Merry Christmas (2024) Ending Explained — Who killed Jerome? Do Maria and Albert end up together?

Merry Christmas Plot Summary

On Christmas Eve, Albert goes back home after being released from prison for the murder of his lover – Rosie. He ends up at a restaurant where he meets Maria who is out on a date. Maria leaves the restaurant with her 6-year-old daughter, Annie. Maria takes Annie to the cinema where Albert is also watching a film.

The two walk out of the theatre together and Maria, who has felt an instant connection with Albert invites him over for a drink. Albert hangs out in the living room of the house while Maria goes inside to put Annie to bed. Maria and Albert then share drinks and hang out. Maria tells Albert all about her husband, Jerome as well as his mental abuse of their daughter Annie.

Maria also reveals that Annie had stopped talking due to Jerome’s behaviour towards her. The two then go out on a walk with Albert and end at Albert’s house where they hang out there for a while. Maria is about to kiss Albert but pulls back when sanity hits.


What happens when Maria and Albert return to the apartment?

Albert offers to drop Maria back home and Maria ends up kissing Albert in the elevator. However, once the two leave the elevator they soon realise that Maria’s apartment has been broken into. In the living room, Maria and Albert find Jerome’s dead body with a gun in his hand.

Maria goes inside to check up on Annie and is relieved to find her safe. She asks Albert to call the cops but Albert confesses that he has just been released from prison for killing his girlfriend. He starts wiping his fingerprints from the objects he touched in Maria’s house.

However, he noticed that the ornament he had put on the Christmas tree was missing. Maria kicks Albert out and the man waits downstairs.


How does Maria meet Ronnie?

A while later, Maria takes Annie with her and the mother-daughter duo go to church for the Christmas Midnight Mass. There, Maria runs into Ronnie who drives her home. Maria asks Ronnie to come up to her house for a drink and he does so. However, Maria is shocked when Albert shows up at her house. Albert is confused when he doesn’t find Jerome’s dead body in the living room.

Maria tells Ronnie that she has lost her watch in the church. She tells him that Annie was asleep and they could go get the missing object back. Ronnie offers to drop Albert home before taking Maria to the church.


What happens when Albert goes back to Maria’s house?

Instead of going home, Albert goes back to Maria’s apartment and finds Jerome’s dead body in the living room.  He goes to the bedroom and finds Annie scared, hiding behind a chair. He consoles the little girl by telling her a story and gives her the ornament from the Christmas tree as a present.

Meanwhile, Maria and Ronnie return home and the scene replays r again with Maria screaming upon finding Jerome’s dead body in the living room. Maria and Ronnie check up on Annie while Ronnie goes out to call the cops to alert them about the murder/suicide. Maria ends up finding Albert in Annie’s room and is scared. She asks Albert to leave as Ronnie has already called the cops.


How does Albert learn the truth about Maria?

Albert goes out of the house from the back gate but upon noticing the cop vehicles downstairs, goes back up. He ends up entering the flat right above Maria’s and realises that Maria had replicated the living room of the second apartment to look like her own and had staged the crime scene herself.

The cops arrive at the scene and seal the living room of Maria’s apartment. Ronnie goes home but ends up telling the cops that he had lost his wallet in the apartment.


Who killed Jerome?

After the cops have left, Maria goes to the second apartment and finds Albert there. She tells Albert that she had killed Jerome by first drugging him and shooting him while loud music played in the apartment above. Maria adds that she had staged the living room of the second apartment to look like her own to frame a stranger for the murder of her husband.

When Albert had refused to call the cops, Maria reveals to have gone out to look for another bait which turns out to be Ronnie. Maria tells Albert that she is going to burn down the fake furniture and items from the second apartment in the furnace at her bakery.


How does Albert help Maria?

Albert offers to help Maria and together, the two burn all the goods from the second apartment. Albert finds Ronnie’s wallet and keeps it with himself. He offers to put it in the church ‘Lost and Found’ box for Ronnie to find later. Maria worries about the cops learning the truth about her actions and wonders what would happen to Annie.

The next morning, the cops learn that the details from the crime scene point to Jerome’s death by suicide. One of the constables suspects Maria while the other is certain that beating Ronnie up will get him to reveal the truth about the crime.


What does Ronnie tell the cops?

Ronnie tells the cop all about Albert and he is called in for questioning. Albert gives a similar statement as Ronnie’s. He leaves his signature origami paper swan on the table. Maria also comes in for questioning with Annie. She notices the origami swan which prompts her to mention Albert. 

The cops find that all three persons of interest, Maria, Ronnie and Albert had identical statements and decide to close the case by concluding it to be suicide. However, Ronnie’s wife shows up at the police station and asks about his missing wallet. Maria reveals that the wallet was nowhere to be found in her apartment and the group is about to leave.


How does Merry Christmas end?

Ronnie alleges that a thief may have entered Maria’s house and stolen his wallet while also killing Jerome. The cops find Ronnie’s theory far-fetched and decide to go with their first assumption. Just as they are about to leave, the inspector hands Annie the toy that she had forgotten on his table.

The cop asks her how she got the toy and the little girl speaks up for the first time, pointing towards Albert to reveal that he had given it to her. Maria is glad to see Annie speak again but soon realises that Annie accidentally blamed Albert.

Albert comes clean and hands over Ronnie’s wallet to the cops. He proposes to Maria with a ring in the middle of the police station which she accepts. Albert then surrenders himself to the cops for Jerome’s murder as the film ends. 

 

Read More: Merry Christmas Movie Review


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