An Honest Life (Ett ärligt liv, 2025) plunges viewers into the conflicted inner world of Simon, a young man who arrives in Lund with dreams of becoming a lawyer—despite a buried yearning to be a writer. Adrift and hungry for something real to inspire his prose, Simon’s life takes a sharp turn when he stumbles into the orbit of a masked group of anarchists. Charismatic and elusive, their leader, Max, fronts a collective that targets Lund’s wealthy elite under the banner of fighting inequality.
What begins as an encounter soon spirals into entanglement. Simon is drawn not just to their cause but to the intoxicating thrill of rebellion and the rare feeling of belonging. But as the group’s actions grow more extreme, Simon finds himself caught in a tightening web of moral contradictions. The line between justice and criminality blurs—and by the time Simon begins to question it, he’s already in too deep. His early convictions are tested against the unforgiving truths of radical action, leaving him to confront the cost of both complicity and disillusionment.
This article contains spoilers.
An Honest Life (Ett ärligt liv, 2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film opens in an expensive watch showroom. In the showroom, Simon and a girl are talking to the salesman. Suddenly, there is panic as a woman faints and has seizures. By the time Simon looks at the woman and comes back, there is a phone on the table. It starts to ring. Simon answers. On the other side of the phone call, a woman asks Simon to steal the watches as part of a test.
We now see a flashback that leads up to this moment. Simon lands in Lund to study law. However, Simon wanted to be an author, but he had nothing to write about. The minute Simon lands in Lund, he is greeted by students protesting. A masked man throws explosives at the cops and runs. Soon, Simon follows the masked man and his group and finds them robbing a jewellery store.
One person spray paints ‘We have got ropes and daggers’ on the wall. A cop arrives, so Simon warns the person. The cop tackles Simon down. The masked woman, Max, saves Simon before rushing off. After the incident, Simon reaches his residence, which he shares with two other men, Ludwig and Victor. Unlike Simon, these two are among the top 1% (wealthy families) of society. After classes, Simon works part-time in a club. The next day, Simon befriends Fredde, who also does not come from a wealthy family. He studies law and is a nerd. In the library, Simon recognizes a woman who looks familiar (Max).
How did Simon get injured?
Later, Simon sees Max waiting outside the college. Even though Fredde wants to meet for a beer to plan a study schedule for exams, Simon promises to meet later and rushes to hang out with Max. They now dine in a fancy restaurant where they see Ludwig and Victor with their friends. At that time, Max says her group is trying to send a warning to the wealthy.
When Simon gets back home, Ludwig invites Simon to a small dinner party they are having. Sadly, Simon is stuck setting the table and serving Ludwig and his friends throughout. The group gets drunk and goes out for a bit. Before leaving, Ludwig asks Simon to clean the dishes and vacuum while they are gone. The next day, Max comes to Simon’s building to take him somewhere interesting, as Simon had said he didn’t have anything to write. To write something, Simon needed to explore more of the world.
They now reach a beautiful waterbody and cliff jump into the water. In excitement, the second time, Simon jumps to the shallow end of the water. Thankfully, Max calls her sister Dinah to check on Simon for injuries. The good thing is, Simon has not broken any bones. They bring Simon to Charles’s house, located in an isolated place. This is where Max and the others live.
Simon is introduced to the other members, Gustaf and Robin. After dinner, Simon tells the group that he does not want to feel bored with his life, as his parents also lead a boring life, and he is unable to pursue his dreams because he does not know what to write about. Because Simon does not come from a wealthy family and has no connections, he won’t get an internship in the UN. Later, Max reveals to Simon that Charles was a political science professor but teaches a political anarchy course.
Why does Simon want to move out?
Before leaving, Simon and Max kiss, and Max tells Simon that everyone likes him and that Simon fits in with the group. At home, Simon asks Ludwig not to eat his food, as they are expensive and Simon does not have the money like Ludwig or Victor. The next day, Max and Simon reach the watch showroom that we saw in the first scene.
The phone rings, and Max asks Simon to steal the watches. Instinctively, Simon does as he is told and rushes out. Outside, Gustaf and Robin are waiting to take Simon away. Then, they stop by a house where they lie low until the issue is sorted. The whole group reunites in that house. Later, they go to a club where Simon takes drugs. The next day, Simon and Max go skinny dipping and have sex.
Soon, Simon is recruited by the group and has a new room, which was occupied by someone else who left the group a while ago. Meanwhile, Gustaf watches the TV news about Maria, an investor who is funding big companies in Sweden. At home, Simon gives his notice to Ludwig as Simon plans on moving out and asks for a one-month refund. So, Ludwig promises to refund the money if Simon attends a small get-together soiree that weekend. The expectation is for Simon to help out as well. The next day, the group goes to the sea to pick oysters. There, Charles warns Simon not to trust Max and Dinah easily, as they are like predators. That night, Max says Dinah took Charles’s course on anarchism, and after that, they moved in.
Why did the bandits commit a big robbery?
It’s the day of the soiree. Instead of enjoying the party, Simon is stuck cleaning alcohol spills and refilling alcohol for the elite. Simon is annoyed as Ludwig is enjoying himself with a woman instead of helping out. So, Simon watches Ludwig and the woman and realises the woman is none other than Max. Infuriated, Simon drinks alcohol and takes drugs.
