There's few things movie audiences love more than a good twist. Movies from the thriller genre do this best, constantly keeping moviegoers on their toes as the drama unfolds. This is exactly the case with Paul Feig's new movie A Simple Favor, based off the novel of the same name. Starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, the movie is full of drama and mystery, which is balanced by a surprisingly light tone and plenty of comedic beats. And the film's final scene has more twists than anyone could have expected-- even those who had read Darcey Bell's novel.
A Simple Favor starts to really kick into gear when Blake Lively's beautiful and somewhat terrifying Emily goes missing, and her past is explored. It turns out that her name isn't Emily at all, but Faith. And furthermore, she's got a twin sister named Hope. The girls actually killed their abusive father as teens, setting a wing of their home in the process. Hope and Faith split in order to lay low, and never reunite. That is, until Emily/Faith goes missing, and is forced to kill her twin after Hope tries to blackmail her.
This all comes to light when Anna Kendrick's Stephanie does some digging, concerned that Emily's husband Sean (Crazy Rich Asians' Henry Golding) might have something to do with her disappearance. But these concerns don't stop Stephanie and Sean from becoming involved romantically, as she also becomes a pseudo mother to Emily's son Nicky. And after the duo of ladies meet face to face at Emily's fake grave, a final game of cat and mouse ensues at the iconic house.
When A Simple Favor's third act conclusion begins, it appears like the two women are going to pin the investigation on Sean, and paint him as an abusive husband that Emily needed to escape. But that's not exactly the truth. Stephanie whips out a gun and shoot Sean, in hopes of eliciting a confession from Emily for killing her sister.
But this shocking twist was all a farce-- a fake gun and blood squibs, which Emily figured out. She knew they were setting her up, and disconnected the wires installed by the FBI beforehand. Emily then whips out a real gun, shoots her husband, and it all gets very real. She actually is that crazy, and believing she's gotten the upper hand, confessed to killing her sister. But always the mommy vlogger, Stephanie was actually streaming it all live. Game set and match. And as Blake Lively's character attempts to flee the scene, Girls actor Andrew Rannells delivers one last twist by hitting her with his car, resulting in her eventual conviction.
This ending is vastly different from the novel of the same name, allowing every moviegoer to be surprised by the film's events.
A Simple Favor is playing in theaters now. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
