Diksha Sundriyal
A series of shocking twists and turns take place in Netflix’s ‘Vanished into the Night’ as a man loses his children only to discover that he had grossly misjudged the situation for what it was. The story centers on Pietro, who is already in trouble. The problems in his life are exacerbated by his divorce from Elena, as things are starting to get uglier than they had expected. However, the true nature of this ugliness doesn’t rear its head until the end of the film when Pietro realizes how far Elena is ready to go to win the custody of their children. However, she shows up again when he thinks he has defeated her. SPOILERS AHEAD
Elena’s Silhouette in the End is a Glimpse of Her Future
When his children are abducted, Pietro’s suspicions go to the people whom he owed money. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that Elena would kidnap them to get back at him. He decides to fight back when he realizes what she’s planned to do. Finding evidence against her, especially about the part where she drugged her children with oxycodone, is enough for Pietro to hang it over her head and make her succumb. Still, her actions make him realize how desperate she was to get custody, and nothing was beyond her.
In the end, when Pietro exposes her and threatens her with legal action of his own, she is forced to leave her children in Italy. At first, it seems like she will board the plane to America and live the rest of her life away from her children, who go home with Pietro. Just when everything is settled, Elena’s silhouette appears in the background, and Pietro sees her, too, acknowledging that she hasn’t left Italy and has returned home. But what does this mean?
Considering what Elena pulled with the fake kidnapping, the chances of Pietro forgiving her and getting back together are slim to none. There is no way he will forget that she tried to take his children away from him and was ready to send him to prison if that’s what it took. Whatever love she felt for him wasn’t enough to make her have a proper conversation with him and settle things amicably. Even if he still feels something for her, she has lost his trust, which means chucking away the divorce is not an option.
The only way for Elena to be close to her children is to stay in Italy, even if it makes her unhappy. Following the divorce, she was looking forward to going back to America and resuming the life she had had for Pietro. But she can’t go there without abandoning her children. This desire to have both things made her work against Pietro, and now, whatever sliver of options she had is wrested away from her. Pietro will never bow down to her demands, and whatever leverage she has against him is gone.
The final shot of Elena lingering in the background shows the life ahead of her following the film’s end. She will have to stay in Italy and might even have to give up a greater percentage of custody to Pietro, who will not pull his punches anymore. Any fairness that he may have been willing to show her will not exist anymore, and he will vie for a greater share, if not the full custody of his children. This will leave Elena in the background, observing her children from afar and waiting for her turn to be with them while they enjoy their life with Pietro.
Read More: Vanished Into the Night: Is the Netflix Movie Inspired By Real Events?
