Plot Explained Spoilers guaranteed!
Plot Explained

Browse by genre

The Banishment (2018) movie poster

Timeline

The Banishment (2018) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2018 · 157 min · Russian
Echo score 73
Loading streaming availability…
Directed by
Andrei Zvyagintsev
Starring
Maria Bonnevie, Aleksandr Baluyev, Aleksey Vertkov, Dmitriy Ulyanov, Igor Sergeev, Ira Gonto

A couple seeks respite from city life with a peaceful retreat to the countryside. However, their idyllic getaway soon reveals hidden tensions and long-held secrets within their relationship. As they become increasingly isolated, the boundaries of their reality begin to dissolve, forcing them to confront the complexities of their bond and the universal desire for human connection.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (15)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle
Loading streaming availability…

15 events in order · contains spoilers

The Banishment Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of The Banishment (2018) 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. Mark Seeks Help

    In the gripping opening of the film, Mark arrives at Alex's home seeking urgent help. He has a bullet wound in his arm and fears going to the hospital due to his criminal background and the potential police scrutiny that may follow.

    Where
    Alex's home
  2. Nostalgic Trip

    While Mark recuperates, he, along with his partner Vera and their two children, embark on a nostalgic trip to Alex's childhood home in the countryside. This trip brings a temporary sense of peace and tranquility to their troubled lives.

    Where
    Countryside
  3. Vera's Bombshell

    During their stay, Vera reveals a life-altering secret: she is pregnant, but the child is not Alex's. This shocking revelation creates a rift between Vera and Alex, challenging their already strained relationship.

    Where
    Childhood home
  4. Alex's Inner Turmoil

    As tension mounts, Alex feels lost and turns to his brother Mark for counsel. On the way to meet him, Alex's son Kir inadvertently reveals troubling information about their friend Robert's visits to their home while Alex was away.

    Where
    Train station
  5. The True Father Revealed

    Alex comes to the painful realization that Robert is likely the true father of Vera's unborn child. This revelation deepens the emotional upheaval within the family and strains his relationship with Vera even further.

  6. Desperate Measures

    In a moment of desperation, Alex starts pressuring Vera to have an abortion, believing it to be the only way to save their crumbling marriage. He insists that only a discreet procedure at their home will prevent scandal.

    Where
    Home
  7. Coercion for a Solution

    With their children occupied elsewhere, Alex coerces Mark into using his underworld connections to arrange for a doctor to perform the abortion. This decision marks a crucial and tragic turning point in their lives.

  8. Tragic Loss

    After the abortion, Vera succumbs to her despair and takes her own life by overdosing on pain medication. Her tragic decision sends shockwaves through Alex and Mark, forever altering their lives.

    Where
    Home
  9. Funeral Arrangements

    In the midst of their grief, Alex and Mark are left to hastily arrange Vera's funeral while dealing with the growing rumors that circulate in the countryside following her untimely death.

  10. Mark's Heart Attack

    While navigating his grief, Mark suffers a severe heart attack but refuses to miss Vera's funeral. Tragically, he passes away shortly after returning home, compounding the family's loss and suffering.

    Where
    Home
  11. Alex's Revenge

    Left alone and consumed by grief, Alex decides to confront Robert, driven by a desire for revenge. This plan sets him on a dangerous path that could lead to further tragedy.

    Where
    Outside Robert's house
  12. Confrontation with Robert

    While waiting outside Robert's house to enact his revenge, Alex is inadvertently invited inside by Robert. This unexpected invitation forces Alex to confront his emotions and the chaotic situation.

    Where
    Robert's house
  13. Revelation from the Past

    As Alex reaches for the gun stowed away in his glove box, he discovers an envelope containing the results of Vera's pregnancy test along with a letter she wrote. These items reveal deeper truths about Vera's struggles.

  14. Vera's Flashback

    In a poignant flashback, Vera's turbulent emotional state is unveiled. It is revealed that she had previously attempted suicide and later confided in Robert about her pregnancy fears, showcasing her feelings of isolation.

  15. Emotional Disconnect

    The flashback reveals that Vera felt increasingly distant from Alex, expressing that their relationship lacked emotional connection. This disconnect ultimately contributed to the tragic events that followed her pregnancy revelation.

Last updated: November 08, 2024 at 16:36

Was this helpful?

Timeline questions answered

The Banishment Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of The Banishment (2018): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Vera kill herself after the abortion?

Vera takes her own life because she was already emotionally broken. The flashback reveals she had attempted suicide days before the abortion and was saved by Robert. After the procedure, overwhelmed by guilt, isolation, and her feeling that Alex never truly connected with her, she sees no way out. The abortion itself was coerced by Alex, making it the final betrayal that pushed her over the edge.

  • vera suicide
  • abortion consequences
  • emotional breakdown
  • coerced abortion
Q2

Why does Alex force Vera to have an abortion?

Alex believes removing the unwanted pregnancy will save his marriage. He sees the pregnancy as a threat to his family's stability and his honor. He naively thinks that eliminating the evidence of infidelity, without scandal or public knowledge, will allow them to move forward and restore normalcy to their relationship.

  • alex vera
  • abortion decision
  • marriage crisis
  • desperation
Q3

Who is the father of Vera's unborn child?

Robert, the family's friend, is the biological father. Alex's son Kir inadvertently reveals that Robert visited their home while Alex was away for work. This leads Alex to correctly deduce that Robert is the father, though the confirmation comes too late to change the tragic course of events.

