Magpie, directed by Sam Yeats, is an entertaining, compelling British neo-noir thriller that will frustrate you at first, but it comes with a riveting ending. The film focuses on domestic drama and deceit in marriage. Daisy Ridley is brilliant as Anette, the frustrated wife of an untrustworthy husband. Even though she does not verbally communicate her frustration, her expressions effectively convey her emotions. Shazad Latif is convincing as the deceitful husband Ben. Anette was over the moon when her daughter Matilda was selected to play a role in a film, but it soon turned into her worst nightmare. Her husband Ben started to get obsessed with Matilda’s co-star, Alicia. He started to fantasize about her from the moment he came across a leaked explicit video of her online. It was not just her husband’s obsession with another woman that bothered Anette, but his complete lack of interest in helping her raise their two children. She knew what was going on, yet she was helpless, or was she?
Spoiler Alert
How did Anette find out that Ben was cheating on her?
This was not the first time Anette had caught Ben distracted. He had previously distanced himself from his family for around eight months, and Anette had accepted him when he returned. Even though he said he had gone away to gather material for his next book, it was obvious to the people who knew the couple that Ben was disloyal and he had been having an affair during the time. With a newborn to look after, Anette struggled to find a balance between her domestic life and her career. That’s all the more difficult when one’s husband barely offers to help. Even though she had set up a meeting with her ex-employer and had been discussing it for days, Ben did not pay attention and forgot to inform Anette that the nanny was unavailable. Anette had to take her son along to the meeting, and naturally, she was seen as unprofessional for doing so. That was the breaking point for Anette. She wanted her life back, and more importantly, she wanted Ben to realize how his lack of participation in doing daily chores was affecting her. She wanted to wreak havoc, but instead, she chose to play it cool. Anette quietly followed Ben’s every move. She figured he had no intention of working on his next novel; instead, he had dedicated all his time and energy to flirting with Alicia. She saw him searching for Alicia online, and soon she found out that he had exchanged numbers with the star.
Anette lost her calm when Ben and Alicia were papped outside Alicia’s house; he explained that he and Matilda had been invited to her place when the shoot got canceled. It was almost as if Ben wanted her to know that he was attracted to another woman because he had assumed she did not have the courage to leave him or stop him from flirting with another woman. Meanwhile, Ben had convinced Alicia that his wife was mentally unstable. He complained about going unnoticed by her and how relieved he was to have found a friend he could share his troubles with. Even though Anette tried to keep her family together, Ben projected her as an evil witch to Alicia. Anette made sure that Ben suffered; she poisoned his food and went to the film set the next day with Matilda. One morning, she simply woke up early and left with Matilda, leaving Ben alone at home to look after their newborn. But were the small victories enough to teach Ben a lesson?
Who was Ben chatting with?
The twist is introduced at the very end of Magpie. Throughout the film, the audience, along with Ben, thought that he was texting Alicia, but the truth turned out to be something completely unexpected. During the ending of the film, Anette invited Alicia over to their house for dinner. It was the last day of the shoot, and she wanted Alicia to bid Matilda a proper farewell. Ben was caught off guard when he saw Alicia at his doorstep. He was furious, and he assumed Anette had planned the dinner to make him feel all the more helpless. Anette did not pay him any heed, and together they sat down for dinner. When Alicia asked Matilda why she closed her eyes before the final scene, Matilda revealed that her mother had asked her to imagine the most tragic moment of her life so she could emote better. Alicia wanted to know what the memory was, but Matilda hesitated. Anette encouraged her daughter to respond to the question, and Matilda revealed that she was in pain when her father left them for eight months, and she’d had to watch her mother in tears for days. The revelation left Alicia uncomfortable.
Alicia wanted to leave because of the tension in the air, but Anette insisted that she stay. When Anette asked Alicia about her future plans, Ben was visibly irritated. He was tired of the pretense because, lately, he had had discussions with Alicia about running away together to spend some time with each other. He blatantly stated that whatever Anette was trying to achieve by inviting Alicia over for dinner was not working. He thought Anette was embarrassing herself, and he aggressively demanded that she stop playing mind games with him. Alicia decided to leave, and she looked startled when Ben mentioned that he would call her later that night. She was about to grab her coat, but Ben tried to hold her back. Alicia managed to leave, and Ben felt defeated. He walked up to Anette and confessed that he was in love with Alicia, and he was ready to leave his family to be with her. He reminded her that she could not hold him back with her scheming ways, and he was not ashamed that he had cheated on her because, according to him, Alicia saw him for who he was. He did not feel appreciated in his marriage, and he thought he had wasted his time trying to make it work.
Of course, Ben had barely made any effort in his marriage; he was professionally doomed, and he was trying to escape from his messed-up existence by getting together with a renowned celebrity. Ben left the house and got in his car. He contacted Alicia, but to his surprise, Anette was the one who received his call. He initially assumed that Anette had stolen Alicia’s cell phone, but when Anette mentioned that he hadn’t got it right, he was confused. So, as it turned out at the very end of Magpie, it was Anette who had been pretending to be Alicia all along!
How did Anette take control of the narrative?
Anette refused to be the helpless wife in their marriage and decided to take control when she saw that Ben had exchanged numbers with Alicia. She removed Alicia’s number and typed in hers, but the contact name remained the same. This left Ben thinking he was talking to Alicia when it had been Anette all along. This explained why Alicia was confused when Ben mentioned that he would call her as soon as she got home. So how did Anette manage to pull it off? Well, she constantly kept an eye on Ben, and she knew him well enough to know how to keep the conversation going. She even bought a wig to send Ben a tease video by sneaking into Alicia’s trailer at the film set! She went over and beyond to convince Ben that he was chatting with Alicia, and she did a great job at that. Was her decision morally tainted? Well, given the deceitful man she was dealing with, I personally thought it served Ben right. She faked a relationship while he was fake throughout their marriage. He did not care about his wife or even his children. He needed to escape, and he did not care if his decision left the most important people in his life devastated. But Anette surely needs to consult a therapist because she is carrying emotional baggage that needs to be addressed.
Will Ben survive?
After figuring out that his entire relationship with Alicia was something Anette had conjured, Ben lost his calm. His dream of running away from his responsibilities and living with a successful actor fell apart within seconds. He was driving, but he could not focus; his mind was fixated on figuring out how he fell into the trap.
During Magpie’s ending, Ben met with an accident. His car was found upside down. He was gravely wounded, and while we do not know if he was still alive, the fact that his car was on fire suggests that the chances of his survival are slim. Even if Ben survived, he would not have anything to look forward to. His wife and children would distance themselves from him, and he would be too emotionally and physically damaged to move on from all that he went through. If Ben died in the crash, Anette would not be suspected since she was not responsible for his death. And at the end of the day, it really was an accident. Matilda might struggle at first, but Anette’s dedication as a mother will help her children feel abundantly loved.
