Based on a true story, Georgetown is the directorial debut of Christoph Waltz. Franklin Foer published an article called ‘The Worst Marriage In Georgetown’ in the New York Times in 2012, and the filmmakers got inspired by it.
The 99-minute-long English movie got released in May 2021 in the United States and later made a box office collection of only $2,132 in Italy. Converting an article into a movie is a different struggle undergone by the writer David Auburn.
Christoph Waltz also appears as the main murderer and the male lead, Ulrich Mott, in the movie. The other actors are Laura de Carteret (as Eleanor Price), Annette Bening (as Amanda Breht), Alexander Crowther (as Matthew), Vanessa Redgrave (as Elsa Breht), Corey Hawkins (as Daniel Volker), Ron Lea (as Detective Reid), and Saad Siddiqui (as Zahari).
An impressive, dishonest, ambitious social climber is the main suspect in his wealthy wife’s murder. People interested in human psychology can study how ego affects people, and they get motivated to get worse. The movie, Georgetown, will show how appearance masks the truth. However, it will raise several questions till the end and not answer all of them.
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Georgetown Movie Plot
Ulrich Mott is an unpaid intern and an ambitious social climber who charms a much older wealthy lady, Elsa Breht, with his fake smile and political influence to marry her. Elsa is a widow and a successful journalist and author.
In a flashback, Ulrich was shown in the historic building to complete his assignment. He pretended to be an insider with access to private information by not allowing anyone to click photos at the building in the name of national security.
Ulrich’s boss fired him for not fitting into the job role. However, he steals his boss’ identity card to appear on Washington’s biggest night, where he charms Elsa. Elsa has a grown-up daughter, Amanda Breht, who gets suspicious of Ulrich’s intentions and advises her mother to look for another worthy. However, Elsa cannot see what’s hidden under Ulrich’s fake smile.
According to the true story, Elsa and Ulrich’s marriage lasted for around twenty years with several complexities. Ulrich reportedly turned into a manipulative and controlling husband leading to domestic violence. His true character came out when his wife, Elsa, was found dead in her bathroom.
Christoph Waltz performed as a true narcissist, as usual, and attracted major audiences. The acting and twists are good, but the movie has no wow factor. The story also addresses the flaws in the high American Society where people get trusted based on their power, connections, and charm.
Georgetown Movie Ending Explained
Real-life Albrecht Gero Muth, the murderer, got portrayed as Ulrich Mott in the movie. Muth showed fake certificates and pretended to be the Iraq army’s Brigadier General. He was unemployed, born in Germany, and survived on Viola Herms Drath’s (portrayed as Elsa Breht in the movie) monthly allowance.
Muth said that Viola’s death was only an accident. However, according to the investigation, there were no signs of getting into the house forcefully. Moreover, the medical tests proved that it was a murder.
After going through Muth’s internet search history, the prosecutors found searches related to running away from the country shortly after Viola’s death. Muth had shared what he would do if Viola died with Viola and his daughters (through emails) when Viola was alive.
The D.C. Superior Court found enough pieces of evidence and charged him with first-degree murder sending him to prison for fifty years. The movie got filmed in Toronto, not in Georgetown. Some viewers did not find the murder dramatic enough.
Some viewers knew the couple. Thus, they found it familiar. Some also described Viola as a sophisticated lady and Muth as creepy. However, none knew that the story would take such a wrong turn.
Falls can get fatal at Viola’s age. Muth is a teenage intern, whereas Ulrich is shown as a 50-year-old man in the movie. In real life, the husband was only twenty-six, and the wife was seventy when they married. The murder took place after twenty-one years, when she was ninety-one.
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