The Free Will

Theo Stoer rapes a young cyclist on the Baltic coast. He is arrested a few hours later and confined to a secure psychiatric institution for court-ordered treatment for this crime and two other rapes. This marks the start of a long, controlled life behind walls.

Nine years after his conviction, Theo is released on probation into a supervised shared apartment in Mülheim an der Ruhr. He begins a slow reintegration, taking a job in a print shop while his urges remain a constant undercurrent. The period introduces new routines and fragile social interactions.

Probation officer Sascha arranges Theo’s job at a local print shop to bring structure to his life. He trains and lifts weights to relieve tension, yet struggles to approach people in everyday settings. He attempts to speak with a waitress at Pizzeria Trattoria Funghi, but she refuses.

Theo meets Nettie, the distraught daughter of the shop’s owner, and they begin to form an emotional connection. Both carry deep-seated torment, and their budding relationship slowly takes shape amid these burdens. Their bond becomes a fragile anchor in difficult times.

Nettie begins an internship at a Belgian praline factory, shifting the couple into a long-distance dynamic. Meanwhile, the probation officer is fired and relocates to Berlin, leaving Theo alone for stretches. The separation intensifies Theo’s sense of isolation.

One evening Theo is about to rape a saleswoman in a department store; he secretly follows her onto the subway and to her apartment. At the last moment he manages to restrain himself and leaves without being noticed. The episode underscores his ongoing struggle to control his impulses.

Theo pays a surprise visit to Nettie in Belgium. When he cannot find his hotel, Nettie takes him to her room, where he lies beside her at night. They later attend a church where the organ plays and a soprano sings Ave Maria, a moment that deepens their bond.

Theo and Nettie become involved but recognize their shared torment. Nettie returns to Mülheim and Theo moves in with her, hoping to start anew. They acknowledge that their inner struggles will not simply disappear.

Back in Germany, Theo realizes he cannot suppress his urges. While Nettie is out, he rapes another woman and then confesses the relapse, prompting her to flee to her father. The next day, he disappears from their apartment.

Nettie seeks out a woman who was raped by Theo nine years earlier; the initial encounter makes it seem like Nettie is also a victim, but the other woman ends up attacking Nettie in a café toilet. The confrontation reveals how Theo’s crimes ripple outward.

Nettie suspects Theo has gone to Sascha in Berlin and secretly pursues him, observing his fixation on a young woman. They lose each other amid the bustle of a fair, and the chase intensifies the sense of doom surrounding Theo.

Theo disappears at the train station, and Nettie follows him toward the seaside. In a hotel bar, she learns he has prepared razor blades to commit suicide in a full bathtub. She secures a key to his room, only to find the blades have been removed.

Nettie finds him on the beach at night and cannot stop him as he slits his wrists. She holds him in her arms as he bleeds to death, marking the end of their troubled saga and his self-destruction.