  • robert father
  • vera pregnancy
  • affair
  • kir revelation
Q4

What does Vera's letter to Alex reveal?

The letter, found in the envelope with the pregnancy test results, exposes Vera's emotional state. In it, she confesses that despite the pregnancy, it never truly felt like Alex's baby, a reflection of the profound lack of communication and emotional connection in their marriage. The flashback shows she confided these fears to Robert, not Alex.

  • vera letter
  • emotional disconnect
  • pregnancy test
  • confession
Q5

Why does Mark die after Vera's funeral?

Mark suffers a severe heart attack but refuses to skip Vera's funeral against doctor's orders. He attends anyway, and the physical and emotional strain proves fatal, he dies shortly after returning home. His death adds another layer of tragedy to Alex's already devastating loss.

  • mark death
  • heart attack
  • funeral
  • tragedy
Q6

Why does Alex go to Robert's house for revenge?

Consumed by grief and rage after Vera's suicide and Mark's death, Alex decides to kill Robert as an act of revenge. He believes Robert is responsible for the affair that destroyed his family. However, when Robert invites him inside, Alex discovers Vera's letter and pregnancy test, revealing truths that complicate his simplistic narrative of blame.

  • revenge
  • alex robert
  • confrontation
  • grief
Q7

Why does Vera feel disconnected from Alex?

Vera feels emotionally abandoned by Alex long before the pregnancy revelation. In her letter and flashback conversations with Robert, she expresses that their marriage lacks genuine connection, she never felt Alex truly engaged with her emotionally. This emotional void made her vulnerable to seeking comfort elsewhere.

  • emotional disconnect
  • marriage problems
  • vera alex relationship
Q8

Why does Vera confide in Robert about her pregnancy?

Vera tells Robert because he represents the only emotional support available to her. After discovering her pregnancy and feeling terrified about her relationship with Alex, Robert becomes her confidant. The fact that she reaches out to him instead of her husband highlights just how fractured communication had become between Vera and Alex.

  • robert confide
  • pregnancy fear
  • emotional support
  • isolation
Q9

How does Alex discover Robert is the father?

While traveling to meet Mark at the train station, Alex's young son Kir innocently mentions that their friend Robert was at their house during one of Alex's work absences. This casual remark triggers Alex's realization that Robert had access to Vera while he was away, leading him to conclude that Robert is the unborn child's father.

  • kir reveals
  • robert visits
  • alex realization
  • discovery
Q10

Why does Vera reveal her pregnancy during the countryside trip?

Vera chooses the countryside retreat to finally disclose her secret, likely hoping the peaceful setting would soften the blow. The isolation of the countryside also means fewer people to hide from, and she may have felt trapped by the secret. Her timing suggests she could no longer bear the weight of hiding the truth.

  • pregnancy reveal
  • countryside
  • timing
  • secrets
Q11

What happens to Alex and Vera's children after her death?

The children are with a friend's house during the abortion and are present in the countryside when their mother dies. After the funerals and Mark's subsequent death, Alex returns to the city alone. The children's fate remains uncertain, they are left in the wake of profound family trauma.

  • children
  • family
  • aftermath
  • tragedy

Movie threads

More Movies Like The Banishment, by Mood & Story

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

Dramas about family secrets in rural isolation like The Banishment

Stories where a peaceful rural escape becomes the stage for devastating family revelations. If you were captivated by the way The Banishment uses a countryside retreat to unravel a family's secrets, you'll find similar stories here. These movies feature couples or families whose idyllic escapes are shattered by long-held truths, betrayal, and tragic outcomes, all set against a backdrop of rural isolation.

  • somber
  • tense
  • oppressive
  • grieving
  • atmospheric
  • isolated
  • Tone: dark, melancholic, oppressive
  • Pacing: steady, methodical
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern typically involves a family or couple moving to a rural location to escape their past or find peace. The isolation and change of scenery, instead of providing solace, act as a pressure cooker, forcing hidden tensions, infidelities, and trauma to the surface, often culminating in a tragic climax.

Why they belong together: Movies in this thread share a focus on the disintegration of family bonds in isolated settings. They are united by a somber mood, a steady pacing that builds tension, and the central theme of a idyllic facade cracking under the weight of dark secrets, resulting in heavy emotional consequences.

Slow burn dramas about marital strife like The Banishment

Character-driven dramas where a relationship unravels under the weight of unspoken truths. For viewers who appreciated the heavy, methodical exploration of a relationship's end in The Banishment, this collection features similar movies. These are slow burn, character-focused dramas where marital tensions, betrayal, and grief lead to a bleak and heartbreaking conclusion.

  • somber
  • melancholic
  • desperate
  • grieving
  • tense
  • heavy
  • Tone: dark, desperate, melancholic
  • Pacing: steady, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative follows a central relationship as it deteriorates. Through a steady, often dialogue-heavy pace, the film exposes the fault lines in the partnership. A key revelation or series of secrets acts as a catalyst, pushing the characters toward a point of no return, leaving them in a state of grief and isolation.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their shared commitment to exploring the painful, slow-motion collapse of a relationship. They prioritize emotional realism over plot twists, featuring high emotional weight, a dark tone, and a pacing that allows the audience to feel the accumulating despair alongside the characters.

Every angle

The Banishment (2018) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about The Banishment in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Movie Summary App

Plot summaries, endings explained and timelines on your phone. Catch up on any movie in minutes, save your favorites and never miss a twist again.

Be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private, always.

Learn more about the app