Swedish actress Noomi Rapace has made a strong name for herself in international cinema. Being fluent in six languages, she effortlessly takes on American roles while also excelling in various acclaimed projects across different countries.
In What Happened to Monday?, directed by Tommy Wirkola, she delivers an extraordinary performance by portraying seven distinct characters, each representing a day of the week. Taking on multiple roles in a single film is no small feat.
In a world of deception, trust is the most dangerous game (Photo: What Happened to Monday/Vendome Pictures, Nexus Factory, and Raffaella Productions)Rapace does it with such finesse that her performance deserves an Oscar nomination. Now that the film is available on Netflix, this is a great time to witness one of her most impressive portrayals on screen. Set in a dystopian society with an oppressive one-child policy, the Settman family has managed to evade the government’s strict regulations.
Willem Dafoe plays Terrence Settman, the devoted patriarch who has spent years ensuring the safety of his seven daughters. However, their carefully crafted secret is jeopardized when one of them fails to return home after work.
This unexpected event threatens to unravel everything he has worked for, placing his daughters in grave danger at the hands of the ruthless Nicolette Cayman, played by Glenn Close. But what exactly happens to Monday, and how does this gripping psychological thriller play out?
What Is What Happened to Monday About?
By the year 2073, overpopulation has reached an unsustainable level, and the government has imposed extreme measures to control it. A totalitarian regime enforces a strict one-child-per-family law, with violators facing harsh penalties.
Terrence Settman, a single father, defies these regulations by raising septuplet daughters in secrecy. Any extra children discovered by the government are taken away and placed in frozen cryostasis, leaving families no choice but to comply.
To keep his daughters safe, Terrence enforces strict discipline in their hidden penthouse, ensuring they remain unnoticed. Each daughter is named after a day of the week, and they take turns going outside on their designated day, all pretending to be one person—Karen Settman, named after their late mother.
At the end of each day, the sister who was outside returns home to report on everything that happened, making sure the others can seamlessly continue the illusion. Any experience one of them goes through must be shared by all to maintain their disguise, including when Thursday comes home with a missing finger.
This forces Terrence to amputate the same finger from the other six sisters to avoid suspicion. Their system has worked for over two decades—until one Monday when Karen doesn’t return home. The remaining six sisters must figure out what went wrong and find her, all while keeping their secret intact.
Rapace delivers an outstanding performance, giving each sister a unique personality not just through physical differences, but also through subtle variations in their behaviors and attitudes.
The Connection Between Monday and Dr. Cayman
While heading home from work, Tuesday is suddenly detained by the Child Allocation Bureau (C.A.B.), an organization led by the cunning and merciless Dr. Nicolette Cayman. During interrogation, Cayman makes it clear that she knows the truth about all seven sisters and demands to know their whereabouts.
As part of her aggressive tactics, she orders a team of C.A.B. operatives to raid the Settman apartment. This leads to a fierce battle, as the sisters fight to defend themselves. Meanwhile, Wednesday confronts a coworker, Jerry (Pal Sverre Hagen), who claims to have insider knowledge about the Settmans’ secret.
However, what she uncovers is not what she expected. The shocking revelation is that Monday secretly transferred millions of dollars to fund Dr. Cayman’s political campaign. Before Wednesday can process this betrayal, she witnesses Jerry being taken out by a sniper.
As she desperately tries to escape the relentless C.A.B. forces, Wirkola showcases the grim reality of their dystopian world—overcrowded streets filled with homeless citizens, starving people dressed in rags, and buildings crumbling into ruins.
Friday, the group’s tech expert, tries to guide Wednesday to safety remotely, but despite their efforts, Wednesday is eventually captured and killed. With two sisters dead and Monday still missing, the tension only continues to rise.
Who Manages to Track Down Monday?
Right from the start, Thursday is portrayed as the sister Terrence relies on the most. She was the first among them to step outside as a child, and her father believes she is the most intelligent and resilient. He trusts her to lead the others and ensure the survival of their shared identity.
However, Monday’s risky affair with a C.A.B. security guard, Adrian Knowles (Marwan Kenzari), endangers them all. When Monday, who has never missed a check-in in over twenty years, suddenly disappears, Thursday immediately senses that something is wrong.
She takes charge of the search, determined to uncover what happened. The concept of the film is highly original, and Rapace’s ability to seamlessly portray seven different characters is a testament to her skill.
The meticulous effort that must have gone into coordinating such a complex performance between the actress and the production team is commendable. After a long and tense search, Thursday finally tracks down Monday, only to discover that she has actively worked to sabotage everything they have fought to protect.
The Most Heartbreaking Deaths in What Happened to Monday?
Saturday takes a bold step by pretending to be Monday during an intimate encounter with Adrian, aiming to infiltrate C.A.B. headquarters. She manages to send a coded message back to Friday, allowing her to hack into the agency’s database in search of Monday.
A gripping thriller where sacrifice is the price of freedom (Photo: What Happened to Monday/Vendome Pictures, Nexus Factory, and Raffaella Productions)Around this time, Thursday prepares to dig deeper into Monday’s secret ties to Dr. Cayman. A high-profile gala is scheduled that evening, where Cayman will be campaigning for a seat in the government’s parliament. Thursday declares her plan to expose Cayman and rescue Monday.
However, tragedy strikes when Saturday is shot in the head, adding another painful loss to the sisters’ dwindling numbers. With only Thursday, Monday, and Friday remaining, the odds are stacked against them. Friday, who struggles with severe anxiety, finds it difficult to keep up with Thursday’s determined pursuit of justice.
Her fear puts Thursday’s mission at risk, leading her to make a difficult decision—she sets a trap for the C.A.B. agents by rigging their apartment with explosives. In a heartbreaking moment, Friday’s last words to Thursday are, “I love you,” before sacrificing herself to destroy the agents, leaving Thursday as the last known surviving Settman sibling besides the missing Monday and Tuesday.
The Final Act of What Happened to Monday?
Determined to make sure her sisters’ deaths are not in vain, Thursday teams up with Adrian to crash the gala and reveal the truth. When Adrian asks about her plan, she confidently replies, “I am the plan.”
Together, they infiltrate C.A.B. headquarters and uncover a horrifying truth—the government’s promise of placing extra children in cryostasis is a lie. Instead, they are incinerated in chamber-like coffins.
To put an end to the deception, Thursday pretends to be unconscious so she can gain access to the facility and seize control of the death chambers with Adrian’s help. It is at this moment that Monday’s ultimate betrayal is exposed—she has been working alongside Dr. Cayman all along, using Tuesday as leverage.
As the final confrontation reveals, Thursday and Monday come face-to-face in the restroom at the gala, both dressed similarly. Monday brandishes a gun, but before she can act, Thursday informs her of their sisters’ deaths.
A bitter fight ensues, mirroring the conflict between loyalty and self-preservation. The struggle ends with Thursday managing to overpower Monday, leading to a gunshot that proves fatal. Thursday and Adrian then broadcast footage of the horrifying incineration process to the public, shattering Cayman’s reputation.
As the scandal becomes known, Monday, still barely alive, stumbles into the hall with a gun, only to be shot by a guard protecting Cayman. In her final moments, she places Thursday’s hand on her pregnant belly, revealing that she was trying to protect her unborn twins with Adrian.
With the Child Allocation Act abolished, the final scene changes to a hopeful future. Tuesday, Thursday, and Adrian watch as Monday’s twins are placed in liquid incubators, ensuring their safe birth. Women who had hidden their children now emerge, and a bustling nursery is shown before the credits roll.
Thanks to Thursday’s relentless efforts, the oppressive one-child law is overturned, allowing new life to flourish once more.
