Harry Lee works the graveyard shift as the morge attendant in Brooklyn. He is listless, but toils day and night trying to make life a little better for his mom, whose body is ravaged by cancer. He finds reprieve from the everyday by scavenging junkyards with his friend Otto, looking for parts for their beat-up motorcycle. But, as the medical bills threaten to drown him, Harry must search for creative ways to make ends meet. When he learns that Vince, a funeral home director that he does delieveries for, is selling body parts and making an inordinate amount of money, Harry sees a way out of his financial troubles. But he learns that the toll is paid in cutting and mutilating human remains, and the hope he sees soon grows dim.
Plastic surgeons, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies need human specimens to practice their skills, and they are unconcerned about the source of these valuable body parts. Harry approaches his reckless best friend, Otto, and his tough co-worker, Alfonso, to help cut and deliver pieces from the dozens of anonymous unclaimed remains that would otherwise be buried in Potter's Field. Passed over for promotion again after working at the morgue for eight years, Alfonso agrees to join Harry's gruesome business. He justifies the ethical ambiguity of the business by transforming it into a crusade for economic retribution from the morgue. Protective of Harry, Otto agrees to deliver the pieces they cut to the clients. Alfonso, experienced in assisting in autopsies, guides Harry like a father traching a son how to gut a fish. Harry's respect for Alfonso grows and a bond forms between the two of them.
The money is very good. A single foot can fetch them three thousand dollars. Harry slowly pays off the medical bills, keeping the hounds at bay. Their illegal cottage industry grows as Vince invites them to surgical workshops held in luxury hotels, where surgeons pay big money to practice new surgical techniques on the parts they supply. On top of their usual fees, Alfonso and Harry are paid generous salaries to assist in the workshops. Sharon, who coordinates the medical workshops, invites them to glamorous dinners where Harry and Alfonso are wined and dined. Alfonso relishes in the professional respect and camaraderie that the surgeons lavish on him.
But soon, their egos and the money threaten to fracture their fragile solidarity. Otto's cavalier attitude towards the serious consequences of their work sets Alfonso's teeth on edge. Meanwhile, Otto sees his friendship with Harry sliding away. Harry spends more time with Alfonso and becomes enamored by the money and respect that he garners from the medical professionals. While waiting for Harry at his apartment, Otto watches football games with Harry's mom, and begins shuttling her to her doctor appointments. Harry's work steels him against the idea of his mother's death.
Opportunities ripen in the death industry. Sharon and Vince plan to expand the business to other states and they ask Harry to be their partner. Harry will "collect" body parts from other brokers in cities across the nation. The money is seductive and Harry would not have to worry about his mom's medical bills. Along the way, Mrs. Lee begins to suspect that Harry is involved in something illegal. Then, one day, Otto stumbles into her home bloodied. Vince had jumped him and beat him to a pulp because Otto got arrested for buying pot while he was supposed to be on a delivery for Vince. Mrs. Lee becomes very worried about Harry's safety. She confronts Harry and demands that he stop. But he is in too deep and he becomes angry that she questions his judgment when he has done everything for her. A rift grows between them.
When Alfonso discovers Harry is being “promoted” in the business, he is furious. Angered by the fact that he originally proposed the idea to Sharon, Alfonso feels betrayed and decides to strike out on his own. In addition to cutting and selling parts by himself, Alfonso contacts Vince’s old clients and claims that Vince’s pieces are suspect and under investigation in order to steal Vince’s business. The unintended consequence is that the clients demand to review Vince’s forged paperwork, which has the potential to expose their entire operation. Vince wants to eliminate Alfonso. Faced with the possibility of jail and being locked out of the scheme, Harry is forced to go along with the plan. That night, Harry convinces Alfonso to meet him for some drinks, sealing Alfonso’s fate.
Conflicted about the act, Harry seeks escape and decides to visit Potter’s field. There, among the abandoned dead, he devises a way to try to salvage his friends, his mom’s welfare and his lost humanity.
Influenced by films such as La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz), Mean Streets (Martin Scorcese) and the stylized macabre surrealism of Seven (David Fincher), Why We Pull The Trigger is a hard-hitting yet intimate story of a young man navigating a world riddled with desperate situations and moral ambiguities. Set against the backdrop of a negligent death industry and an apathetic health care system, it is an unflinching look at the corrosive choices people make in order to survive as they are pushed deeper into the cracks of society.
