In his latest thriller, “Dying for Fame,” David Benullo portrays the familiar struggle faced by influencers and the loneliness that often ensues. We recently discussed the explainer of “Sugar,” a film based on true events involving two influencers. Despite their outward appearance of coolness and happiness, numerous social studies have highlighted the profound sense of loneliness that accompanies fame or excessive attention. What sets “Dying for Fame” apart is David Benullo’s adeptness at maintaining a balance. He skillfully presents the information overtly while subtly delving into themes of jealousy, angst, and intricate human emotions. Once again, Lifetime has proven its value as a spontaneous OTT platform with the release of yet another unique thriller. Spoilers Ahead.
Dying For Fame (2024) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
The film starts with Juliet Jay, a popular social media influencer, being chased by a stalker named Holden, who claims to love her blindly. He has even kept candles and flowers to welcome her, and that too inside the gym. Holden is obsessed with Juliet, and she definitely does not like it at all. She tries to run away from him and bumps into Ryan. Ryan is an influencer trainer who is in a relationship with Juliet as well. When Ryan comes to find Holden, he has already left the building.
On the other hand, we see Anna, a celebrity reporter, who waits for an opportunity to discredit any influencer and bring them down. She even clicks pictures of a teenage influencer vomiting due to alcohol and posts it on the front page of the website. This literally destroys the teenager’s whole career but gives Anna the attention she craves. She calls it journalism. But her friend Artie sees her true self as a self-centered, powermonger woman who is successful in what she does.
Why does everyone blame Anna for Juliet’s death?
Since Anna’s work has pleased her boss, her next assignment turns out to be one of the biggest influencers in town, Juliet. Anna is being asked to participate in an upcoming party organized by Juliet herself. But, she can not get direct access to the party, so at first, she interviews her. In the interview, Anna asks her about the number of followers who are perhaps bought by Juliet herself to jumpstart her followers number. Juliet agrees to this as she goes on to explain why she has done such a thing. However, she requests Anna to look into a more serious matter.
Juliet tells Anna about Holden and that he is a member of a group called Romeos with a star tattoo on their hands. Anna thinks that being an influencer and having a bunch of stalkers is a very common thing, and she ignores it. Later, she posts an article about Juliet buying fake followers which leads to a disastrous party at Juliet’s. Knowing how fake she has been, people reject her party, which turns out to be empty. Juliet shares a video message, and the following morning the world learns that she has killed herself.
For obvious reasons, people start blaming Anna since Juliet killed herself right after the article was published. So, in so many ways, Anna finds herself in a position where no one even cares how she is feeling right now. She even visits Juliet’s place, and her sister asks her to leave. A random Juliet fan insults her and says that it would have been great if Anna died in place of Juliet. Anyway, Anna is praised for her work back at the office. However, she suddenly remembers Holden and thinks about whether there is a chance of his involvement in Juliet’s death.
What does Holden reveal to Anna?
Anna has decided that she will get to the bottom of it, and she starts investigating the Romeos. She finds out that there was this one guy who got a tattoo of a star to show his commitment to an influencer. It turns out they got married soon after. From that time, this has been a trend where the obsession of having a star tattoo and stalking influencers hit the market hard. Right after Juliet’s death, Anna receives a piece of paper with a star drawn inside it and a dead rat. She even receives text messages from a stranger saying that he is outside her house.
When Anna complains to the police, Detective Nguyen says there is no evidence that shows any threat toward her life. However, later someone tries to hit her with a car. Holden enters her house without her knowledge and explains that someone has offered him money to stalk Juliet. But, with time, he fell in love with her. Holden admits that he would never harm Juliet. He also suggests investigating more about Ryan Tate, as Holden says that he has some past records of getting arrested.
Is Ryan involved in Juliet’s murder?
When Anna asks questions about Juliet, Ryan ignores the topic. Moreover, right after he defends Anna from a stranger, they become very close. Artie takes the opportunity and clicks pictures of Anna kissing Ryan outside of the bar. The next morning Anna becomes news, and she leaves the job. The detective calls Anna and tells her that the car that tried to hit Anna is Ryan’s. But, he has already reported it missing earlier, so there is nothing that can be done.
When confronted, Ryan admits to taking some sort of injection and asks Anna not to publish anything about it since it will ruin his career. The first time Anna meets Juliet, she sees some bruises on her leg. Juliet’s sister told Anna that because Ryan did not stop taking injections, they used to fight, and the bruises were the result of it. When asked, Ryan also tells her that he is not as rich as Juliet was and that he seriously wants to invest more into his career. Seeing how much he has to lose here, Anna understands that Ryan will never harm someone who was a direct source of his money.
Dying For Fame (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Who Killed Juliet?
Juliet’s sister, Meg, calls Anna, saying that she has something very important to share with her. When Anna reaches there, she sees that Meg is injured and Holden is running away. Anna tries to stop Holden. But all of a sudden, Meg comes from an exit and pushes him from the stairs. Holden dies, and the detective confirms that they have found enough evidence to conclude that Holden is the real killer. However, Anna seems to doubt the situation, as the room key, Holden had does not open the door to the balcony from where Juliet was pushed to the ground.
Meg uses her key and opens the door, and when they are on the balcony, Meg confronts Anna, as she now knows Anna is doubting her for Juliet’s killing. While Anna is struggling to save herself from Meg’s attack, she listens to Meg’s confession. Meg admits to killing Juliet, as she has always been jealous of her beauty and success. However, since Juliet was earning so much money, she decided to live with her, no matter her jealousy. But Anna’s article about her fake followers and Holden’s continuous stalking made her make the decision to leave this influencer life.
This means Meg will lose all of her wealth if Juliet stops posting on social media. This she fails to digest, and the angst she already had for her since the beginning results in pushing Juliet from the balcony. However, right after, Meg realized what she had done and regretted it for a moment. Meanwhile, Anna has broadcasted Meg’s confession to her followers, and now everyone knows the real truth. She even confessed about the bruises, as she used to hit Juliet whenever they argued. Anna somehow manages to hit Meg, which results in Meg losing her consciousness.
At the end of the film, we see Anna trying out a new job opportunity. A black figure, however, appears, but it is quite sure that she is left with no enemies. Even if she has any enemies, it is not clearly shown in the narrative.
Read More: Dying for Fame: Cast & Characters Explained, Plot, Release Date, Time, Where to Watch & Other Details
Dying for Fame (2024) Movie Links: IMDb
Dying for Fame (2024) Movie Cast: Dylan Raine, Amelie Anstett, Nick Ritacco
