Lorna's Silence 2009

Lorna, a young Albanian woman residing in Belgium, finds herself caught in a sham marriage with a drug addict named Claudy. Her aspirations revolve around opening a snack bar with her true love, Sokol, but to fulfill this dream, she decides to enter into another fake marriage with a Russian man for financial gain. Manipulated by Fabio, a petty criminal who devised this entire scheme, Lorna is pressured into taking drastic measures to eliminate Claudy by way of an overdose. However, witnessing Claudy’s fierce determination to overcome his addiction, she begins to feel an intense conflict and begs Fabio to postpone his deadly plan.

In a desperate attempt to expedite her divorce, Lorna resorts to self-harm, convincing others that Claudy has been abusive. After a couple of attempts, she successfully secures her divorce approval while Claudy is being released from the hospital. In a moment of selflessness, she persuades Fabio to wait a month before she is bound to marry the Russian. Back at home, she confronts a drug dealer who nearly led Claudy to relapse, and after a passionate encounter, she and Claudy make a commitment to support each other in his recovery journey.

As time passes, Lorna is faced with a devastating reality when she discovers Claudy’s death, cleverly disguised as an overdose orchestrated by Fabio, who coerces her into silence. He informs her that the murder was essential, driven by the impatience of her intended Russian husband. Fabio even tempts her with extra euros for enduring the situation. Shortly after, Lorna is pulled into an interrogation by detectives, raising the stakes even higher.

Determined to move forward, Lorna reconnects with Sokol to pursue their snack bar dream, and even agrees to a meeting with the Russian man as she reluctantly accepts more money from Fabio. When she begins to suspect a pregnancy, she contemplates getting an abortion but ultimately decides against it. Fabio’s increasing pressure to terminate the pregnancy leads Lorna to attempt to secure a bank account for her unborn child using Claudy’s surname. Upon revealing her pregnancy to the Russian, he dismisses the possibility of having the baby, further complicating her situation.

As Lorna navigates this turmoil, after a troubling encounter where Fabio takes most of the money back, she finds herself forced into the car with Spirou, one of Fabio’s henchmen. In a tense moment where she realizes her life is in danger, Lorna cleverly feigns the need to stop for a restroom break. While in the woods, she seizes the opportunity to defend herself, striking Spirou and fleeing into the wilderness.

The film concludes with Lorna reaching a remote cabin where she intends to spend the night. As she ventures out to collect firewood, she speaks tenderly to her imagined baby, promising that she would never allow it to meet the same tragic fate as Claudy.