For a day or two, Simon ignores Max’s calls. Soon, Simon returns to Charles’s house. There, Simon finds out that Max slept with Ludwig to get his father’s house keys, as they are rich. This was all for a gig. They plan to break into Ludwig’s father’s house. Even though it’s risky, Simon has agreed to join the team. Although Charles thinks it’s dangerous and may put him behind bars, the group wants to go ahead with the plan.
That night, the group breaks in, and everything goes according to plan. Before leaving, Max is spray painting, as is the ritual of the group. Suddenly, they hear a gunshot and rush to the top floor. As this is happening, Dinah and Gustaf leave with the two Porsches in the garage. Inside the house, Robin has shot Joyce, the house cleaner. Because Joyce cleans Ludwig’s house, Simon knows her and is unwilling to let Joyce die there. Unfortunately, Robin and Max drag Simon away. On their way, the cops stop Max. When the cops open the trunk, Simon sprays pepper spray, and the trio runs away. The price for the cars is high, and they did this heist only to buy their freedom. This upsets Charles.
What does Simon find in the library?
Max asks Simon to leave as he can’t be traced back to the group; otherwise, he will be in trouble. When Simon does not listen, Max blackmails Simon as she has footage of the crimes he has committed. Sadly, Simon does not know any of the group members’ real names. As soon as Simon reaches home, he puts the house keys in Ludwig’s coat pocket.
Just then, Ludwig gets a call about the burglary. The next day, Ludwig tries to understand the anarchist’s logic and questions Simon about what Joyce’s fault was, as she was hard-working. After that, Simon took more part-time jobs. One day, Simon visits Charles to demand the location of the group. Instead, Charles gives information about a man, Henrik, and asks Simon never to return. When Simon reaches Henrik’s co-living space, he finds out that Henrik went missing a couple of months ago.
One of Henrik’s friends gives Simon a card, as Henrik had asked her to do. The information is about a book in the library. As Simon skims through the book, he realises a page is stuck. After ripping the page open, Simon finds the real names and numbers of all the members of the group. Now, Simon visits Charles to discover that he is dead (shot himself or was shot). In class, Simon gets a call from Max asking for Simon’s help. To meet, Simon needs to go to the Stiller Hotel, where Max has already booked a room. Before heading there, Simon writes in his diary that although the group thinks they played him, Simon’s diary is his life insurance.
An Honest Life (Ett ärligt liv, 2025) Movie Ending Explained:
Simon goes home, places the diary between his books, and tells his sister that if anything happens to him, then his sister should have Joyce and Faulkner’s books (as the diary is between them). Simon heads to Stiller, where he spends a day sleeping and reading. Suddenly, Max comes in through the balcony and they sleep together. At the same time, Maria checks into the hotel as well. Just then, Gustaf and Robin enter the room, set a timer, and leave. At that moment, Simon packs his belongings. The group now ties Maria up and steals from her. As the hotel staff approach the room, Robin shoots the man. Panicked, Simon rushes to the room and stops Robin from shooting anyone else. Unfortunately, the gun is fired, and it hits Gustaf.
Hurriedly, the group takes Gustaf and leaves the hotel. Near a rest stop, Max and others get down while Dinah drives away with Gustaf. Now, Simon takes a picture of Max and tells her that he knows Max’s real name is Lea. Furthermore, Simon also knows that before Simon, Henrik was used by Max. After Henrik left, Max used Simon and didn’t have any feelings for him. At first, Max denies it but keeps quiet. Simon tells Max that they won’t see each other again, and if she tries to pull something, then Simon has all the details to get them to the cops. Finally, Simon is free.
The story’s turning point arrives when Simon uncovers the truth about the bandit group. It’s a moment that echoes Henrik’s own past—perhaps he, too, had once been manipulated and, in trying to save the next person, sought redemption. In the final act, when Simon warns Max, it carries a layered implication: if Max dares to exploit or deceive someone else, Simon won’t hesitate to alert the authorities. Though Max insists she truly loved him, Simon refuses to believe her—a quiet yet resolute act of emotional self-preservation. We also see Dinah’s growing disillusionment with Max, which eventually softens into a bond with Simon.
Simon’s decision to walk away is not a sudden pivot but a natural consequence of his repeated betrayals—first by Ludwig and Victor, who used him in their home, and then by the so-called revolutionaries, who were no different. This accumulated disillusionment pushes Simon toward reclaiming his agency. Now, he may turn his back on both the elites and the anarchists, choosing instead to reconnect with Fredde, focus on completing his law degree, or perhaps finally write the book he always dreamed of—armed now with a story worth telling.
While An Honest Life begins as a pointed exploration of class disparity and radical resistance, it gradually sheds those ambitions. The bandits, once presented as agents of justice, reveal themselves to be driven less by ideology and more by thrill-seeking and chaos. By the film’s end, the political core fades, replaced by a more intimate narrative about manipulation, lost ideals, and one young man’s search for integrity in a world that keeps betraying it. The result is a story that, while compelling in its character arc, leaves its original purpose somewhat adrift.
