Ethan is a popular tutor known for easily building connections with his rich students. “The Tutor” revolves around Ethan and his new student, Jackson. Most of his time was spent tutoring preppy students at their luxurious mansions and apartments. At the end of the day, he returned home to his girlfriend, Annie, at their cozy little place. Ethan was thrilled when he was offered to tutor Jackson for a week, and the job could extend if they liked his method. Ethan could not hide his curiosity after arriving at their magnificent mansion. He went all around the house and met Jackson’s cousins. Soon after meeting Jackson, Ethan realized that he was extremely intelligent, but there was something about the boy that bothered him.
Spoilers Ahead
‘The Tutor’ Plot Summary: What Is The Film About?
Everything started to get peculiar when Ethan asked Jackson about his parents. He refused to disclose his father’s profession, and he stated that his mother was taken away. While Ethan wanted to know more about Jackson, Jackson had already investigated his tutor. He discussed Ethan’s pregnant girlfriend and asked him whether they had planned the baby. Ethan completely freaked out. Jackson was no ordinary student of his; he conducted a background check and knew Ethan better than he thought any of his students did. The next day, Jackson asked Ethan to take his picture and then offered him money to end the class ahead of schedule.
That night, Jackson came to his room and curled up next to him. His mother was not taken away; she left of her own accord, and his life has been difficult since then. He believed that his father never liked him, and now that he was getting older, he could feel his expectations lowering over time. Ethan shared with Jackson how his family was far from perfect. His father was an alcoholic who struggled to keep his anger in check, and as his son, he too had imbibed certain negative qualities. Ethan was distant from his father and had not yet shared the good news with him. His mother left him when he was young, and as a little boy, he, too, struggled to grow up without the presence of his mother. He often thought to himself how broken everyone around him was, and that made him feel better. Jackson got off the sofa and, with a smile on his face, remarked that Ethan was a good listener and a special person.
Ethan was extremely disturbed by Jackson’s behavior, and the next morning, when Jackson invited him to dinner with his father, he declined. Ethan explicitly stated that he was not his friend and that building a good rapport with his students was just a part of his job. Jackson was heartbroken, and Ethan regretted hurting his feelings; after all, he was getting paid more than his usual charge. He walked into Jackson’s room to find him, but instead, he came across his laptop and was stunned to find pictures of him and his girlfriend. The next day, when he confronted Jackson about it, he had a meltdown. He injured himself and ran from the room. Ethan called Jackson’s father, who explained that his son was an emotional man and that he needed to be prepared to face the world outside. While he was returning after conducting a week’s session, he received a call from the man who got him the job, Chris Butler. He was offered to tutor Jackson all through the summer. Even though Ethan wanted to discontinue, the money was good, and he was afraid of how powerful the family was.
Why Did Jackson Destroy Ethan’s Life?
After Jackson heard Ethan discuss him with his friends at a restaurant, he lost his cool. The next day, they were supposed to meet for a session, and Ethan apologized to Jackson for his behavior over the phone. Jackson did not pay much heed to it and asked him to wait for him at his townhouse. The townhouse was empty when Ethan reached it. He pulled out his camera and took pictures around the house. Jackson informed him that he would be late and asked him to have some fruit if he was hungry. Ethan started to feel uneasy as soon as he bit into the second strawberry. When he woke up, he realized that he was underwater, and he somehow managed to swim to the surface.
Annie found Ethan’s story quite unbelievable. Ethan had recently cheated on Annie, and to win her trust, he allowed her to track his phone. But even that was not enough to make her believe that a teenager had drugged and drowned him. He decided to develop the camera’s negative roll to find evidence to support his story, but what he found instead was petrifying. They had taken compromising pictures of him and Teddi. He vaguely recalled Jenny asking Jackson to photograph him and Teddi. The next morning, Chris called and informed him that Jackson wanted to cancel his sessions with Ethan due to his violent reaction that led to bruising. He even informed Chris about Ethan’s inappropriate behavior, and in his defense, he stated that the pictures were framed. Chris was not interested in his explanation, and Ethan was fired from the job.
