The Weekend Away, a classic Netflix movie based on the suspense novel by Sarah Alderson, takes you on a journey around the picturesque city of Dubrovnik but ultimately gives little. With many unexpected turns and a murder investigation that advances the story, it is similar to an adventure theme park, but if someone is searching for something important, the movie is a huge letdown.
The movie, which is directed by Kim Farrant, centres on Beth Jenner and Kate Thompson, two close friends who travel to Croatia from London for a weekend getaway. But Beth is confused by Kate’s abrupt exit. As she searches for her companion in other countries, unexpected revelations change her life. So without further ado, let’s learn what happened to Kate and how her absence drastically altered Beth’s life.
The Weekend Away Plot Summary
Living in London with her husband Rob (Luke Norris) and their infant daughter Aster is Beth Jenner (Leighton Meester). Kate Thompson (Christina Wolfe), a close friend of the couple who is about to file for divorce from her husband Jay, decides to travel to Croatia with her best friend Beth to unwind for the weekend.
Sebastian, a local property manager who also works as a film composer, helps Kate rent an apartment. The movie starts with Beth arriving in Croatia and meeting Kate at Sebastian’s apartment, where the two plan their night out and the following day’s cycling excursion. However, Kate’s face has a sinister look that suggests disaster is about to strike.
Later that evening, Kate and Beth go to a neighbourhood bar called The Blue Parlor, where Kate makes Beth drink against her protests. Under the influence of alcohol, Beth and Kate encounter Mateo and Luka, two escorts. The very next frame shows Beth waking up the following morning with a headache, unable to recall the events of the previous evening, and, most importantly, Kate is gone.
Initially, Beth goes to the police station and tries to report a missing individual, but the in-charge inspector, Pavic, declines to open a case and tells Beth to wait for 24 hours. While waiting for Mateo and Luka to be apprehended, Beth enlists the aid of a Syrian cab driver named Zakaria Zain and learns that they stole Kate’s Dior purse and cellphone, which she eventually recovers from a pawn shop. But Kate’s phone is locked, and the escorts are clueless as to where she is. With this new knowledge, Beth returns to the station and complains to Kovac, another female officer, who then launches a thorough inquiry and retrieves Kate’s body from the port.
As a result of Kovac’s discovery of some evidence implicating Beth in Kate’s murder, the police have Beth’s passport seized while they do their investigation. In the meantime, Beth works with Zain to identify the real murderer in an effort to establish her innocence.
Who Killed Kate?
At the pawn shop, Beth discovered Kate’s cellphone. However, a facial ID was used to lock the phone. Therefore, during her second trip to the mortuary, Beth opened it together with Kate’s corpse. Beth discovered that Kate frequently contacted a contact named Handyman on her smartphone. When she dialled the number from Kate’s cellphone, she was startled to learn that Kate’s handyman was actually Beth’s husband, Rob, who was having an affair with her wife.
The findings shocked Beth, who called Rob to confront him about them while the discussion was being recorded by the spooky landlord, Sebastian, who had placed a pinhole camera and a microphone in every rented room. Sebastian provided the police with details about Rob and Kate’s relationship, which Beth used as justification for killing Kate. However, Beth was perplexed as to how the police had obtained this information, so while Sebastian was away, she broke into his private recording room and discovered a lavish setup from which Sebastian was filming explicit recordings of his visitors.
Beth discovered additional video from the night of Kate’s disappearance through these tapes, and she deduced that Mateo and Luka, Kate’s escorts, had stolen Kate’s pocketbook. As a result, Beth pursued them and lodged a complaint against them at the police station where she encountered Pavic. However, Pavic was a dishonest police officer who made advances toward Kate and cursed her when she turned him down. After watching the video in which Pavic drops Kate off at her apartment, Beth came to the conclusion that Pavic killed Kate. It wasn’t true, though.
Kovac dropped the case after Pavic died accidentally after falling off a building, speculating that perhaps during their encounter, Pavic lost control and killed Kate by assaulting her. However, following their breakup, when Beth went back to Rob’s apartment in London to fetch her spare vehicle keys, she discovered one of the black onyx beads from the necklace she had given Kate in Croatia in his jacket pocket. As a result, Beth came to the conclusion that Rob was in Croatia on the night that Kate was murdered. When Beth questioned Rob with this new information, Rob ultimately admitted to killing Kate.
The Weekend Away Ending Explained: Why Did Rob Kill Kate?
The intimacy in Beth and Rob’s relationship vanished after their marriage hit a hard period following the birth of Aster. Rob acted on his macho inclinations and cheated on his wife with Kate, who was also dealing with a failing marriage with Jay, while Beth was battling her own fears. The casual one-night fling, however, meant nothing to Kate, and perhaps she was just trying to make Jay envious. But without any intimacy, Rob became enamoured with Kate and began contacting her frequently to have sex, and Kate wanted to put an end to this impulsive, informal relationship.
That evening in Croatia, as Kate and Beth were having dinner, Rob called to ask her not to tell Beth his secret. However, Kate would not budge. Rob repeatedly tried to contact and text Kate, but she didn’t answer, so Rob was forced to fly to Croatia and wait outside their apartment. Rob emerged from the shadows after Pavic dropped Kate off at the apartment and led her to the port lines before pleading with her not to tell Beth anything. He further stipulated that if Kate agreed to share their secret, she would have to live her entire life with him and he would leave Beth for her.
However, Kate had no desire to have an affair with Rob or keep it a secret from Beth. Rob felt alone and helpless. He became completely insane at the notion of losing two women, and in the heat of the moment, Rob attacked Kate, causing her to fall to the ground, hit the back of her head, and roll into the water. Rob fled after believing Kate had passed away, however Kate had really drowned in the river. He had the ability to save her, but he chose not to.
Beth contacted Kovac and kept the call going before addressing Rob. Rob effectively confessed to the police his crimes as a result, and Kovac soon dispatched units to Rob’s London apartment to have him arrested. When Beth recalled Zain’s suggestion to hit on the weak points, Rob attempted to stop her, but Beth attacked, knocking him to the ground. As the police cars drew near Rob’s apartment at the conclusion of The Weekend Away, Beth exited the building with her young daughter Aster. They’ll probably catch the offender and accuse him of killing Kate.
What Happened To Zain?
Beth started an odd friendship with Zain at the start of the movie. Zain served as Beth’s go-to supporter when she was away from home and assisted her in her investigation into Kate’s death. Because Zain was a Syrian refugee and Beth had previously worked for the Global Rescue Initiative, they emotionally connected (maybe before she got pregnant with Aster). Beth was able to empathise with Zain’s suffering during his flight from Syria and his grief at losing his wife to the airstrikes.
Beth trusted Zain with her heart, so even after Kovac told her that Zain was associated with an Albanian gang, Beth offered Zain the opportunity to explain. Even after Kovac closed the case and dismissed all charges against him, Zain and Beth maintained in touch because he wanted to maintain his friendship with Beth and so he kept no secrets from her.
After Rob’s incarceration, it’s possible that Beth will opt to keep dating Zain and decide to take it further. If that occurs, Zain and Beth will eventually raise a lovely family together—whether it be in London or Croatia, depending on where they find peace.
Kim Farrant is the director of the 2021 crime thriller The Weekend Away.
