Now Showing: Tara's Wrath

 

Tara's Wrath

Genre: Thriller/Erotic

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Writer: Roy Horne

Cast: Victoria Pedretti, Jacob Elordi, Jade Pettyjohn, Corey Stoll, Jake Cannavale, Justice Smith

Plot: Inside the common room of the Hudson State Penitentiary, Andrew Miller (Jacob Elordi) scans a gossip newspaper. He recognizes the image of a woman in the background as Tara Maritato (Victoria Pedretti). He crumples up the picture and throws it across the room. Tara's brother, Tony Maritato (Jake Cannavale) slouches on a bench across the room, glaring at Andrew with hatred. Andrew gloats to Tony that he's being released the next day while Tony still has a couple years left on his sentence. Tony jumps to his feet, ready for a fight. Instead, Andrew gives a nod to a couple other prisoners, who rush toward Tony and stab him countless times with shivs. Alarms begin to blare. Guards rush into the room as Tony's blood pools on the concrete floors. Andrew and the rest of the prisoners are all escorted to their cells. 

Andrew is released from prison. He walks into town from the prison, carrying only a plastic bag with his few belongings inside. He walks through the wintry Hudson, New York, toward the Greyhound bus station. He spends all night on the bus bench until his bus finally arrives at dawn. He hands a ticket to the driver: Destination - San Francisco. He rests his head against the window of the bus and drifts to sleep as it begins going west across the country.

Across the country in San Francisco, Tara - going by the name Veronica Martel - lays in bed with the latest Silicon Valley tech millionaire, Colin Waybright (Justice Smith). He gets up to take a shower before an investor meeting. Tara watches Colin undress and get into the shower. She then disrobes and joins him under the steaming hot water. Tara presses her body against Colin's back, water beating down on them. Colin turns, startled, then grins clumsily. Tara pushes Colin back against the cold tile wall, sinking to her knees without a word. As steam fogs the shower's glass doors, Colin groans Tara's fake name - Veronica. 

In a dark motel room, Joe Alamanie (Corey Stoll) pins another photograph to the wall. Dozens are already there: Tara in Austin, Tara in Miami, Tara blurry and laughing outside an event in Seattle. Strings of red yarn knot between them. Joe pours cheap whiskey into a plastic cup, staring at his wall of Tara.

At a secondhand bookstore in the Mission district of San Francisco, Maggie Sykes (Jade Pettyjohn) pushes a cart of worn paperbacks toward the window display. She has moved to San Francisco because it's about as far away from New York as she could get. She stops when she notices Andrew watching her from across the street. Maggie steps away from the window, taking a deep breath. When she looks again, Andrew is gone.

Tara stands on a penthouse balcony, sipping champagne and watching as fog curls around the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. 

Andrew walks through the entryway of the Nova Vitae Foundation and picks up a pamphlet in the marble lobby without looking at it. At the center of a large room, Tara, in a black backless dress, raises a flute of champagne to a small cluster of donors, Colin being among them. Colin then takes the microphone, announcing a seven-figure pledge from his tech company to the organization. Andrew watches from a distance, tracking Tara's every move with his eyes. 

Across the bay, Joe drives across the Golden Gate bridge toward the city, having tracked Andrew's bus ticket purchase. In the passenger seat is a folder of information on both Andrew and Tara.

As the gala is ongoing, Colin receives a call from his financial advisor informing him that the check just cashed by the Nova Vitae Foundation are for double the agreed upon amount. Colin confronts Tara about this, but she insists it must be a simple clerical error made by the bank. She promises to have the foundation's accountants go to the bank in the morning to sort it all out. Colin isn't sure he believes her. Tara takes Colin by the hand and leads him to his office. She eases him into a leather armchair. She then removes her underwear before climbing into his lap. Tara rocks her hips in rhythm. Colin tries to kiss her, but she grabs his chin, forcing him to look into her eyes. She grinds harder and faster. Colin's legs twitch as he comes. Tara slides off him, leaving Colin slumped in the chair. 

Maggie works alone in the bookstore, tucked between a locksmith and a laundromat on Valencia Street, toward the end of the day. A small bell above the door jingles as a customer leaves. As Maggie prepares to close up for the night, the shop phone rings. She answers. A long silence hums from the other end - just a faint crackle of a bad connection. Maggie hangs up without another word. Maggie takes a look at the clock - closing time. 

Andrew waits across the street from the Nova Vitae offices until after Colin and most of the guests have left. He then re-enters the building. The final guests leave, slipping envelopes and whispering promises to Tara. After everyone has left, Tara rests, sipping whiskey alone. A door creaks open behind her. Andrew steps in, slow and deliberate. Tara turns and smiles at him and lets the straps of her silk dress slide down her arms. The dress slithers down her body, pooling around her ankles. She stands naked as Andrew crosses the room. Their bodies collide like steel snapping to a magnet. He fists her hair and yanks her head back, biting the curve of her throat. Tara drags his jacket down his arms, his shirt tearing at the seams. She scratches deep trails down his chest with her nails. He shoves her against a cold marble pillar. She moans, low and sharp. Andrew lifts her by the thighs, her legs locking around his waist. She leans in, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. He slams her back against the stone. They fuck like they're trying to kill each other. No rhythm, no tenderness. Bodies slamming against walls, furniture overturned. His hand tightens around her throat as he thrusts into her. Tara wraps her fingers around his wrist, pulling him tighter against her neck. She screams in orgasm, muffled against his shoulder. For a long moment, neither moves. Andrew pulls away first. Tara sits up, naked with her knees drawn to her chest, bruises already blooming across her thighs and shoulders. She watches him dress with a smirk. Andrew doesn't look back as he leaves.

