Self Reliance Plot Summary
In Jake Johnson’s directorial debut Self Reliance, he plays Tommy, a recently heartbroken man who moves through life simply existing. That is, until showrunners of a dark web reality series offer him participation in the show, meaning hunters will be trying to kill him for the next thirty days unless he’s with another person. He dies, he loses. But if he survives the month, he’ll walk away with a million dollars.
How does Tommy survive the hunters?
Once Tommy decides to participate in the dark web reality show, he has to find someone who will always stay by his side. His family doesn’t believe him about the game, so he turns to a homeless man he calls James (Biff Wiff). But the hunters nearly kill him when James is late to meet him.
Luckily, Tommy gets a response to an ad he put out. Maddy (Anna Kendrick) is participating in the show too, so they decide to spend all their time together to survive the hunters. But some of the game assistants warn Tommy that he’s not as safe as he believes.
Why did Maddy lie to Tommy?
Eventually, Maddy stops taking the game seriously and reveals that she’s not actually part of the reality show. She only answered Tommy’s ad because she was lonely and wanted the company. She initially thought it was all a joke. Now she knows it’s not, she can’t keep going.
How does Self Reliance end?
With a few days to go, Tommy tries playing out the last few days of the game with James by his side. (He finally discovers James’ real name is Walter.) But when the showrunners take Walter away a few days out from the game’s end, Tommy has to go the last stretch alone.
Tommy narrowly escapes the hunters to win the game. He’s paid in Danish Krone rather than U.S. dollars, and he won’t see the money all at once. And his family isn’t as impressed as he thought they would be. But all in all, Tommy is just happy he proved to himself he could do it.
At the end of Self Reliance, Tommy gathers up the courage (something he never had with his ex-girlfriend) to knock on Maddy’s door. He’s concluded, it seems, that it’s better to live your life to its fullest with those you love.
Read More: Self Reliance Movie Review