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Timeline

All Creatures Here Below (2019) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2019 · 91 min · English
Echo score 62
JustWatch #12,048 7
Directed by
Collin Schiffli
Starring
David Dastmalchian, Karen Gillan, David Koechner, CJ Johnson, Richard Cabral, Jennifer Morrison

In the dark and desperate underbelly of Los Angeles, Gensan and Ruby struggle to survive. A risky opportunity arises, leading them to make a rash decision that plunges their lives into chaos. Forced to flee, they head back to Kansas City, confronting past troubles and facing the threat of familiar dangers that could destroy everything.

On this page (6)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (14)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Movies like All Creatures Here Below
  6. 6 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch All Creatures Here Below (2019)

Where can you watch All Creatures Here Below? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on Amazon Prime Video, Philo and Starz: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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14 events in order · contains spoilers

All Creatures Here Below Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of All Creatures Here Below (2019) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Struggles in Los Angeles

    Young couple Gensan and Ruby face relentless hardships while living in Los Angeles. Ruby's fragile mental health prevents her from holding a job, leading Gensan to work tirelessly at a fast-food restaurant to make ends meet.

    Where
    Los Angeles
  2. Job Loss

    Gensan's life takes a drastic turn when he loses his job due to the closure of the restaurant. This event marks the beginning of their desperate struggle to survive in an even harsher reality.

    Where
    Fast-Food Restaurant, Los Angeles
  3. Involvement in Cockfighting

    In search of quick money, Gensan becomes involved in an underground cockfighting ring. As he becomes further entrenched in this dangerous world, he begins to lose touch with his morals and integrity.

  4. Descent into Violence

    Caught up in the violent atmosphere of cockfighting, Gensan commits an unthinkable act by murdering someone. This brutal decision triggers a catastrophic chain of events that will change their lives forever.

  5. Ruby's Breakdown

    While Gensan struggles with his choices, Ruby's mental health continues to deteriorate. Unable to cope with their reality, she takes a drastic and impulsive action that puts them on an irreversible path.

  6. Kidnapping Irene

    In a moment of madness, Ruby kidnaps the infant daughter of a neighbor named Irene. This impulsive act leads Gensan and Ruby on a chaotic cross-country trip, searching for a semblance of a new beginning.

  7. Complex Family Dynamics

    As they travel, Gensan is reluctantly swept into Ruby's dreams of motherhood, even as her lack of maternal instincts becomes alarmingly apparent. The couple grapples with their fractured family dynamic amid escalating tension and desperation.

    Where
    Various locations across the country
  8. Return to Childhood Home

    The journey leads them back to Gensan and Ruby's childhood home in De Soto, Kansas, where hidden family secrets begin to unravel. It's a place of reflection and confrontation with their dark past that they both hoped to escape.

    Where
    De Soto, Kansas
  9. The Shocking Family Secret

    Upon arrival, their uncle Doug reveals a disturbing truth: Gensan and Ruby are siblings, children of an abusive father who died in prison. This revelation plunges them deeper into despair as they confront their past and the realities of their present.

    Where
    De Soto, Kansas
  10. Doug's Proposal

    Faced with mounting pressures, Doug persuades Gensan to turn Ruby and Irene over to the authorities, suggesting that it is their only way out. This plan weighs heavily on Gensan as he grapples with the implications of such a choice.

    Where
    De Soto, Kansas
  11. Tragic Accident

    As Gensan prepares to surrender them, he discovers that Ruby has accidentally smothered Irene in a panic, believing the police were coming. The tragedy of the moment shatters Gensan’s already frail sense of hope.

    Where
    De Soto, Kansas
  12. Final Act of Mercy

    Overcome with anguish, Gensan takes Ruby to a familiar field from their childhood. In a heartbreaking decision driven by despair, he ends her life as an act of mercy, leaving a haunting weight on his soul.

    Where
    Childhood Field, De Soto, Kansas
  13. Burial of 'Mother and Daughter'

    In a solemn ritual, Gensan buries both Ruby and Irene in the same field, trying to make sense of the tragedy that has unfolded. This act signifies the end of their tumultuous journey, marred by loss and regret.

    Where
    Childhood Field, De Soto, Kansas
  14. Impending Authorities

    Unbeknownst to Gensan, the sound of approaching sirens signals the end of everything he has known. The authority's arrival marks a stark contrast to the hopeful new beginnings he once sought.

    Where
    De Soto, Kansas

Last updated: November 19, 2024 at 15:43

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Timeline questions answered

All Creatures Here Below Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of All Creatures Here Below (2019): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Gensan lose his job and how does this affect the story?

Gensan loses his job when the fast-food restaurant where he works suddenly closes. This loss marks the turning point that plunges him and Ruby into deeper desperation, forcing him to seek money through illegal means like underground cockfighting, which eventually leads to murder.

