Last Updated on October 25, 2024 by
Magpie is a 2024 Animation Movie directed by Sam Yates, and written by Tom Bateman. The film stars Daisy Ridley, Matilda Lutz, and Shazad Latife., with a runtime of 1 Hour 30Min, and was released on October 25, 2024.
Magpie is a domestic thriller that uses the name of the burglary opera The Thieving Magpie by Rossini only as the title but the story itself belongs to a different century and explores the issues of trust and betrayal in marriage. The opera it alludes to is about a housemaid suspected of stealing silver; however, the actual thief is a magpie, a bird known for their tendency to steal shiny objects. In the movie Magpie, many characters place themselves in one another’s pockets in a rather metaphorical sense, stealing such things as trust, love, and security. The story provokes thoughts more on the theme of a failing marriage rather than the actual theft of valuable objects.
The movie centers around three main characters: Ben (Shazad Latif), his wife Anette (Daisy Ridley), and the famous actress Alicia (Matilda Lutz). Ben is a writer and is currently going through a midlife crisis and Anette is suffering from mental issues, especially after the birth of their new baby. Conflict arises when Ben develops an attraction to Alicia, an actress hired to work with their child Matilda on her first professional production.
The movie starts when an opportunity arises for Matilda, Ben, and Anette’s daughter gets a chance to act in a movie that also stars Alicia, a famous Italian actress. Another example is Alicia who became a subject of the media and gossip after her private videos were hacked and leaked on social platforms. Ben, who is to take Matilda to a movie set, becomes enticed by the young woman of the house, Alicia. The girl begins to tell him all sorts of things about how much she loves his writing and how good he is and so on; as a result, a man named Ben who has been starved of affection by his wife for quite some time now, starts to develop feelings for her. The scene shows that during working hours, Torben is at work, whereas Anette remains at home to battle her depression and care for their newborn child. She also suspects that Ben is cheating on his wife and is involved with another woman.
Little by little, as the plot progresses, Ben develops feelings towards Alicia. He stands up for her when the film crew watches the leaked video of her, reminding them what Anette said about not invading one’s privacy. However, this development does not save Ben from becoming emotionally detached from Anette. He shares with Alicia, saying his wife hardly listens to him. Their bond strengthens, and they move to the point where the two begin exchanging sexually charged messages, which signal that Ben may be on the brink of cheating.
The character that stands out most in the story is Anette. It seems she is suffering from postpartum depression, which is a severe type of depression that may occur in women after childbirth. Several episodes in the film reveal that Anette is suffering from a weak nervous system; one of the scenes is when she is holding a baby monitor and runs to the yard area in panic as if something disastrous has happened to her baby. This has the effect of reflecting her stress or anxiety as well as the other emotions that come with being a new mother. The movie does a good job of showing how isolated and misunderstood she feels.
Anette becomes even more convinced that Ben is up to something when he is spotted holding hands with Alicia, who the tabloids claim is his new girlfriend. Instead of comforting his wife, Ben dismisses the concerns and becomes more intimate with Alicia. This act of deceit adds to Anette’s deterioration of mental health and leaves the audience wondering whether the husband can be trusted or if Anette’s mental state is delusional.
The director is Sam Yates who is new in directing movies and he did a very good job as he directs in a well-measured way. The use of the camera is quite understated and never overbearing, which serves to create a sense of suspense and even menace throughout the film. This coupled with the film score composed by Isobel Waller-Bridge also helps in fostering this sense of suspense. The work of cinematographer Laura Bellingham leaves the film with an aesthetically cold and distant feel, where perhaps the audience cannot get up close and personal with the characters on the screen. This coincides with the movie and the storyline which involves isolation and lack of emotion.
There are also some scenes where Ben dreams of receiving text messages from Alicia. These scenes depict how much he craves for her and how thoughts of the wife have eloped from his mind.
Fundamentally, therefore, Magpie explores the realities of relationships, especially when trust is breached in marriage. For some reason, Ben and Anette have problems in their marriage, such as Ben’s emotional infidelity Anette’s mental issues, and postpartum depression. It is also very true that the movie does not pull punches when it comes to portraying how challenging it is to be in a marriage when both partners are battling personal issues.
Anette was portrayed by Daisy Ridley and she did a great job displaying emotions of anger, sadness, and sorrow. She does a splendid job of depicting a woman who is struggling to keep everything together while she is an emotional wreck. Shazad Latif portrays Ben as a self-centered person who seems to care so little about his wife’s well-being. The audience may feel frustrated with Ben because, instead of being supportive of Anette, he goes after someone else to get attention. It does this to make him less sympathetic as a character.
However, one of Magpie’s major strengths, its twist, is meant to be revealed towards the end of the movie. However, this change of plot does not entirely turn out as effective as it should be. Yes, with regards to the part where the tension is constructed before the ‘reveal’, the reaction is that it feels more contrived than it does satisfy. Moreover, it is also important to note that the final scene of the movie is a violent one, and the inclusion of such a scene into the picture may be explained by an attempt to provide the story with a sort of epic finale. However, this scene seems artificial and contrived, as if the directors were overcompensating for wrongdoings with equally bad retributions.
The acting is quite good and some concepts about relationships are provided in the film but still, the narration of the story seems to be weak. While the twist seems more of an overused trope than a dramatic climax, the final act appears forced in its attempt at exposition.
Final Thoughts
Magpie tries to be a psychological thriller movie with profound character relationships and conflicts, but it is more suitable to be viewed as a drama about the breakdown of a marriage. The themes associated with emotional infidelity, depression, and the struggles of parenting are realistic and presented well but the mystery aspect of the story feels clichéd and contrived. For teens and older audiences, the movie might be intriguing for its performances, especially by Daisy Ridley, but the story itself may not leave a lasting impact. The film could have been stronger if it had focused more on the emotional drama rather than trying to force a twist ending.
Magpie 2024 Parents Guide Age Rating
Magpie is rated R by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA) For language and some sexuality.
Language: There is strong and even racist language used throughout the film.
Sexual Content: Mainly it contains some sexual context such as scenes of characters cheating emotionally and messages containing erotic content between characters. Adulterous private conversations are revealed; there are only descriptions of nudity but no sexual impendent scenes.
Violence: There is only one scene of violence in the entire movie and that also is not very violent. Conflict outcome may assume the form of psychological strain instead of expressed physical aggression.
