Faithfully Yours, a thrilling film produced in the Netherlands, will be available on Netflix in May 2023. The movie was published globally on Netflix a few months after meeting an unexpected success at the Dutch box office in 2022, drawing viewers who enjoy murder fiction. The plot thickens as it progresses, and the unexpected revelation at the conclusion demands an explanation: let’s get everything straight.
You can watch the official trailer for Faithfully Yours here on Youtube.
Faithfully Yours plot & ending explained: Isabel’s plan
At the start of Faithfully Yours, we follow Bodil and Isabel, two friends who have a covert agreement: they will conceal one another by appearing to be at museums and cultural events while, in reality, they will let loose with illicit affairs and obscene nightlife. First night’s plans call for Bodil to attend a cultural conference and take pictures with both phones while Isabel stays in a different hotel and visits a posh nightclub.
Bodil and Professor Michael Samuels are seen having a sexual encounter while Isabel is having fun at a different nightclub. Luuk, Isabel’s husband, phones Bodil the following morning to say that he injured his ankle and wants Isabel to come home. When Bodil phones Isabel, the weekend itinerary is changed. After picking up her phone from Bodil, Isabel will make a stop there before heading back home. Bodil is accompanied by Michael while she swims in the ocean in the meantime. The first plot twist occurs when Bodil visits her aunt’s house again: Isabel’s cart is there, and the entrance is stained with blood.
From that point on, everything revolves around discovering what happened to Isabel. We see images of Isabel’s dead body where Bodil found the blood after someone sends her phone to the police. The cops discover a message on the dark web where a murderer tells a customer named Zadkin that his or her “mission accomplished” has been completed. Evidently, someone paid a hitman to kill Isabel.
The viewers of Faithfully Yours are led in two further storyline twists that demand an explanation. We learn that Isabel returned to the hotel room with Bo’s sister, Yara, after the police found the hotel surveillance tape. That evening, Yara pays Bodil a visit and shares two significant details: A hitman was hired to kill the woman at their aunt’s house that morning, suggesting that the real target was actually Bodil. First, Yara and Isabel have been dating for a long time and were planned to leave together.
Prior to having this realization, we had a suspicion that Luuk, Isabel’s husband, had hired the hitman to kill his wife. Bodil’s husband Milan is the person we (and Bodil) suspect after realizing that she was the intended victim. Milan even possessed recordings of her affairs at that house, giving him a reason to kill her. She visits Michael’s house after Bodil flees in fear and finds that a string is gone from his piano. If it’s not a coincidence, Michael is the hitman and purposefully contacted Bodil in order to murder her.
The truth is in the middle, and Faithfully Yours clarified it in the conclusion: Luuk hired the hitman using the fictitious name of Zadkin, the main character of the most recent book he wrote. Bodil, who persuaded Isabel that her relationship with Luuk had to end, was the real target. Luuk desired Bodil’s demise so he could reclaim Isabel. Bodil realizes this and flees, killing Luuk in self-defense.
Except for the final major story twist—Isabel is truly alive and is going with Yara—everything seems to have been made clear. What makes it possible? Isabel is the one who gave the explanation in Faithfully Yours’ climactic sequence. Isabel makes use of the information she learned about her husband’s plan to hire the hitman and kill Bodil. She makes touch with the same hitman and agrees to orchestrate Isabel’s death while making it appear as though the hitman killed the incorrect woman. By doing so, she accomplishes two objectives: first, her husband will be arrested (Isabel feels Bodil can comprehend what he did), and second, she will be free to begin her new life with Yara while everyone believes she is dead. Bodil picks everything up at the last second and blesses Isabel and Yara for their future life. This also means that Michael is not the hitman, and the missing piano string was just an unfortunate coincidence.
Viewers fell in love with Faithfully Yours because of its intricate plot, large number of false leads, and excellent explanation.