In the movie Detained, Rebecca, the main character, got her hands on eight million dollars from her ex, Louis Denton. Sadly, Louis dies in a fire that also takes the lives of his colleagues. The investigation into their deaths reveals that someone named Jovan was involved in killing them, but no one knows who this Jovan is. Meanwhile, there’s a guy named Avery, who used to be Louis’s foster brother. Avery knew about the eight million dollars he had, and, after Denton died, he suspected Rebecca might have it. So, he teamed up with a bunch of con artists who were in desperate need of money. Their plan? Frame Rebecca for a crime and steal the money from her. The big question is: will they pull off their scheme and make off with the money, or will Rebecca find a way to escape from them? Find out in this explainer about this thrilling movie directed by Felipe Mucci!
Spoilers Ahead
How did Rebecca realize that she was being played?
When we first met Rebecca in Detained she was in a police station, looking bewildered and scared. She was being questioned by Detectives Avery and Lisa, but she had no clue why she was there or what had happened the night before. After a bit of questioning, Rebecca learned that she had hit someone with her car and was now facing charges for drunk driving and a hit-and-run. Despite the detectives’ repeated questioning, she couldn’t remember anything. The only thing she recalled was seeing Robert, a guy she had been flirting with earlier, at the station. He had hinted at how drunk she was, but that was about it. Things went from bad to worse when Rebecca was locked up in a grimy cell. The police station’s fresh paint and dingy atmosphere only made her more uneasy. While in the cell, Rebecca saw a violent inmate named Sully. When Sully attacked Detective Lisa, Rebecca tried to help by shooting him. However, the shot accidentally hit Detective Lisa, who seemed to die right there. Rebecca was horrified, realizing that she might face a life sentence for killing a cop. Desperate to get out, Rebecca offered Detective Avery $1.5 million to clear her record and let her escape with a clean slate. To her surprise, Avery agreed right away, which naturally seemed pretty suspicious. It then became clear that Rebecca wasn’t actually there for a hit-and-run. Instead, she had been locked up in a false police precinct and kidnapped by people pretending to be police officers and lawyers who wanted to get the money she had inherited from Louis Denton. Avery’s plan was to get the money from her by pretending to arrest her, as he knew that after Denton’s death, Rebecca was the one who had the money.
Why did Rebecca kill Sarah?
Rebecca knew she had to find a way to survive. She kept insisting that she didn’t have the money they were demanding. Despite her protests, one con artist after another came to threaten her to try to force her into handing over the cash. Robert, who had earlier flirted with her, tried to win her trust again. But as things got more out of control, Rebecca attempted to escape. Robert managed to grab her, and in the chaos, Avery ended up shooting Robert. Rebecca made the situation worse by using a scalpel to deepen his wound, and Robert died. Rebecca also managed to spike Sully’s drink with cocaine and sedative pills, which caused him to overdose and die. Avery tried to threaten Rebecca by personally attacking her, and that’s when he called in Sarah. It turned out that Sarah had adopted a child named Tintin, who was actually Rebecca and Louis Denton’s child. Sarah didn’t know this, as Rebecca had never revealed it. Rebecca had thought about leaving Tintin in Sarah’s care and fleeing with the money, but she couldn’t let go of him and tried to keep Sarah and her child safe. Avery and Lisa discovered Tintin’s identity, and Avery threatened Rebecca, saying he would harm Tintin and Sarah both if she didn’t give up the money. But there was this other con artist named Isaac who became tormented by his conscience after mistakenly killing a girl named Jess and decided he couldn’t continue with the greed any longer. He tried to end his involvement in the corrupt scheme. But it turned out that Avery only wanted the money for himself. So, he killed Isaac and Lisa. Rebecca wasn’t ready to give away the money so easily. She shot Avery and freed herself and Tintin. As she was about to escape, she realized Sarah knew Tintin was her child. Sarah had called the police on Avery and the con artists to ensure their capture. However, Rebecca couldn’t allow that to happen. She expressed her gratitude to Sarah but, in a heartbreaking move, ended up killing her best friend to protect Tintin and secure her own escape.
Who was Jovan?
During Detained’s ending, when Rebecca tried to escape before the police arrived, it soon became clear that she was Jovan, the person responsible for killing her ex, Denton. It seemed she was desperate to avoid trouble with the police over her past crimes. There is a possibility that when Rebecca or Jovan might have found out Denton was married and felt betrayed. So to take her revenge she took his money and killed him and his colleagues by setting the office on fire. Rebecca followed the same pattern this time as well. Avery was still alive when she attempted to escape with her son. Despite his desperate pleas, she ignored him. Rebecca managed to set the false police precinct on fire, and all the con artists with it. Before he died, Avery managed to draw a “J” on the wall with his blood, hoping the police would think Jovan was behind the crime.
With her baby in her car, Rebecca escaped the scene, leaving no obvious traces behind—or so she thought. Remember the scalpel Rebecca used to kill Robert? Well, it was left behind at the scene. When the police arrived to investigate, they found the scalpel and saw the “J” on the wall. They realized that Jovan was behind the killings again as “he” followed the same pattern of burning people alive. They think it’s a man’s doing. But there’s a chance Rebecca could be caught through DNA evidence from the scalpel. However, there’s another possibility: with the money in her possession, she might escape.
In Detained’s ending, Rebecca was seen holding a passport, which suggests she plans to start a new life under a new identity in a different state. Rebecca might manage to outsmart the authorities once again.
