Stuti Gokhale
Netflix’s ‘Home Wrecker’ is a riveting South African thriller drama movie that keeps the audience at the edge of their seats till the end. Directed by Stephina Zwane-Groenewald, it follows Kenzie, a lawyer struggling to make it in life with a troubled past. She notices that her college friend, Tamara has everything she ever dreamed of — she is soon to be made partner at her law firm, has a beautiful home, and has a loving, faithful boyfriend who wishes to marry her. Seeing her friend’s success grips Kenzie in mad jealousy, so she crosses all dangerous limits to steal Tamara’s life.
Featuring nuanced performances by talented actors like Letoya Makhene-Pulumo, Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa, and Craig Morris, the mystery thriller movie realistically delves into how people can often go to any extent to achieve their ambitions. Moreover, the themes explored in the film, like jealousy, betrayal, and past trauma, are not unheard of in real life. All this makes one wonder if ‘Home Wrecker’ is related to any actual incident or person.
Home Wrecker is an Original Screenplay
‘Home Wrecker’ is not based on a true story. The movie’s lifelike storyline and characters can be credited to the brilliant penmanship of Stephina Zwane-Groenewald, who also sat in the director’s chair for it. A pretty known name in the South African entertainment industry, she started as a child actor but eventually turned to filmmaking, with several successful movies and TV shows to her credit. Although the situations depicted in the Netflix movie are fictional, Stephina likely took inspiration from real life to craft the narrative.
In daily life, one often hears incidents involving people engaging in affairs with the partners of others and, in some cases, their own friends or even siblings. Besides, it is not uncommon to desire what another person has; some individuals even act upon that desire and try to sabotage another person’s success. Interestingly, such tropes have been explored in many movies and TV shows over the years, yet one of the similar examples has to be that of the 2014 thriller movie ‘Stolen from the Womb.’
The Terry Ingram directorial revolves around Chelsea, who comes across would-be parents Diane and Rob. Desperate to have a child, she gets extremely jealous of the couple and goes to sinister lengths to snatch their baby. While the premise of ‘Stolen from the Womb’ is extremely specific, it shares the common theme of a woman jealous of another woman with ‘Home Wrecker.’ Just like Kenzie yearns to live Tamara’s life in the South African thriller, Chelsea is unsuccessful in having her own child and thus craves what Diane and Rob have.
Hence, both women cross all their limits to take away what doesn’t belong to them. Letoya Makhene-Pulumo, who plays Kenzie in ‘Home Wrecker,’ shared in an interview that the movie will give everyone something to connect with. “It is a super intense movie. It is an exciting movie filled with so many twists and turns. There is so much that is unexpected in the movie. I think it’s something a lot of people are also going to be able to relate to, especially people who have been in relationships that matter to them, that have meant everything to them,” said the actress.
Considering all the factors mentioned above, it can be said that while ‘Home Wrecker’ is primarily a work of fiction, it does draw from real-life incidents and human emotions. By combining her observations with entertaining elements, Stephina Zwane-Groenewald has written a compelling story and relatable characters, further brought to life by the talented actors. Yet, despite its closeness to reality, the movie is not rooted in the truth.
Read More: Where Was Home Wrecker Filmed?
