“Tell No Lies” is inspired by real-life events. It’s a thriller mystery story about Sofia, Emily, Ben, and Jessica and how their lives intertwine, leading to betrayal and the involvement of cops. The story is fast-paced and has quite a few twists and turns. Sofia lost her 35-year-old father when she was a child. When she turns 35, she decides to get everything she wants. She makes up her on-off relationship with her boyfriend and tells her best friend Emily that she will get what she wants, but they don’t know what Sofia means by it!
This article contains spoilers.
Tell No Lies (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film opens with John having a pleasant time with his wife Julia and child Sofia. He stops his car near a store to buy something. As John is busy buying items for his family, a robber named Bobby enters the store. He is arguing with the cashier, and John interferes. He asks him to stop doing this, and he will help. The cashier hastily hits Bobby, and he fires. The bullet hits John, and he dies. Young Sofia watches her father die in front of her eyes.
We fast forward to the time Sofia turns 35. She is working in an advertising agency, hoping for a promotion. Her senior Brian asks her to work on a campaign. Sofia then gets a call from Ben, who insists on visiting him that evening, and reluctantly, she agrees. Emily, Sofia’s best friend and co-worker, comes to the office with a cupcake to celebrate her birthday. Emily asks Sofia to let loose and grab drinks with her after work. Sofia agrees but says she can stay only for a little while.
Emily and Sofia go out for drinks, and Emily sees a message from Ben on Sofia’s phone. Emily disapproves of what Sofia is doing. She reminds her that she broke up with Ben and it’s a bad idea to meet him. Sofia promises that she wants to give him a chance to explain himself. Subsequently, Emily drops Sofia off at Ben’s house, and Sofia hugs her tight and says she is a good friend. Ben has prepared a candlelight dinner for both of them. Although Sofia is hesitant to relax, she gives in.
The following day, Emily tries to reach Sofia, but it goes straight to voice mail. Obviously, she starts to worry when she does not see Sofia at work. Meanwhile, Ben wakes up, and memories from last night come through to him. In montages, we see Sofia and Ben hooked up and slept together. Moreover, we see blood on a pillow next to Ben. He remembers some strange incidents of the night. He is having a conversation with a detective when Emily arrives, panicking.
Ben narrates everything that happened the previous night to the detective and Emily. Subsequently, we see a flashback. Ben and Sofia sleep together, and in the middle of the night, a strange man approaches them and demands to know all the sensitive information and credentials. Ben co-operates and tells him everything. He then asks Katie for money, and Sofia clarifies that she is not Katie. Ben explains that Katie was his ex. The man injects them with a liquid and tells Ben to get him the ransom in 48 hours, and he will take Sofia with him. As long as Ben keeps his side of the bargain, he promises not to harm Sofia. He also asks him not to go to the cops if he wants Sofia unharmed.
In the present, Detective Wright suspects Ben to have something to do with the kidnapping and asks him to get to the police station for more information. Wright collects the evidence from Ben’s room. He also asks Emily to come to the station for a statement as she is the last person Sofia saw before dropping her off at Ben’s. At the police station, Katie is also called to understand why the kidnapper wanted money from her.
Wright starts to grill Ben as he is sure Ben is behind the kidnapping of Sofia. Wright shows pictures of Ben and Katie and asks if this has anything to do with Sofia’s disappearance. Meanwhile, the kidnapper is transferring Sofia into another car and burns the car he kidnapped her in. Sofia is blindfolded, hands tied, and mouth gagged. In the police station, Ben explains the pictures.
Then, we see a flashback. Ben and Katie meet at a park. Katie wanted to get back with Ben, but Ben said it was over. He is happy with Sofia as her family does not look down on her, and neither does she. They hug goodbye. In the present, Ben says Katie had staged the pictures and sent them to Sofia. He explained things to her on Sofia’s birthday, and she believed him. The kidnapper takes Sofia to a house and removes her mouth rag if she promises to behave.
The kidnapper ties Sofia to a bed. Ben agrees to take a lie detector test. Sofia asks the kidnapper to let her use the restroom. He takes her and warns her not to do anything suspicious. In the washroom, she drops strands of her hair everywhere. Moreover, she cuts herself and leaves a blood stain on the mirror. The kidnapper, Adrian, gets agitated and opens the door, and Sofia sees his face.
The journalist reports the Sofia case, and Emily cries and promises Sofia that they will not stop looking for her. A female journalist consoles Emily. Sofia sneakily swipes a stub from Adrian’s cigarette. They both watch Emily’s interview. Meanwhile, Adrian tries to call someone and is annoyed as journalists are involved. Emily brings Sofia’s mother, Julia, to the police station.
