Directed by Guillem Morales, “The Wasp” is a two-hander psychological thriller with Naomie Harris and Natalie Dormer. The film follows a sinister plan brewed by a married woman to seek revenge for her troubling past and repellent marriage. Harris plays the married woman in this equation, and Dormer plays her old-school friend. Written by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, the screenplay is based on Malcom’s own 2015 play. It examines power equations in different settings to build a taut tale of vengeance that stings even more than it bites.
Spoilers Ahead
The Wasp (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“The Wasp” follows Heather, a married woman who meets Carla, her childhood friend, after years with a strange proposal. Through their discussion, old wounds resurface, leading them on a wild ride. Before reading further, please note that the film covers themes of domestic abuse and childhood trauma.
What happens in Naomie Harris starrer ‘The Wasp’?
“The Wasp” revolves around Heather Boxfield (Naomie Harris), who is stuck in an unhealthy marriage. Her husband, Simon (Dominic Alburn) is a selfish egomaniac, who ignores her emotional needs and treats her poorly. Although leading a somewhat privileged life, she is unhappy in a toxic relationship and wants to break free. Initially, we see Heather tortured by a wasp invading her space and disturbing her peace. Simon does not care about her anxiety one bit. He expects her to behave like an ideal wife and cares solely about how he is perceived outside the house.
One evening, Heather decides to take charge of the wasp situation. So, she breaks open the ceiling. Suddenly, a swarm falls on the floor and makes the room inhospitable. Simon blames her for ruining his business affairs with her impulsive actions. So, she finally decides to take a step toward her freedom and gets in touch with Carla Jackson (Natalie Dormer), her childhood friend, with a wild proposal. She texts Carla, requesting her to meet the next day at a cafe to discuss the details. After a brief hesitation, Carla agrees to meet Heather.
Why does Heather want to meet Carla?
Unlike Heather, who leads a privileged life, Carla can barely scrap by her job as a grocery store cashier. She earns some extra cash, offering sexual favors to men so that she can feed her family with four children. Anyhow, she meets Heather at the café. Heather asks Carla about their days at school to check what she remembers or how much she remembers. Carla isn’t the least bit interested in reminiscing. Instead, she is concerned about making it to her job on time. So, Heather sees no other option but to walk Carla to the store and shares her outrageous plan. She wants Carla to kill her husband in exchange for £ 50,000. Heather offers £ 50,000 right away if Carla agrees.
Why does Heather choose Carla to kill Simon?
While walking Carla to the store, Heather reveals a few details about Simon’s infidelity. Heather knows that Simon has been having an affair with a woman he has met online for the past two years. She knows this since Heather is the woman he has been speaking with online. Heather pretended to be someone else and caught him in this act. Initially, Carla hesitates to accept Heather’s plan. After all, who in their right mind would agree to kill a human being? However, Heather trusts Carla with this mission because of a particular incident from their childhood. Carla agrees to kill Simon for £ 75,000.
As a kid, Heather witnessed Carla ruthlessly beating a pigeon to death. That’s why she thinks Carla is the right fit for the job. Presently, Heather convinces Carla with a lucrative offer to earn a lot of quick cash. Heather knew it would force Carla to accept her offer since she had also been speaking with Carla, pretending to be someone else. Through those conversations, she learns about Carla’s financial struggles. That’s why she offers a lot of money to lure Carla into her plan. Later, Carla shows up at the backdoor of Heather’s house to ensure no one sees them together to discuss the exact plan details.
How do Carla and Heather plan to kill Simon?
Carla shares how she plans to kill Simon. Heather wants Carla to take care of Simon’s body after the murder. However, she warns Carla not to take other expensive items from her house. After Simon’s sudden disappearance, Heather plans to lie about his whereabouts. While she and Carla discuss particular details of their plan, they both try to be in charge of the situation and not get implicated in the crime. Once again, Heather broaches the subject of their childhood. She points out her and Carla’s unfriendly relationship, where Carla bullied her with her friends.
Why did Carla bully Heather as a kid?
Carla defends her past actions, claiming them to be the result of her unstable household, where her father routinely tortured her and her mother. Unlike her, Heather lived a privileged life with parents who cared for and supported her. So, she does not feel sorry for bullying Heather and finds her actions justified. Heather paints a vivid picture of how Carla tortured her. She reveals that she chose not to expose Carla, understanding her situation of familial abuse so as not to let it affect Carla’s academic life. Despite Heather’s favor, Carla refuses to thank her. Instead, she blames Heather and her mother for not helping her as a kid despite knowing the situation of her torture.
The Wasp (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
After discussing the murder plan details, Heather and Carla discuss details from their childhood when Carla bullied Heather. Carla does not feel sorry for Heather one bit and notes her domestic abuse made her inflict pain on Heather. Eventually, they get back to talking about the plan. Carla asks for Simon’s photo to know who she is supposed to kill. Once Heather shows his photo, Carla realizes that he is James, the man to whom she offers sexual favors. Simon has been using a fake name during their meetings for several months. Heather has figured out the truth and decided to kill two birds with a stone.
After this brief discussion, Carla starts feeling dizzy because of the tea Heather served her. Heather ties Carla to a chair, refusing to let her speak. Then, she reveals details of the harrowing experience Carla and her fellow bully mates subjected her to. As an adult, Heather lives under the trauma of that incident, which has burdened her relationships since then. In the present, she lies to Carla, claiming she has already killed Simon and has hidden his body inside the house. She does not let Carla leave the house. However, instead of murdering Carla, she keeps confronting her.
Does Heather succeed in her deceptive revenge plan?
At the end of “The Wasp,” we see Heather tie Carla to a chair to torture her. She refuses to let Carla leave her chair and tries to make sure a neighbor hears or sees her struggle to survive. Heather lets Carla free only to present her as the ruthless murderer, out to get her. A next-door kid notices Heather make a run for her life. Through this ordeal, Carla tries her best to convince Heather not to kill her. She claims that she previously bullied Heather since her instincts had led her to do that. Hearing that, Heather pushes Carla to trust her instincts in the present to check if she is truly sorry for her actions.
Even then, Carla reaches over to a knife to hurt Heather. Heather stages a scene that would compel Carla to take this impulsive step. Right when Carla stabs Heather with a knife, Simon returns home and finds Heather lying in a pool of blood next to Carla. Moments later, cops show up outside the door to arrest Carla and Simon. As mentioned above, Heather wanted to kill two birds with a stone. So, earlier, she gave a written note to her neighbor, claiming her husband and his mistress were plotting to kill her. As a result, the cops convict Simon and Carla for killing Heather. In the film’s final moments, we see a wasp leave Heather’s body through her knife wound.
What is the metaphor behind ‘The Wasp’?
When “The Wasp” begins, we see a wasp disturbing Heather’s sense of calm and peace. Simon does not care for what she feels and expects her to behave at her best, even when she is not comfortable with her own skin. So, the wasp represents the unresolved feelings that constantly plague Heather’s mind and make her uncomfortable. We see her trap a wasp under a glass, symbolizing her desire to control the situation. Later on, she invites Carla and speaks at length about the trauma that still haunts her because of Carla’s consistent bullying.
Heather opens up to psychologically torture Carla the way the wasp called Tarantula Hawk would torment a person, leading to the person’s slow but eventual painful demise. The wasp at the very end represents Heather’s pain, finally leaving her body and setting her free from torture.
