Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, and Richard Madden, Philippe Lacôte’s Prime Original Film, “Killer Heat,” is based on Jo Nesbø’s short story “The Jealousy Man.” Essentially a sun-kissed neo-noir with a Martin Scorsese hangover, the story takes place on a remote Greek island. Our protagonist, an alcoholic private investigator with problems of his own, is called to solve a case in absolute secrecy. The movie goes all out, and if you are someone who casually started watching “Killer Heat,” that twisted ending might confuse you.
In the following article, I will take a detailed look at the mostly predictable film and discuss its ending twist. Please be aware that the article contains spoilers; reader discretion is advised.
Killer Heat (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Nick Bali (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a private investigator who claims to be an expat (despite this feeling somewhat out of place in the film’s context), is hired by a Greek woman named Penelope Vardakis (Shailene Woodley). She asks him to travel to a remote Greek island, controlled mainly by her family, after her brother-in-law, Leo Vardakis (Richard Madden), dies while free solo climbing a nearby mountain. She thinks that Leo’s death feels dicey and that there is more to it than that.
The apparent suspect here is Leo’s Monozygotic twin brother, Elias Vardakis, who also happens to be Penelope’s husband and the CEO of one of the biggest shipping companies in Greece. Elias is, of course, the more charismatic of the two brothers – established by the fact that he stole Penelope from Leo while they were all studying at Oxford University. Leo had always been jealous of Elias, who seemed to be the favored one in the family. Even their mother, Audrey (Clare Holman), who had been managing the household on her own since their father passed away, showed more love and affection towards his brother.
What does Nick realize after talking to Elias?
To keep things discreet, as Penelope had asked, Nick pretends to be a CIA agent when he meets with Elias. He tricks Elias into having coffee with him by claiming to be one of the American investors who have funded his company. His goal is to extract information from Elias that could assist him in solving the case.
After talking to him, he understands that the two brothers had a fight at a local bar and that, after the fight, they were not talking to each other. As mentioned above, we also learn that the brothers were Monozygotic twins (those that share 100% DNA with their siblings), and both have had a flair for rock climbing since they were small kids.
While the case is officially closed as an accident, the local cop, George (Babou Ceesay), suspects foul play, too. So, during his investigation, Nick stumbles onto George for crucial information, and the two end up working together to uncover whatever shady things the Vardakis’ are up to.
What does Nick find out about Penelope and Leo?
After bouncing over many red herrings, he goes through Leo’s apartment and finds one of Penelope’s hair ties. This allows him to deduce that before he died, Leo was having an affair with his brother’s wife. Penelope attests to his hunch and tells Nick that her and Elias’ marriage was going through a rough patch since she realized that Elias was sleeping around with other women but was adamant not to let her leave their marriage. This prompted her to find comfort in Leo, who was kinder than him.
What does Nick find at the murder site?
Upon hitting many dead ends, Nick decides to visit the cliff where Leo was found dead. The only way the person who might have killed him could have reached the cliff, which towers above a beach, was likely by boat. So, with the help of George, Nick tries to find official records of the boats that were out for fishing that day. They are able to trace down the boat, which has been missing ever since. The duo tracks Elias’ thugs trying to get the boat out of the picture. However, in an ambush on the docks where the thugs and the duo meet face-to-face, George is killed.
Why is Nick so disturbed in his personal life?
All of this pushes Nick down another spiral of self-loathing coupled with the demons that he has been fighting all this while. Via constant flashbacks, we learn about Nick’s personal life, where he has an estranged relationship with his wife, Monique (Abbey Lee), and daughter, Clio. These flashbacks tell us that Nick was so consumed by his work that he did not have time for his family. His absence isolated Monique, leading her to find affection and a sense of belonging in an affair that she kept hidden from Nick. However, Nick eventually deduced all of it and became enraged by a growing sense of insecurity and jealousy.
Killer Heat (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Who killed Leo?
The downward spiral, however, helps Nick finally realize the obvious. Leo is not dead. The person who died is actually Elias, and Leo has just taken over his brother’s identity. Upon realizing this, Nick arranges a meeting with Penelope at their house and confronts Leo (posing as Elias) in front of his wife and mother.
The confrontation is dead on when Nick tells Leo that he was able to deduce his plan by realizing that there were no American investors in his company. Since they were Monozygotic twins, taking over Elias’ identity without getting caught in the autopsy report was like a cakewalk. Realizing that his plan is now out and open, Leo turns to Penelope for some support, but she dismisses him by saying that she was swimming and cannot attest if he (posing as Elias) was with her.
Finally, Nick tells them that Elias was climbing the cliff that day, and Leo was already at the top. Leo then stomped on his hands (possibly breaking his fingers in the process), leading him to fall to his death. After assuming his brother’s identity by taking his ring, the gateway part was easy. He just had to get to the boat with one of his goons and return to the house.
Listening to all this and after having Leo confess that all of it is true, Audrey becomes enraged because she always loved Elias more than her other son. So, she takes her gun, points it at Leo, and kills him.
Who is the actual culprit?
After that, the police take Audrey away, leaving Nick to pack up and leave the island for good. However, before flying out, something ticks in his head, and he returns to confront Penelope. The ending of “Killer Heat” (2024) shows Nick’s final deduction. In reality, Penelope is the real mastermind behind Elias’ death. She hired Nick because she needed someone to help her, and she knew he could be easily manipulated due to the chaos in his personal life. On telling her that he now knows everything, Nick asks Penelope to confess her truth in front of him.
This is where Penelope tells him that she was trapped in a toxic marriage where her husband would not let her have her freedom despite her begging him on multiple occasions (the narration of the Icarus myth makes sense now). He even threatened to kill himself or her if needed. So, to get out of her marriage, she conspired with Leo (who she knew had a soft corner for her) to kill her husband. It was her who was in the boat helping Leo. However, taking over Elias’ identity was never in her plan, and Leo did it because he wanted to own Penelope as if she were some prized possession that these men could have. The clues Nick eventually got were all part of Penelope’s plan to be set free, now from Leo, who wouldn’t let her be.
The final sequence shows that Nick, who now understands how a woman could feel trapped in a marriage, lets Penelope stay scot-free despite the crime that she has committed. Penelope bids him goodbye and requests him to go back to his family in New York. Since Nick can’t mend his marriage after all he has done, we briefly see him calling his wife and asking to talk to his daughter, whom he doesn’t want to abandon anymore.
