Warning: this article contains spoilers for Opus.Opus, Mark Anthony Green’s directorial debut, presents a new take on the fanaticism surrounding celebrity culture. The A24 film received its release at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and it had audiences excited to see how the talents of Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich would combine. In fact, while Opus has received mixed reviews, Edebiri and Malkovich’s performances have been noted as the stand-out aspects. Edebiri is Ariel Ecton, a young journalist hoping to make a name for herself who is shocked to be invited to a once in a lifetime event hosted by Malkovich’s Alfred Moretti.
Opus sees Ariel travel to Moretti’s desert commune along with five other carefully chosen individuals to attend a listening party for the artist’s first album in three decades. The young writer is determined to take the opportunity seriously, but, unlike those around her, she immediately begins noticing very sinister things about Moretti and his power over the Levelists, his cult. As the film progresses, Ariel’s circumstances quickly turn dire as those who came with her begin to disappear and Moretti’s activities for the group become even more sinister, leading to a shocking twist in Opus‘s ending.
How Ariel Really Survived The Cult In Opus’ Ending
Ariel Escaped Moretti’s Commune, But It Was All By Design
From the moment that Ariel and her fellow visitors enter Moretti’s compound, it is very clear that something is not right. When she eventually requests to leave, she is coerced into staying for one final event: a horrifying puppet show named “The Tragedy of Billie.” While the puppet show itself, made up of decaying stuffed rats questioning a puppet version of Billie Holiday, is already bad enough, the other guests are attacked, leaving several of them ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. Only Ariel manages to get away, though she is later caught.
Ariel awakens to find herself tied to a chair and witnessing what seems to be a mᴀss-suicide ritual in which the cult members are planning to drink poisoned champagne. However, before she can be forced to drink as well, one of the cult members seemingly takes pity on her and allows her to escape. When she brings the police back the next morning, they find Moretti playing the piano with the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ bodies of her companions lined up on the ground and the Levelists nowhere to be found, leading Moretti to be imprisoned.
The cult members had always planned to let Ariel live because they saw it as an effective way to share their beliefs, she was simply their unsuspecting vessel for that.
This seemingly gives Ariel a happy ending as the murderer is caught, and she becomes famous for her account of the harrowing events. However, in Opus‘s big twist, Moretti reveals to Ariel that he always planned for her to get away precisely so she would write about him and the Levelists and bring them more attention. The cult members had always planned to let Ariel live because they saw it as an effective way to share their beliefs, she was simply their unsuspecting vessel for that.
Why Moretti Committed The Murders
He Was Motivated By Silly Personal Vendettas And Religious Fervor
Opus creates a very interesting villain in Moretti, thanks largely to John Malkovich’s chaotic and compelling portrayal of the pop star. In many moments, Moretti feels quite silly, as his songs are somewhat nonsensical, his dancing is ridiculous, and his outfits are incredibly flamboyant. Every aspect of his personality is very clearly centered on gaining as much attention as possible, since he sees himself as the epitome of artistic vision, despite his art feeling largely devoid of soul. In a way, then, it makes sense that his motivation to commit murder is equally vapid.
The primary reason why Moretti planned the murder was so his cult, the Levelists, would gain attention and hopefully gain new followers. However, he felt that he needed to plan the perfect victims, and for that, Moretti chose people whom he had vendettas against in the past. Aside from Ariel, each of the people invited to his listening party had slighted him in some manner, whether by taking a bad pH๏τo of him or making a negative comment about him. In using tiny past issues as motive, Opus highlights the fragility of Moretti’s ego and his so-called art.
Who The Levelists Were And What Really Happened To Them
The Cult’s Fate Is Revealed In The Final Moments
The Levelists play a mᴀssive role in Opus, though their exact beliefs and goals can be unclear at times, and their true plan is not revealed until the very end. One of Ariel’s main priorities when she arrives at Moretti’s compound is figuring out why all the people there flocked to Moretti, and what she learns places the group among several famous cults. Level is a religion that primarily seems to revolve around beauty and artistic perfection.
Moretti is the de facto leader of the Levelists as he believes his artistic vision to be pure, and he strives for perfection, telling Ariel and her boss, Stan, that all people are capable of reaching perfection in tiny moments. He goes on to argue that reaching artistic perfection makes humans into Gods, albeit only momentarily, and that he himself has achieved this through certain great songs. Fittingly, then, the Levelists seem to spend their days pursuing the arts and basking in Moretti’s talents, but their stranger rituals are also hinted at.
The Levelists did not die, but instead, they reintegrated into society in order to continue spreading their message and beliefs to gain new followers and eventually control the world.
In Opus‘s climax, it seems that the Levelists are ready to commit a mᴀss-suicide on Moretti’s orders, but their fate is actually not what it seems. Moretti allows Ariel to leave, ᴀssuming that he had hidden all the cult members’ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ bodies, but he later reveals that they are all completely fine. The Levelists did not die, but instead, they reintegrated into society in order to continue spreading their message and beliefs to gain new followers and eventually control the world.
The Real Meaning Of Opus’s Ending Explained
Opus Examines The Power Of Celebrity And The Desire For Greatness
Opus tackles some pretty intense moments and themes in its 104-minute runtime. The movie uses Ariel’s perspective to explore the extremes of celebrity fan culture. While her companions are almost immediately sucked into Moretti’s world and don’t realize their mistake until it’s too late, Edebiri’s Ariel stands in for the audience in observing the absurdities both of those she is with and of Moretti and his cult. Opus seems to argue that many fans are all too willing to blindly follow their favorite celebrities, and that celebrities themselves often egg this on.
Additionally, the beginning and ending of the film also highlight how a desire for fame can lead to unintended consequences. Ariel begins the movie as someone fairly unremarkable, but, by the end, she is a successful author thanks to Moretti’s actions. However, it is exactly her eagerness that attracted Moretti to her in the first place, since he knew she would choose to write about what she had witnessed without thinking about how it would further his cause. Ultimately, Opus leaves Ariel and the audience wondering if it was all worth the fame she got.
