Things Behind the Sun (2024) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The story primarily takes place in a small Florida town, which serves as the characters' shared hometown where past crimes occurred and memories resurface. Los Angeles also features in the film, specifically as the city where Owen works as a reporter for a music magazine and where the media machinery circulates the story.

• florida
• los angeles
• setting
• hometown

Owen is a reporter for a Los Angeles-based music magazine who returns to his Florida hometown. He carries deep guilt from his childhood involvement in rapes that occurred years earlier, and his journey centers on confronting whether to reveal the truth about his complicity.

• owen
• reporter
• guilt
• complicity
• music magazine

Sherry is a local rock singer whose career is propelled by a controversial song about being raped as a girl. Her music brings public attention to a dark history and gives voice to survivors, even as it puts her personal safety at risk.

• sherry
• rock singer
• song
• trauma
• survivors

The film explores guilt, truth, trauma, and justice as interconnected themes. It examines how silence enables harm, the painful process of confronting buried secrets, the lasting impact of sexual violence, and what true accountability looks like beyond legal consequences.

• guilt
• truth
• trauma
• justice
• themes

The film portrays guilt as a destructive force that erodes a person over decades. Owen's silence enabled harm, and the narrative shows how blocking out the past becomes unsustainable. Guilt drives the possibility of confession, reconciliation, and redemption, though the story refuses easy absolution.

• guilt
• complicity
• confession
• redemption
• silence

Truth-telling sits at the center of the narrative as Owen chooses to reveal past crimes and push for testimonies. The pursuit creates tension between personal loyalty and public accountability. The film frames truth as a catalyst for justice and closure, even when it comes at great personal cost.

• truth
• testimony
• accountability
• confession
• loyalty

The film distinguishes between legal and moral justice. Characters face consequences that ripple beyond any courtroom, affecting relationships and futures. Justice is portrayed as a pathway to prevention and memory repair rather than mere punishment, with the ending offering a bittersweet form of accountability.

• justice
• accountability
• consequences
• imprisonment
• testimony

The narrative treats trauma with care, showing both its debilitating effects and the resilience survivors can build. It examines how trauma shapes memory and behavior long after events occur, avoiding sensationalism while highlighting the lasting psychological impact on all involved.

• trauma
• survivors
• memory
• healing
• psychological impact

The film uses a dual-perspective structure, telling the story through both Owen and Sherry. Flashbacks reveal the traumatic event from different angles, Owen's as a complicit participant and Sherry's as the survivor, creating emotional complexity while keeping the plot focused and accessible.

• flashbacks
• dual perspective
• narrative structure
• perspective

Florida serves as the intimate, close-knit hometown backdrop where the original crimes occurred. The town's familiarity makes the revelations more personal and painful, as the past crimes are tied directly to its families and streets, forcing characters to confront people and places they know.

• florida
• hometown
• secrets
• families
• past crimes

Sherry's controversial song about being raped as a girl becomes the public voice of a traumatic past. It amplifies the story beyond the small town, drawing media attention and creating pressure for accountability while giving survivors a platform to be heard.

• sherry song
• music
• voice
• survivors
• media attention

Owen's decision to reveal the truth stems from a complex mix of remorse and his feelings for Sherry. His moral unraveling forces him to confront what he blocked out to survive, ultimately choosing confession over continued silence despite the personal cost.

• owen motivation
• confession
• remorse
• love
• moral reckoning