In Expats, Margaret, played by Nicole Kidman, is grappling with a loss that deeply impacts her life.
Margaret is a landscape architect who had to leave the US for the sake of her husband Clarke’s career. Margaret and her family now live in Hong Kong.
Margaret and Clarke have three children named Daisy, Philip, and Gus. It is in Hong Kong that they lose one of them.
The incident that changes Margaret
While Margaret’s friends advanced in their careers, hers came to a standstill after moving to Hong Kong due to the limited opportunities to design gardens.
After living there for some time, when Margaret’s family prepares to move back to the US, Clarke is offered another contract, and the family extends their stay in Hong Kong.
Margaret keeps feeling like she has to sacrifice everything for Clarke and her children. Furthermore, her domestic help’s relationship with her children bothers her.
Margaret’s domestic help, Essie, is close to all her children. Although Margaret considers her family, she feels the need to set boundaries.
She thinks about replacing Essie with Mercy, a Korean girl she meets on a yacht. One day, she takes her children to the night market with Mercy, where Mercy loses Gus.
Margaret never wanted to have a third child, but after Gus’ birth, Margaret loved him just as much as she loved her other children. Losing Gus devastates Margaret.
The police fail to find Gus, and Margaret changes as a person. Her life is never the same again.
To be defined by tragedy
Even a year after Gus’ disappearance, as a mother, it is not easy for Margaret to give up on finding him. She still thinks that she can get her son back.
Due to that, she refuses to leave Hong Kong, as it would mean abandoning Gus. Margaret’s grief drives her away from her loved ones, including her best friend, Hilary.
After losing Gus, Margaret feels the need to be alone from time to time, so she rents a small apartment for herself that her family does not know about.
There, Margaret gets to be herself, not someone’s wife and mother. In that apartment, Margaret is not defined by a tragedy.
In order to regain some sense of normalcy, Margaret must learn to cope with the pain of losing Gus and move forward in life.