Set during the Vietnam War, 1969 is the story of two best friends, Ralph (Robert Downey, Jr..) and Scott (Kiefer Sutherland), both Maryland college students whose moral outrage at the country's involvement in the war leads to a life-altering event. When Scott's brother Aiden, an enlisted serviceman, is declared missing in action, a decision by the friends to steal their files from the local draft board in an attempt to avoid being drafted, sets in motion dramatic consequences in this compelling coming of age story. 

An impressive supporting cast includes Winona Ryder, Joanna Cassidy, Bruce Dern and Mariette Hartley in a film directed by Ernest Thompson, the Academy Award winning screenwriter of on Golden Pond.