‘A Beautiful Life’ Ending Explained: How Does Elliott Become a Super Star?
Welcome to the Ending Explained for A Beautiful Life, a new romantic Netflix film that is coming to the platform this week. The film is a star vehicle for Christopher, a very popular pop artist from Denmark, and serves as a way to introduce him to an audience beyond his normal target demographic. The film combines a semi-biographical story and just plain advertising for the artist. When everything is said and done, though, the movie feels like a collection of clichés placed one after the other, which is sad and makes for a dull experience.
The film is directed by Mehdi Diaz and stars Christopher himself as the main character, Elliott, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Christine Albeck Borge, Ardalan Esmali, and Sebastian Jessen. The film might be great for those who are already fans of Christopher and his music, and it will definitely accomplish its goal of expanding the artist’s brand. However, as a piece of filmmaking, it lacks in many aspects. Not only when it comes to its narrative but also when it comes to the visuals and the pacing. There are better movies out there that tell the same story and execute the idea much better.
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for A Beautiful Life. Read at your own risk.
How Is Elliott Discovered?
A Beautiful Life begins with an introduction of our main character. His name is Elliot, and he works at the docks fishing for lobsters. It is a hard job that requires early mornings and pays very little. Elliott seems to keep to himself, but he is well-liked by his boss. We see that Elliott lives in a boat that used to belong to his father. He seems to be saving for something, but we don’t know what at this point. His father seems to be dead, and Elliott misses him a lot. He looks at a picture of him and his father, and we can see that something terrible happened and is still eating at Elliott.
Later, we see that Elliott has a musical inclination and is ready to play some of his songs alongside his best friend, Oliver. From the get-go, it becomes clear that Oliver is a walking problem. They are about to perform in front of very important people. How do they get the chance to play at a meeting like this? No one knows the movie doesn’t explain it, but oh well, there they are, and they start playing, and Oliver is the worst. He sounds awful and freezes in the middle of the song as no one is paying attention to such a lame performance.
However, at that moment, Elliott decides to keep the song going by himself. He starts playing his guitar and singing simultaneously, and he is just so much better than Oliver. It really makes you wonder why he thought that Oliver could be a singer in the first place. It doesn’t make sense. Elliott blows people’s minds. He is just so good. He caught the attention of a famous producer named Suzanne and her daughter, Lilly, who is also a producer. Outside, Elliott is angry with Oliver for his awful performance. Oliver gets into trouble with some goons, and they have a brawl on the streets.
Elliott and Oliver get arrested, but Suzanne comes to his rescue. She believes that Elliott has the potential to be something great, and she is willing to pay him money just to hang out with her and see what happens. It all seems too good to be true, but that is the way it goes. Meanwhile, Elliott’s boss hears about the deal and fires Elliott from his job. He understands that Elliott is just the perfect singer, and he needs to use that talent, so he fires him and forces Elliott to go and meet with Suzanne. Elliott does it, and when he enters Suzanne’s home, he meets Lilly for the first time.
Does Elliott Become The Artist He Should Be?
Lilly is Suzanne’s daughter, but their relationship is quite broken. Suzanne’s husband was also a very popular artist, and his records and songs continue to sell like hotcakes. Lilly bluffs about going to London but fails to keep her deceit when Elliott comes to the house. She is clearly in love with him at first sight, and so is he, but the movie is about to make us go through an entire 30-minute section of a from enemies to lovers storyline. Suzanne suggests that Lilly should stay and work with Elliott as he has potential. They don’t like each other, and they can’t work together, though.
Of course, that situation doesn’t last very long, and as they keep working on Elliott’s songs, they start falling in love with each other for real. They start laughing at everything the other says, which is all very predictable. Elliott starts recording a demon, and everyone loves the song he has written for it. Later, Elliott and Lilly go to his boat, and they explain each other backstories and realize they both have daddy issues. They kiss and have sex, and this is only the middle of the movie, so something bad needs to happen soon for the movie to keep going for another hour.
The bad thing that happens is that Oliver comes back now that Elliott has a hit song and is looking to use Elliott for his own agenda. Lilly doesn’t like Oliver, and she tells him to his face. However, in a very dumb move, Elliott seems to choose Oliver before his career as a very successful musician and the woman he loves, as if these two were equal, and, of course, the couple gets into the “rough patch” territory. It doesn’t matter because we know it won’t last, especially when Lilly makes a huge speech about how he is wasting his talent.
Elliott performs on a big stage for the first time and kills it. He is just perfect. However, Lilly is not there with him, so everything stinks. He ends up fighting with Oliver, who tells Elliott that he would be nothing without his help. This is, of course, false, and Elliott cuts ties with Oliver and goes back to Lilly and Suzanne, who were the ones who helped him realize his dream. Elliott and Lilly make up, and Elliott has one last performance where he sings a song dedicated to Lilly and his father, who is looking at him from heaven.