Joe Alamanie hunches over a laptop in a ragged booth in a 24-hour diner on the edge of the Tenderloin district. He lines up a police mugshot of Tara Maritato from the NYPD case records with an image of Veronica Martel on a search engine. Joe clicks through dozens of images of "Veronica Martel" smiling with tech billionaires, politicians, gala hosts - always perfectly lit, always slightly blurred at the edges. Joe realizes that after so many dead ends, he has finally caught up with Tara. Joe closes the laptop, stuffing his things into a duffel, and leaves cash on the counter. He steps out into the rain, ready for a hunt. 

As morning light spills over the Mission District, Andrew stands across the street from the book store, waiting for it to open. He sees Maggie turn the sign to say open. He nervously crosses the street and enters the shop. Andrew tells Maggie that he is sorry for everything that happened in New York. She asks him if he actually thinks an apology will fix everything. Andrew shakes his head slowly. Maggie tells Andrew that she doesn't hate him, but she cannot accept an apology from him as the damage is already done. Andrew nods once, accepting it. He turns to walk away. Maggie stops him, saying that even if he doesn't deserve it, she hopes Andrew finds whatever it is he's looking for. Andrew smiles faintly and leaves the store.

The next morning, Tara sits in the sterile interview room of a San Francisco Police Department precinct. Two female officers take photographs of the bruises on Tara's naked body. Tara winces theatrically and dabs at her eyes with a crumpled tissue. With each camera flash, Tara flinches on cue. A detective asks if she got a good look at the man that raped her. Tara tells them that the man's name is Andrew Miller. She sheds a crocodile tear as she claims that Andrew told her that he loved her before he attacked her last night. 

Outside the police station, an APB flashes over car radios: "Suspect Andrew Miller. Sexual Assault. Considered Armed and Dangerous." At a motel off Mission Street, Andrew jolts awake as fists pound on the door. Through torn blinds, Andrew sees squad cars circling the parking lot like sharks. Andrew bolts for the back alley through the bathroom window. Joe watches from the rooftop through binoculars. The police scanner crackles "fugitive on foot." Joe watches Andrew run, instantly realizing that Tara has set him up again. Joe climbs down to his battered sedan and drives toward Andrew's getaway path. Andrew stumbles through traffic, shoving past tourists and vendors, ducking into a narrow side street. Joe's car screeches to a stop right in front of Andrew. Joe tells Andrew to get in quickly. Andrew hesitates. Joe insists he wants to put an end to Tara's game and has no interest in turning Andrew in to police. Andrew slides into the passenger seat as Joe speeds off, losing the cops.

Inside the Nova Vitae penthouse suite, Tara moves through the space in a black slip packing a suitcase, cigarette burning from her lips. Stacks of crisp cash sit neatly bundled atop a desk. She packs the money into her suitcase, packing it tight alongside jewelry, fake identification, and other valuables. She pulls on her coat as her phone begins buzzing. She looks at the caller ID: Colin. She ignores the call and silences the phone. Tara puts out her cigarette and steps into a private service elevator with a smirk.

Gray fog snakes over the empty piers of the Port of San Francisco where Joe parks the car, Andrew still in the passenger seat. Joe lights a cigarette and pulls an envelope from the glove department, tossing it onto Andrew's lap. Andrew looks through the envelope, finding it packed with evidence of Tara's crimes across the country. Joe explains that Tara did not stop after New York. She built an empire, ruining lives with her crimes along the way. Andrew closes the envelope, asking why Joe wants his help. Joe explains that Andrew is special to Tara for some reason. Joe comments that Andrew will be the bait for a trap. Andrew simply nods. 

Joe and Andrew sneak into the Nova Vitae Foundation penthouse, finding it empty. Joe moves through the halls, gun drawn. Andrew points out that the safe has been left open and is empty. Joe pounds the wall, furious that Tara has slipped away once again. Andrew notices that a cigarette in the ashtray is still warm, meaning Tara can't be far away. They sprint down the stairwell.

Tara loads her suitcase into her BMW in the building's underground parking garage. She gets behind the wheel, adjusting the music before turning toward the exit, ready to vanish. As the BMW reaches the exit, Joe and Andrew run out in front of her car. She screeches to a stop. Tara smiles at them, mocking them for taking their time getting to her. Joe aims his gun at her and orders her out of the vehicle. As Tara steps out of the car, she fires a gun at Joe, hitting him in the gut. Joe crumples to the ground as blood gushes violently from his body. With one last move of life, Joe returns fire, clipping Tara's shoulder. She staggers back. Andrew rushes forward, tackling Tara against the BMW. Her gun skids across the floor. They tear at each other. Tara claws his face, digging deep into his flesh. She kicks free and pulls out a knife. She slashes at Andrew, hitting his side with the blade. Andrew wrenches the knife from her hand. He grabs her, but she writhes free and begins crawling toward the garage exit. Andrew staggers after her, blood seeping from his side. Tara finds her gun and fires. The bullet rips through Andrew's chest. He stumbles, gasping, but keeps moving after Tara. Andrew picks up Joe's gun and fires back. Tara jerks as the bullet punches into her heart. She collapses onto the cold, wet concrete. Andrew falls to his knees, gun clattering from his hand. They lie within feet of each other, both bleeding out. Tara turns her head toward him. Her lips move, silent. Andrew closes his eyes, reaching out toward her. Tara reaches out as well, but their hands don't quite touch. Pools of their blood mix on the cold concrete as they expire.