In the police station, Julia hits Ben, assuming he has kidnapped Sofia. The female journalist comes to the detectives saying she has a voicemail from Sofia and she is alive. She describes what Emily wore in the interview and asks them not to involve the police. Therefore, Ben is released. Adrian watches the news and calls someone, asking them to call back. Adrian makes a video of him making out with Sofia for insurance.
Ben is in pain thinking about all his good memories with Sofia. Subsequently, Ben meets Katie and asks her for the money the kidnapper is asking for. He begs her and blames her for Sofia being in this position. Katie asks him to stay away from her. Meanwhile, Sofia manages to release herself and screams, asking for someone to help, but Adrian catches her. He ties her up, drops her off in an isolated place, and asks her to wait until he leaves to open her eyes.
Adrian leaves, and Sofia finds her way to her mother’s house. Emily informs Ben about Sofia’s return and takes him to her house. Sofia helped the sketch artist draw a picture of Adrian. Wright asks Sofia multiple questions, and when offered a rape kit test, Sofia refuses, saying he didn’t touch her. Julia spends some time with Wright and tells him about John’s death at the age of 35. Turns out Wright was a rookie detective on Bobby Johnson’s case. Ben, Sofia, and Emily reunite.
Sofia believes in Ben. Wright insists on talking to Sofia alone, but she wants Ben to stay. Wright shows them a video of Adrian and Sofia making out, and Wright accuses her of staging the kidnapping. Ben believes the video and storms off. Wright also points out that the age at which her father died is the same age she chose to do something like this.
Sofia explains she was scared, but Wright does not believe her. Sofia is taken to the police station. Wright publicly states to the reporters that Sofia has staged the kidnapping. Julia takes Sofia out of the police station. The female journalist reaches the police station and troubles the cop, Ted, into giving information on some evidence. He gives in.
Sofia decides to go to work, and Emily stops her, but she does not listen. Sofia believes she needs to show up to do some damage control. Brian asks Sofia to take some time off from work, and her work is distributed to Emily and Jason. She negotiates, and Brian agrees to see what she has done on the campaign. Ben is ignoring all of Sofia’s calls and messages.
The female journalist Jessica Daniels comes to Sofia’s house, promising she is there only to help. She tells Sofia she knows where Adrian is, and if she wants, they can confront him together. Sofia asks for time, and Jessica gives her two days. Jessica visits Adrian on her own and finds him dead in the car with a letter on the windshield and calls the cops. Wright, as usual, collects the evidence. At home, Emily and Sofia breathe a sigh of relief as Sofia’s innocence is proven. Ben is at her door and wants to be heard, but Sofia ends things with him once and for all. Emily is proud of Sofia. Later, Emily is in the washroom, and she gets a call from Jessica to meet her immediately.
Sofia meets with Jessica and Wright, who informs her that Adrian is acting on Emily’s orders. They also tell her that Emily is the one Ben cheated on and not Katie. Sofia is heartbroken. Wright promises to take them both to custody the next day. As promised, they are both arrested. Jessica’s boss asks Sofia for an interview, and she agrees only if Jessica interviews her. During the interview, Jessica reveals that Wright is fired, and it had come to light that he had let Bobby Johnson go free a few days before her father was killed. If he had been arrested sooner, her father would have been alive. After the interview, Sofia requests Jessica not to air the part about her father’s death for the sake of her mother.
Tell No Lies (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Did Sofia’s Actions have a strong motive?
Sofia meets Emily in prison. She admits to sending pictures of Katie and Ben to her. She also admits to sleeping with Ben. Sofia tells her that she has betrayed her trust but confesses a few things herself. Sofia tells her that she had recorded messages for Adrian, and he acted on her orders after she found her messages on Ben’s phone. In fact, she had the whole year planned. Furthermore, she knew that she was stealing her life: her career, home, and boyfriend. She found Adrian from her past.
Sofia changed plans because Adrian didn’t stick to the plan, and hence, it led to his death. Sofia meeting Jessica was a happy accident; she used her to get what she wanted. She tells Emily that she had also gotten a promotion and nothing would have happened if it hadn’t been for her. Sofia walks out of the prison and meets Jessica, and they kiss. Jessica says that they both got what they wanted and left.
The ending was a surprising one. Throughout the film, the dynamics of the characters were quite predictable. Every time there was a twist, the previous scenes would show characters making eye contact. The story is based on actual events, so the film’s last part feels questionable. They did an excellent job as a straightforward thriller mystery film. However, the film needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. The reason for the crime Sofia committed seemed sloppy. It needed a more substantial reasoning, and hence it was underwhelming.
