!!! Spoiler alert for the new movie Rob Peace !!!

The shock of its third-act twist relies on the false sense of security established by the movie beginning with a text card that labels the story as having been “Inspired By True Events.”

The movie chronicles the life of Rob Peace starting from childhood, narrated in voiceover — and in the past tense — by an older-sounding Rob. And because we’ve already been told that the movie is inspired by true events, it’s easy to assume that he makes it out of the story alive to be able to tell it back to us, a structural comfort blanket that assures us he’ll circumvent the potentially fatal ramifications of the poverty he navigates throughout his upbringing.

Only attentive audiences will remember that his voiceover is initially contextualized as a college-admissions essay. Late in the movie, after he’s already attended some higher education, there’s a quick shot of him beginning to write his application. 

Which means: his narration could hail from this exact moment.

Which also means: our assumption that he ends the movie alright no longer applies. 

You can probably guess what happens next.

After avoiding and persevering travail after travail, on the cusp of what seems like his happily ever after…

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The title Rob Peace further proves that the movie wanted to conceal his death into a shocking finale, because the nonfiction book on which it’s based is titled The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace.