Nocturnal Animals

In the film’s final moments the two stories converge not in a reunion, but in a quiet, unsettling emptiness. After years of silence, Edward finally sends Susan the manuscript of his new novel. As she reads, the brutal tale of Tony—a husband whose wife and child are murdered by a gang led by Ray—unfolds on the page. Tony’s relentless hunt for vengeance, the merciless confrontation with Ray, and the hollow aftermath—Ray’s dead body and Tony’s accidental self‑inflicted wound—mirror Edward’s own sense of loss and betrayal.

When Susan finishes the book, the camera lingers on her alone in a dimly lit restaurant, waiting for a man who will never appear. The absence of Edward is the final, precise act of his revenge: he has given her a story that forces her to feel the same cold, relentless cruelty she once dealt him, but he offers no explanation, no apology, no chance for reconciliation. The painting that briefly flickers on screen, bearing the word “Revenge,” foreshadows this – the only gift he leaves her is a mirror of her own cruelty.

The novel’s ending—Tony killing Ray only to realize that no amount of blood can bring back his family—underscores the futility of the violence Edward has written. Just as Tony is left broken and empty, Susan is left with the stark realization that her successes and her art cannot fill the void she created. The film thus ends on an ambiguous, gut‑wrenching note: both men have been destroyed by the past, and the act of revenge, whether through a gun or a manuscript, offers no peace, only a lingering ache that continues to haunt them.

Last Updated: December 28, 2025 at 10:51