Peacock

The film opens with a chorus of voices from John's mother during his childhood. A massive storm rages outside as Emma Skillpa moves around the house performing quiet rituals that create a sense of order. The scene establishes themes of memory, control, and the faces people wear to cope with hardship.

John cycles to Peacock State Bank and begins his day. In his office, Mr. French assigns him a heavy workload and a pay slip. The routine anchors the story before the upheaval begins.

After work John stops by the river and empties the bag he carries. He discovers a handwritten note from Emma that makes him smile. The moment hints at a personal connection hidden beneath ordinary life.

The next morning Emma tends to the washing when a train crashes through the fence outside. She is briefly knocked unconscious as a crowd gathers. John returns home to a scene of chaos and questions from neighbors and an uneasy feeling settles over the town.

Neighbors Connor Black and Fanny Crill arrive with a plan to use the train as a backdrop for a political rally in John's backyard. They press Emma to approve, hinting at a new life for the town’s event. Emma's hesitation foreshadows how far she will go to control the situation.

Back at the bank, Connor and Fanny push the rally idea while others weigh in on Emma's involvement. John grows frustrated and wants the train removed to restore a sense of normal life. The scene heightens his sense of vulnerability.

Maggie visits John at home with her son Jake, asking for money and help to leave Peacock. John learns that his mother’s influence once extended over Maggie’s life, revealing a painful shared past. He struggles between desire to help and the weight of his own secrets.

Emma rummages in a box of mementos and finds John's mother's blue dress along with a birth certificate proving John is Jake's father. The discovery unsettles her and sharpens the sense that personal history can shape present choices. Emma considers how this new knowledge affects her plans.

Emma makes a call to move forward with adopting Jake and returns to the shelter to coordinate the rally with Fanny. Her actions reveal a more assertive, strategic side: she intends to control Jake’s future and the town’s spectacle. The plan links family history to public performance.

John visits a workshop to hire someone to remove the train from his back garden, offering cash for the job. He then rushes back to work as tensions rise and his cover story starts to crumble. The decision marks a concrete attempt to reclaim his life from the past.

John meets later at a motel after arranging a secret meeting with Maggie. He discovers a package containing his mother's dress in his bag, a jarring reminder of what he’s trying to escape. The scene marks a turning point where memory collides with present plans.

Emma, masquerading as Maggie, knocks Cal unconscious and sets the motel room on fire to fake John's death. Maggie watches the cover story unfold from outside, unaware of all the manipulation behind it. Back home, the rally goes ahead in Emma's garden as the town processes the staged tragedy and Emma’s evolving control over Jake’s future.