Chamford. That night, Jean-Pierre follows her to the inn and breaks into their room. He finds them in bed together. He takes their clothes, car keys, and jewelry, insisting that they not follow him if they want to keep their affair a secret.

Afterward, Jean-Pierre thinks of how easily things like violence and theft come to him. He considers it “frightening.” He wonders what kind of past he has where he learned to fight, incapacitate people, and “discern instant extortion in a casual conversation” (43). Putting it out of his mind, he concentrates on driving the Marquis’s car to Marseilles.

In Marseilles, Jean-Pierre sells the car, buys new clothing and a suitcase, and rents a hotel room. Surprised at his innate abilities, he is impressed that he now has over 23,000 francs and a secure place to sleep.

Later that night, Jean-Pierre meets with the boat captain. After haggling, he gets the captain to agree to alter the passport and return it to him the next morning.

When the captain gets up to leave, someone unexpectedly runs into Jean-Pierre. He reacts with shock and anger at seeing Jean-Pierre’s face. He insists that he should be dead and then pulls a knife. Without thinking, Jean-Pierre disarms and injures the man and then flees, realizing that someone wants him dead.

On the flight to Zurich, the plane experiences turbulence. It causes Jean-Pierre to have vivid, overwhelming flashbacks to parachuting from a plane.

In Zurich, the name of a hotel enters Jean-Pierre’s mind as he hails a taxi. The assistant manager there recognizes him. By asking the assistant manager to record his information, Jean-Pierre learns that his name is “J. Bourne.” The assistant manager tells him that he will do what he normally does: hold all his messages except for those coming from his firm in New York, Treadstone Seventy-One Corporation.

At Gemeinschaft Bank, Bourne meets with Walther Apfel, who is hesitant to allow him access to his account. He tells him that the manager, Koenig, believes that something is “amiss”; however, Bourne’s handwriting matches that associated with the account. He learns that he has 7.5 million francs. As he hides his shock from Apfel, he instructs him to send 1.5 million to an account for Washburn and 4.5 million to Paris. He then takes 100,000 francs in cash.

Back in the lobby, Bourne spots Koenig behind a desk. Koenig nods to two men sitting in the waiting room. As they stand, one speaks into a radio while another pulls out a pistol.

Reacting on instinct, Bourne stops the man with the gun and then restrains the other. As he threatens to shoot him, the man admits that two others are waiting for Bourne downstairs.

As the elevator door opens into the lobby, a man with gold-rimmed glasses shoots at Bourne. However, Bourne uses the captive man as a shield. As the lobby erupts into chaos, Bourne forces himself to walk calmly out the door. The other man hunting him is waiting outside but does not recognize him.

Bourne returns to his hotel and removes his belongings from his room. In the elevator, he hears two men and a woman discussing a conference. He learns that the woman’s name is Marie St. Jacques. In the lobby, he gives a note to the receptionist asking him to hold his messages, giving the impression that he is still staying in his room. However, as he heads for the door, he sees the man with the gold-rimmed glasses outside.

Trying to look casual, Bourne walks with Marie to the auditorium for the exhibit’s next speaker. When she tries to leave, he threatens her with the gun, forcing her into the room. They make their way onto the stage as the man pursues them. As he shoots, they run through a back door.

Bourne forces Marie out into the parking lot. When he hears scraping metal and sees a flash of green, his instincts tell him that the green light is a rifle’s crosshairs. He pulls Marie to the ground and then kills the shooter. In severe pain from the maneuver, Bourne takes Marie into the car with the dead shooter and tells her to drive.

Marie pleads with Bourne to let her go, but he ignores her. He takes her purse and finds a message from a Peter in Ottawa, Canada, who is planning to meet her the following Wednesday. He also sees a book of matches from a restaurant. They bring an image to his mind of a restaurant with “[w]hite stone and three black triangles” (91). He knows it is important but can’t figure out why.

Realizing that they need a different car, Bourne orders Marie to drive back to the hotel. He threatens her life if she does not follow his direction, a thought that makes him feel “revolted.”

Back at the hotel, Bourne sees a valet parking a car. He asks him about the restaurant and receives directions. When he leaves, Bourne and Marie take the new car.

Bourne has Marie drive around the restaurant. Realizing that he has no other choice, Bourne decides to go in. However, just before getting out of the car, Marie tries to escape. Bourne instinctively grabs her and pulls her head back, warning her that he will kill her if she tries anything again. He realizes that he has no remorse, as Marie has become an “enemy” with her attempts to escape. He assures her that he will let her go after he is out of Zurich.

Bourne and Marie sit at a table inside. Bourne sees a man staring at him from across the restaurant. He looks visibly afraid but gets up and comes to Bourne’s table. Bourne instructs Marie to look away and hide her identity so that she will not be implicated.

The man angrily tells Bourne to leave. He insists that he only gave “the envelope” to Bourne. The Zurich police, along with Interpol, have been searching desperately for Bourne, but the man has told them nothing.

