Margot Robbie and Will Smith’sFocusis filled with twists and turns, backstabbing and secret alliances, and more right up to its final moments, and the film’s ending may need some explanation.Focusgained renewed popularity on Netflix, and the star-studdedcast ofFocuslikely had something to do with it. Every character in the film had a part to play in making its mind-bending twists work, but even they couldn’t make every surprise inFocuscompletely clear. There were several major plot points that happened in just the final 30 minutes of the film, and they may need to be explained.
Though Nicky (Will Smith) had been hired to con Garriga’s (Rodrigo Santoro) rival, the ending ofFocusrevealed that his actual plan was to sell real versions of his fuel injection software EXR. Unfortunately, his plan didn’t go off smoothly, and both Nicky and Jess (Margot Robbie) were captured by Garriga and his chief of security, Owens (Gerald McRaney). From there, everything in the ending ofFocushappened very quickly: Nicky was shot, Owens revealed himself to be his partner and father before saving his life, and he betrayed Nicky and took the money for himself.
How Long Bucky & Nicky Were Working Together Explained
Nicky & Bucky Were Working Together Since The Very Beginning, Jess Just Didn’t Know
One of the biggest twists at the ending ofFocuswas the revelation that Owens wasn’t actually working for Garriga, and he was actually Bucky, Nicky’s adoptive father. Evidently,the father-son con-man duo had been working together since the very beginning, yet Nicky forgot to give Jess that piece of information. Bucky mentioned that he had been working as Garriga’s head of security for three years, trying to scam him. When Garriga hired Nicky, they joined forces. The reason Owens and Nicky seemed so antagonistic to each other wasn’t because they were fighting each other, they just had a tense relationship in general.
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Nicky and Bucky’s partnership came into play in a few key ways inFocus.As the inside man, Bucky was actually the reason Nicky got the real copy of the EXR instead of the fake one Garringa wanted him to sell. Since he was his head of security, Garringa trusted “Owens,” which let Bucky get the real software. Then, near the end, Bucky sent Nicky a text telling him that Garriga had learned about his double-cross. Finally, once Nicky and Jess had been captured, Bucky got them out by pulling a “Toledo Panic Button” and shooting Nicky to prove they weren’t working together.
Bucky Abandoned Nicky Because “Love Will Get You Killed”
Bucky Realized His Love For Nicky Was Getting In The Way Of His Scams
Part of the reason Bucky and Nicky played such convincing enemies is because they had a very strained father-son relationship. Nicky told Jess earlier inFocusthat Bucky had abandoned him as a child, and he assumed it was because Nicky was too soft for a life of crime.At the end ofFocus, however, Bucky revealed that he abandoned Nicky because he loved him too much. Bucky said that he had a gun pulled on him during a rigged card game, and all he could think about was Nicky. He walked away from Nicky right then and there.
Bucky essentially saw his love for Nicky as a weakness that was putting his life and scams in danger, so he walked out on his son.
Though he loved Nicky, Bucky still picked crime over his adoptive son. As Bucky explained, “love will get you killed in this racket. No place for that shit here. No happiness with that.“Bucky essentially saw his love for Nicky as a weakness that was putting his life and scams in danger, so he walked out on his son. Bucky hardly wins the father of the year award, but his reason for leaving was a bit better than what Nicky originally thought. There’s even a chance that Bucky left to keep Nicky from living a dangerous life, though that may be too generous for the con-man.
Why Bucky Took The EXR Money In Focus
Even though Bucky and Nicky had a heart-to-heart moment at the end ofFocus, the father still stole all the earnings they made by selling the EXR software.Just before he stole the €27 million, Bucky told Nicky that he was taking the money because his son wasn’t really a thief, so he didn’t owe him any professional courtesy. As he said, “You know how they say there’s honor among thieves? Well, you’re no thief, Mellow. You made your choice.” Bucky was mad at his son for throwing away years of training as a con-man for love, so he took the money for himself.
Jess mentioned in the beginning ofFocusthat some people knew Nicky by the nickname “Mellow,” and Bucky also referred to him by that name.
Nicky had chosen Jess over the job the second he waited for her in the hotel room instead of fleeing when Bucky texted him. He essentially made the exact opposite decision Bucky did when he decided to walk out on Nicky’s life.That was the key to Bucky’s decision at the end ofFocus: the most important thing in Bucky’s life was being a scammer, but Jess was the most important thing to Nicky. Bucky had chosen time and again to prioritize his criminal enterprises over Nicky; taking the EXR money was just the latest example.
Jess Stole Garriga’s $200,000 Watch At The End Of Focus
Jess Slipped Garriga’s Watch Off His Wrist Just After Nicky Got Shot
While they didn’t get the 27 million Euros from selling the EXR systems, Nicky and Jess didn’t walk away from the ending ofFocusempty-handed. One of the reasons Jess was even in Buenos Aires was to steal Garriga’s watch, a Piaget Emperador that Jess valued at $200,000.As Jess walked Nicky to the hospital, he looked down and saw that she had stolen Garriga’s watch. Just after Bucky shot Nicky, Garriga grabbed Jess by the chin to yell at her, and she slipped the watch off his wrist in the confusion. Evidently, she learned from Nicky to never lose focus, no matter what happens.
The True Meaning Of Focus' Ending Explained
Focus Is About Choosing Between Love & Money
Focusis a movie about love, specifically in how people value love versus money, and no two characters show it better than Bucky and Nicky. Bucky valued his criminal lifestyle and the money it made him over everything, even his own family. He shot and killed his own father trying to survive a scam, and he abandoned his own son to focus on his criminal career.Nicky, however, learned over the course ofFocusthat love is worth more than money. He finally decided to be honest with Jess and be in a relationship with her, and he seemingly left his con-man ways behind.
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The way Bucky and Nicky parted also says a lot about whatFocushas to say about the value of love. Bucky chose money over his son’s love, and he left alone, carrying actual heavy baggage. Nicky chose love, and Jess ended up carrying him to the hospital, literally lightening his load.Bucky and Nicky couldn’t be more direct foils to each other, andFocusclearly shows Nicky got the better deal. Even with all the winnings he scammed inFocus, Nicky’s greatest prize was his relationship with Jess.
Focus
Cast
Focus, released in 2015, stars Will Smith as seasoned con artist Nicky, who becomes romantically involved with his protégé Jess, played by Margot Robbie. The narrative unfolds as she later reemerges, complicating his latest schemes with her presence as a femme fatale.