  • job loss
  • gensan
  • desperation
  • money
Q2

Why does Gensan get involved in the underground cockfighting ring?

After losing his job, Gensan becomes desperate to provide for himself and Ruby. The cockfighting ring offers quick money, and as he gets deeper into this violent world, he gradually loses his moral compass.

  • cockfighting
  • crime
  • gensan
  • money
  • desperation
Q3

Why does Ruby kidnap her neighbor's infant daughter?

Ruby's mental health has been deteriorating throughout their time in Los Angeles. In a moment of impulsive madness, she seizes the baby hoping to create a new beginning and fulfill her intense desire to become a mother, despite having no maternal instincts.

  • ruby
  • kidnap
  • irene
  • infant
  • mental health
Q4

Why can't Ruby properly care for the kidnapped baby during their journey?

Ruby lacks genuine maternal instincts. Throughout their cross-country trip, her inability to properly care for infant Irene becomes increasingly apparent, raising alarms for Gensan who must take on the primary caregiving role.

  • ruby
  • baby care
  • maternal instincts
  • irene
Q5

What family secret is revealed when they return to Kansas?

Their uncle Doug reveals that Gensan and Ruby are actually siblings, both children of an abusive father who died in prison. This shocking revelation adds another layer of tragedy to their already doomed journey.

  • siblings
  • family secret
  • doug
  • ruby
  • gensan
Q6

Why does Uncle Doug persuade Gensan to turn Ruby and the baby over to authorities?

Doug believes surrendering to the authorities is their only escape from the downward spiral of crime and desperation. He thinks it will provide a way out for both of them, though his proposal weighs heavily on Gensan's conscience.

  • doug
  • authorities
  • surrender
  • ruby
  • irene
Q7

How does baby Irene die?

When Ruby hears what she believes are approaching sirens and police, she panics and accidentally smothers Irene in an attempt to silence her crying. This tragic accident occurs just as Gensan is preparing to surrender them.

  • irene death
  • smother
  • accident
  • ruby
Q8

Why does Gensan kill Ruby at the end?

Overcome with anguish after discovering Ruby has accidentally killed Irene, Gensan takes her to a field from their childhood and kills her in a tragic act of mercy. Unable to save either of them from the consequences and unable to face the authorities with Ruby, he makes this devastating choice.

  • gensan kills ruby
  • mercy killing
  • death
  • field
Q9

Why do Gensan and Ruby return to Kansas City?

With nowhere else to go and facing mounting desperation after the kidnapping, they journey back to Gensan and Ruby's childhood home in De Soto, Kansas, hoping to find help or a fresh start. The trip also represents a confrontation with their troubled past.

  • kansas
  • de soto
  • childhood home
  • journey
Q10

Why does Gensan commit murder during the cockfighting events?

Caught up in the violent atmosphere of the underground cockfighting world and desperate for money, Gensan resorts to murder in a moment that triggers the catastrophic chain of events that destroys their lives.

  • murder
  • cockfighting
  • violence
  • gensan

Movie threads

More Movies Like All Creatures Here Below, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes All Creatures Here Below tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Movies like All Creatures Here About desperate journeys into moral decay

Characters on the run from their past, with nowhere to go but down. If you were captivated by the grim road trip and moral collapse in All Creatures Here Below, this thread features movies with similar stories. These films focus on characters fleeing their circumstances, only to face the devastating consequences of their past and present actions.

  • desperate
  • grim
  • anxious
  • oppressive
  • heartbreaking
  • claustrophobic
  • Tone: dark, bleak
  • Pacing: steady, grim momentum
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically begins with a desperate act that forces the characters to flee. The journey is not one of redemption but of further unraveling, as they are pursued by external threats and haunted by internal trauma, culminating in a tragic or bleak conclusion.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their shared focus on flight, moral compromise, and the inescapable weight of the past. They create a palpable sense of claustrophobia and doom, even in open spaces, driven by heavy emotional themes like poverty, crime, and trauma.

Psychological despair movies similar to All Creatures Here Below

Intimate stories of characters crushed by poverty and mental illness. For viewers who appreciated the raw portrayal of mental illness and poverty in All Creatures Here Below, this section gathers films with a similar bleak and heavy tone. These movies offer unflinching looks at characters struggling against overwhelming psychological and socioeconomic forces.

  • oppressive
  • heartbreaking
  • desperate
  • grim
  • anxious
  • claustrophobic
  • Tone: dark, oppressive
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative is an intimate, steady-paced character study where external pressures—like poverty and crime—exacerbate deep-seated psychological issues. The plot is less about external events and more about the internal collapse of the characters as their circumstances become increasingly hopeless.

Why they belong together: These movies are united by their oppressive atmosphere and heavy emotional weight, derived from a realistic and bleak examination of trauma and survival. They share a dark tone, high intensity, and a focus on the heartbreaking consequences of desperation.

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Every angle

All Creatures Here Below (2019) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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