Bourne asks where the envelope came from. The man tells him that it came to him from Chernak. When Bourne asks where Chernak lives, the man seems confused because Bourne should know it, but he tells him about Chernak’s apartment. The man then admits to knowing that there was money in the envelope but insists that he took none of it. When Bourne asks what the money was for, the man explains that, six months ago, the newspapers reported heavily on a man’s death. He assumes that the money was payment to Bourne for assassinating him.

Bourne goes to Chernak’s apartment. He has Marie knock on the door, pretending to have a message for him. Bourne then pushes his way in.

Chernak is in a wheelchair. He begs Bourne to leave him alone, insisting that he knows nothing more. He simply passed the envelopes on at Bourne’s request. As they argue, Chernak surprises Bourne by pulling out a gun and firing at him. He insists that “Carlos will pay” for Bourne’s body (111). Bourne gets shot in the shoulder, while another bullet grazes his head. However, he manages to disarm Chernak and kill him.

Back in the car, Bourne begins to panic; he tells Marie to drive to Steppdeckstrasse, where he has images of a rundown building and room. However, in the chaos, she knocks his gun to the floor and flees the car. She is picked up by two men who identify themselves as police officers.

Bourne travels to Steppdeckstrasse on his own. He is relieved to find a boardinghouse there that rents him a room, not even questioning his injuries. As he checks his injuries in the bathroom mirror, he considers how his mind had reacted in panic to the chaos. He desperately tries to think of a way out of Zurich.

Meanwhile, Marie meets with the police outside Chernak’s apartment. She describes the events of the last few hours, including the visit to the Drei Alpenhäuser and the man inside. She then recalls that Bourne said the word “Steppdeckstrasse” a few times just before she escaped.

Bourne wakes to the sound of someone on the stairs. The person pauses as the stairs creak and then continues slowly up. When he breaks down the room’s door, Bourne is waiting for him and subdues him.

Bourne starts to descend the stairs out of the building. However, he pauses on the second floor, seeing movement down one of the halls. He surprises another man, incapacitating him and demanding to know who he is. The man claims that he and the other man were sent by Chernak to kidnap Bourne. When Bourne asks whether there are any others, the man says no. Bourne takes the man’s gun, putting his own on his ankle.

Outside, Bourne is surrounded by bright lights. He is disarmed and taken captive by a man. He then sees the man with the gold-rimmed glasses. Marie steps forward as well, identifying Bourne.

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses taunts Bourne. He tells him that they have been hunting him for a long time, yet no one actually knows what he looks like. He mentions taking Bourne to Carlos. Marie interrupts to ask if she can leave, but the gold-glasses man reveals that he is not with the police. He has one of his men take Marie away and drive her to the Guisan Quai on the Limmat River to kill her.

Bourne tries to stop them but fails. The man with the gold-rimmed glasses then tells the man holding Bourne to break his hands. Bourne reflexively protects his right, hiding this fact from them. Bourne is then taken into the car by two men and driven away.

As the men drive, Bourne pretends to have a leg injury. Sensing that something is wrong, the man next to Bourne tries to stop him, but he is too slow. Bourne takes the gun from his ankle and kills the man. He then threatens the man driving.

Bourne and the driver negotiate, as the driver is going too fast for Bourne to kill him. Bourne convinces him to slow down, insisting that he won’t kill him. However, when the man tries to attack him, Bourne shoots and kills him. Bourne then gets into the driver’s seat and plans to save Marie.

When Bourne gets to the Guisan Quai, he sees tire tracks under a rope that blocks one of the park’s entrances. He makes his way into the park and hears muffled shouting. He realizes that the man has Marie inside the car.

Bourne quietly approaches the window and then raises his gun. He sees that the man has torn Marie’s clothes and is about to rape her. Bourne threatens him to stop, but the man responds by shattering the window in Bourne’s face. He then flees, shooting at Bourne as he does so.

As Bourne searches in the dark for the man, a light comes on in a building nearby. A watchman comes to the door but is attacked. When Bourne hears gunshots, he assumes that the watchman is dead.

Bourne collapses against the side of the car. Overcome by his injuries, he realizes that he is going to die. Marie tries to help him, but Bourne tells her to go to his car at the entrance to the park and leave. As he passes out, he hears a car approach and feels Marie begin to lift him.

Bourne wakes up in a bed with bandages on him. He sees Marie thank a man in a white coat before he leaves.

Marie tells Bourne that they are in a village called Lenzburg. After helping Bourne into a car, she drove around and debated what to do. Realizing that Bourne had saved her life, she brought him here. She used his money to pay the doctor for his discretion while also renting a room for the week. She plans to leave him there and return to her hotel as if nothing has happened.

Bourne argues with Marie. He insists that he is a killer and that she should not have helped him. However, she repeatedly insists that the person Bourne says he is does not align with the person she knows. Bourne begs her to leave for Canada immediately to protect herself, but she refuses to do so.

Bourne then tells Marie his entire story. She tries to insist that she does not believe what the men said about him. Even after he points out the things they both know—he has a lot of money in a secured bank account, he was receiving envelopes of money in exchange for killing, and the police are chasing him—she still insists that they don’t truly know what type of person he is. In the end, Marie decides that she is going to stay with him and help him.