Directed and produced by Antoine Fuqua, The Guilty is an American Crime Thriller film distributed by Netflix. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead role as Joe Baylor. Meanwhile, Christina Vidal and Adrian Martinez play supporting roles.
The movie deals with Joe’s struggle with his past and the guilt that he is unable to overcome. The past experience has made him an angry man and it has affected his usual lifestyle. The film is inspired by the movie of the same name and follows almost the same narrative, however, Jake Gyllenhaal’s superlative performance enhances it to the next level. Let’s talk about and discuss The Guilty ending explained.
The Guilty Plot
Joe is a police officer with a somewhat troubled past. One day, he is on his duty responding to distress calls dialed on 911. He tends to get angry at callers and this becomes routine in his job. However, when a woman named Emily calls her, things change.
Emily reports that she has been kidnapped and gives away her location. Even though she doesn’t blurt it out loudly, her hints are more than enough to draw the conclusion. She also has two kids who are also stuck in the same place.
After hearing her call for aid, Joe immediately contacts nearby officers and informs them of the situation. He starts interacting with the daughter and becomes more immersed in the case. We also learn about his past and why he is like that as the case progresses. There’s a guilt that resides within Joe that he must deal with.
Joe and Jess
Through the phone call, we learn that Joe and his wife have been separated for the last 6 months. A certain incident led to their separation and now Jess no longer wants any piece of him. He tries to persuade her but she doesn’t show any interest in holding a conversation and wants to go separate ways.
What Was Joe’s Guilt?
We learn that Joe is accused of someone. One of his friends Rick was actually a defense witness. Joe was trying to get Rick on his side, however, he was hellbent on giving a statement in defense. In the evening, Joe contacts Rick and asks him to go to Emily. When he reaches the house, he witnesses a grueling sight.
The Guilty Ending Explained – Did Joe Get Over His Guilt?
Rick sees the blood gushing out of the child who was lying on the bed. Now things started to make sense for Joe. The Emily that contacted her wasn’t the one held hostage. She was actually a mentally ill person who was trying to hurt her friends.
Furthermore, Henry who is Emily’s husband was being accused of kidnapping. However, he was just trying to take the kids out of Emily’s care. In the last moments, Joe has a heart to heart conversation with Emily where he finally admits that he killed an accused innocent teenager.
Joe finally comes to terms with his past and gives an interview where he admits his guilt. He pleads guilty in the trial and proceeds to face the punishment.
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