Netflix 'Luckiest Girl Alive' Ending Explained: Self-love is more important than any romantic relationship

'Luckiest Girl Alive' showcases a victim's burden when they choose silence over the truth
PUBLISHED OCT 7, 2022
Mila Kunis as Ani in 'Luckiest Girl Alive' (Sabrina Lantos/Netflix)
Mila Kunis as Ani in 'Luckiest Girl Alive' (Sabrina Lantos/Netflix)

Women-centric movies are always fascinating to watch and even more so when it is adapted from a good book. 'Luckiest Girl Alive' is one of those movies, adapted from Jessica Knoll's debut novel 'Luckiest Girl Alive,' which also happens to be 2015's New York Times Bestselling mystery novel. The story follows a young woman who has sought to reinvent herself in her adult life, following a series of horrifying events during her teenage years. During the book, the lead character, Ani Fanelli, is also referred to by several different names: TifAni FaNelli, Tif, and Finny.

Similarly, in the Netflix original movie, we see Ani Fanelli (Mila Kunis) having horrific thoughts about what she has endured in the past when she is in a stressful situation. Her coping mechanism is always to suppress her emotions and real thoughts as she feels like a doll who will say and do what others want. She finds comfort in getting a rich fiance at first who she thinks will give her a sense of security in her life but all that soon changes. 

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By the end of the movie, the audience will witness how Ani Fanelli (Mila Kunis) decides to talk about her side of the story as she realizes that suppressing the trauma was not helping her with Dean Barton (Alex Barone), who was using the traumatic experience of the mass school shooting as a way to publicize his book. Ani feels suppressed and Luke's (Finn Wittrock) unsupportive nature makes her feel even more vulnerable. She keeps getting reminded of the traumatic events that she went through as though the events happened yesterday when she decides to film the documentary.

After being inspired by her boss, LoLo Vincent (Jennifer Beals) to write a real story of how she truly feels without feeling the fear of being judged by her fiance, in-laws, and the world, Ani writes a piece for the New York Times. For the first time, she writes her real story which eventually brings her peace even though it breaks her engagement as she confesses to Luke that she adapted to situations like a chameleon to keep Luke happy while forsaking her own happiness. After the engagement ends, she is freed from the expectations she was carrying due to Luke's family name and reputation.

After she tells her story, many women reach out to her sharing their own stories of suppressing their hurt and living with it for so many years. This makes our heroine feel more empowered as she is no longer alone. When she leaves the interview studio, the woman who is a supporter of Dean Barton approaches her to take Ani down a peg or two. Ani asks her to buzz off, symbolizing how finally Kunis' character is starting to walk on the path of self-love and is slowly healing from the past traumatic events.

'Luckiest Girl Alive' is streaming now on Netflix

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