Tamal Kundu
Director Charlie McDowell’s ‘Windfall’ is a psychological thriller film that revolves around three main characters, known as CEO/Husband (Jesse Plemons), Nobody (Jason Segel), and Wife (Lily Collins). Nobody is a man with a mysterious connection to the CEO. Believing that no one will be at the CEO’s idyllic California vacation home, Nobody breaks into the property, intending to steal some cash and valuables. When he is about to depart, the CEO and Wife arrive, and a simple petty theft suddenly becomes a kidnapping and ransom situation. If you are wondering whether they survive in ‘Windfall,’ this is what you need to know. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Do CEO / Husband, Nobody, and Wife Die?
The CEO and Nobody die toward the end of the film, but the Wife survives. Nobody didn’t come to the vacation home to confront the CEO, even though he clearly harbors animosity toward the other man. But the circumstances become more and more complicated as the film progresses. Nobody finds the gun that the CEO hid in the property and uses it to keep the other two as hostages. Initially, he takes some valuables and cash on top of the $5,000 that the CEO retrieves for him and locks the other man and his wife inside the sauna before trying to depart.
However, just as he gets into his car, he discovers that there is a surveillance camera embedded into a tree right outside of the property. Nobody is evidently not a career criminal. If he were, he wouldn’t have been bothered about the camera and left. As he isn’t a career criminal, and this is likely his first crime, he returns to the house and takes the other two as hostages again. Now, his identity will be known to the authorities, so he has to go into hiding. For that, $5,000 isn’t enough. Eventually, the CEO agrees to pay Nobody $500,000 and contacts his secretary.
As they need about a day to arrange the money, Nobody stays on the property for the night. The following day, the Gardener shows up. The CEO tries to reach out to the authorities through him but fails. The Gardener abruptly dies after running into the glass door. His death changes the situation for the worse. When the money finally arrives, Nobody sends the Wife to pick it up. For a brief moment, it seems that she considers the pros and cons of fleeing but ultimately decides to stay.
The CEO and the Wife’s marriage gradually deteriorates in the course of ‘Windfall.’ Right before he is about to leave, Nobody reveals to the other man that his wife uses birth control pills. Nobody desperately hoped that the CEO would be a good man. That way, the financial and other disparities between them at least will make sense. But the CEO turns out to be vile, obnoxious, and petty, proving once more that there is no justice in the world.
As Nobody leaves, he crouches down to tie his shoelaces, just like he has done several times in the film. The wife grabs a heavy statue and swings it twice at the head of the man, killing him. She then takes the gun, goes inside, and shoots her husband multiple times, killing him as well. Ultimately, she cleans her fingerprints from the gun before putting it in Nobody’s hands. The Wife wants to imply that Nobody shot her husband, and then she killed him in self-defense. With this, the Wife potentially gains access to billions of dollars.
Read More: Is Windfall Based on a True Story?
