Serious Moonlight 2009

Louise, Meg Ryan, a high-powered Chicago attorney, discovers her husband Ian Timothy Hutton is about to leave her for another woman named Sara Kristen Bell. In a moment of desperation, she binds him to a chair with duct tape, attempting to show him that they can still be together. She speaks with conviction, trying to remind him of shared memories and the strength of their bond, but her words don’t sway him. He lies and promises he still loves her, coaxing her to free him, but when he makes a break for it, she knocks him unconscious with a flower pot and tapes him to a toilet. With the immediate danger behind her, she steps out of the house to buy groceries and plan a romantic meal to win him back.

While Louise is away, Todd, a lawn-service boy, arrives to mow the yard. With no one else in the house, the intruder seizes the opportunity to rob the place. When Louise returns, the burglar attacks her and drags her into the bathroom where Ian is being held. The three become bound up in a tense standoff: Ian realizes that his feelings for Louise haven’t disappeared, and the pair begin to reconnect even in captivity. The disturbing dynamic of the evening shifts as the two try to navigate fear, guilt, and a stubborn, lingering love.

The next morning, Sara arrives at the house in a rage for missing a flight to Paris and a planned life with Ian. The burglars bring Sara into the bathroom, throwing all three of them into a fragile, awkward discussion about who they are to one another and what they really want. The trio improvises a way out by using Sara’s cell phone, which is tucked in her back pocket, to call the police and summon help. In the aftermath, Ian chooses to stay with Louise, reaffirming the bond they’ve rekindled.

Some time later, the couple has moved away, having sold their house, and they’ve welcomed a baby into their lives. They pause for a lunch in a small town before their move, strolling past the burglar who first robbed them. The moment is loaded with unspoken history as the burglar nods in recognition. Louise looks away, the tension hanging in the air, while Ian stares in disbelief. The glance hints at a deeper question about how far Louise went to secure her marriage, leaving the ending with a charged ambiguity.