The next time Ethan met Jackson on the road, he threatened to ruin him if he dared to come near his family. But Jackson was done too, and he was ready to destroy Ethan. Jackson tried to warn Ethan that there was some past connection between them, but he did not care about it. Jackson filed a police complaint against Ethan after showing the police CCTV footage of a man hurting him. The image of the man was not too clear, and Ethan added that Jackson did it on purpose. He was allowed to leave, but Annie continued to doubt him, especially after she spoke to Jackson. The next morning, she asked Ethan about Jackson’s mother, Rachael Platt. Ethan explained that she was married when he dated her, but her marriage was not working out. She later committed suicide by drowning, but clearly, Jackson believed that her mother was murdered, and Ethan had something to do with it. Annie could barely trust Ethan anymore, and she asked him to leave and only return when he was ready to be completely honest with her.
‘The Tutor’ Ending Explained: Did Ethan Kill Rachael Platt? What Happened To Ethan?
Ethan was determined to get a restraining order against Jackson, and to do so; he needed to prove that Jackson had attempted to kill him. In the middle of the night, he broke into the townhouse, and just as he came across his half-eaten strawberry, security caught him in the act. As it turned out, the house belonged to Jefferson Platt, Rachael’s husband. The police doubted Ethan because of his involvement with Rachael a decade ago, but Ethan continued to plead for his innocence and asked them to question Jackson’s father about Jackson’s behavioral problem if required. The police informed Ethan that Jefferson Platt died of cancer three years ago. Ethan did not know what was real anymore. Everything he had believed all this time turned out to be an elaborate plan to get to him. Jackson was neither studying at the school he said he did nor was the man he met his father. Also, he realized that Chris had been lying about the family as well. He was released from prison, but he was asked not to leave the area. As soon as he stepped out of prison, Jackson called and asked him to meet him at the place his mother died.
Ethan drove to the lake, perhaps hoping to clear up the misunderstanding. Jackson was convinced that Ethan had murdered his mother. She did not have water in her lungs when her body was brought ashore; her head was so forcefully slammed against the deck that it cracked the wood. With the evidence gathered, the police determined the exact spot where his mother died. He was convinced that she was killed, and no matter how hard Ethan tried to prove himself innocent, it was almost impossible. After bashing his head with a rod, Jackson and his cousin, Gavin, waited for Ethan to come back to his senses. The moment Ethan woke up, he continued to rubbish Jackson’s claim and tried to calmly make him understand how it was all a big mistake. Seeing how Ethan was not ready to confess, Jackson was determined to kill him, but Ethan stopped him. He stated that he was there with her the night she died, but he left before she committed suicide.
According to him, Rachael was madly in love with him, and she was struggling to make a decision about her marriage. She was hysterical, but Ethan did not realize that she would kill herself. But Jackson was not ready to buy his story. He had read his mother’s diary, which clearly stated how Ethan was in love with her, whereas she considered their relationship a weekend affair. She called him unstable and a “pathetic puppy dog.” He was obsessed with her, while she had lost interest in him. She noticed how desperate Ethan was to belong to a world he was not born into. The words from Rachael’s diary triggered Ethan, and he attacked Gavin. While he choked Gavin to death, Jackson escaped. He found Jackson hiding at the docks, and while threatening to kill him, he admitted to killing his mother. Unexpectedly, Annie arrived at the dock. She had tracked his phone and was concerned when she noticed his location. Now that Annie had heard him admit the truth, she had become a liability for Ethan, and he did not care that she was pregnant with their child. Just as Ethan was planning to kill Annie, he was shot in the shoulder by Jackson, and he fell into the lake. The next morning, police searched for his body, but it was never found.
The ending of “The Tutor” suggests that Ethan continues to live. He perhaps has moved to a new posh neighborhood where he offers to tutor rich kids. From the ending, we can conclude that Ethan suffered from mental illness or that he was manipulative enough to convince everyone else that he was a good man. He always hid his real intentions from the world, knowing how he would be ridiculed and sidelined. It will not be surprising if we find out that Ethan has murdered a few others before, but he always successfully escaped. He was not someone who had made one mistake in his life. His relationship with Annie was presumably part of his average good guy act, considering how easily he was ready to kill her to protect himself. Ethan enjoyed being around wealthy people, and over the years, his hatred for them had grown.
