What Happened To Lily In Strangerland? Movie Ending Explained

Lily was a mischievous vixen in Strangerland movie who got lost in the ending of the movie. Since the film left in a cliffhanger and has not released the promised sequel yet, fans are still wondering what might have happened to Lily.

Strangerland is an independent Australian movie released in 2015. It stars Nicole Kidman in a psychological thriller suspense film. The movie director is Kim Farrant as her feature film debut. The scriptwriter of the movie are Michael Kinirons and Fiona Seres. The movie also includes actors such as Joseph Fiennes, Maddison Brown and Hugo Weaving.

Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes play the character of Catherine Parker and Matthew Parker. They are to be the parents of two children named Tom and Lily. The children suddenly go missing in the Australian desert in the middle of the night. The cause being all the trauma and negligence shown by their parents in their life. 

The sudden disappearance of the children brings forth the unstable and twisted relationship between Catherine and Matthew. How they travel past the Sandstrom of their relationship is worth the watch.

On 23 January 2015, the movie was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was also played on the screen at the Belgrade Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, and Sydney Film Festival.

What Happened To Lily In Strangerland?

There are many possible scenarios that might have happened to the naughty daughter Lily who disappeared in Strangerland ending.

The ending only hints us that either Lily voluntarily ran away from home to get freedom or she is in trouble by getting kidnapped by a stranger.

Lily Parker played by Maddison Brown is the eldest daughter of Catherine and Matthew Parker who is 15 years old. 

The underage girl is seen greeting an aboriginal repairman at the door during breakfast. Her barely-there clothing and provocative demeanor have caused quite a headache to her parents. Maybe due to some incident in her childhood, she seems to have developed scandalous behavior in her teenage years. 

It is later revealed that the reason for the whole family to move to the middle of nowhere near-desert town was the girl’s affair with a married teacher at her school. When Matthew later found out about it, he beat up the teacher, earning him a restraining order.

Because of the shame they felt being there and constantly humiliated by the public, they had to move away to where no one knows them.

Even though her younger brother is set as her keeper to not let out of her sight, the problem is the brother doesn’t show much seriousness in his assignment.  With such privilege, Lily continues to act out in front of others while he watches. 

One day, Tom goes out of his house in the middle of the night and Lily follows him out, leaving the house and wandering into the vast unknown. The siblings lost in the wild are not found even after a task force is sent out to find them. 

After a few days of searching, though Tom is found, there is no idea of the whereabouts of Lily. Later it is revealed by Tom that Lily alighted a car but who took her and how her condition is a mystery to both her parents and the viewers.

The ending of the movie never shows us her whereabouts. The viewers can only assume that maybe her relationship with her parents made her run away from her home, away from her family. Or she may have ended her life to end this miserable tragedy somewhere in an unknown place.

Strangerland Ending Explained

In the ending of Strangerland movie, the kids Lily and Tom were not found in the Strangerland. Mother Catherine is panicking while Matthew is unfazed as if it was planned.

In the movie, when they use all their effort to find the children and are still not found, the panic-driven couple gets frustrated about it. 

After the disappearance of her children, Catherine is seen to be struggling to cope with the situation. So, she puts up Lily’s clothes as a way to make her feel close to her daughter. At the time, Bertie the repairman appears at door. Bertie tries to speak with Matthew but Catherine trying to be like her daughter makes a sexual approach toward him. Feeling uncomfortable, he leaves.

Meanwhile, Matthew driving opposite from their children’s search finds Tom fainted in the middle of nowhere. As he was dehydrated, Matthew takes him to the hospital for his treatment. Catherine finds out about it and later comes to the hospital. Catherine has another argument with Matthew as he thinks Catherine is responsible for what has happened to their children.

Eventually, when Tom wakes up, they try to ask about the whereabouts of Lily but he doesn’t speak. Seeing this Catherine gets frustrated and screams at him. After Matthew pushes Catherine away, Tom tells him about Lily getting in a car but nothing is known after it. 

Catherine now desperate finds Rae the police officer and tries to jump upon him and kisses him. She begs him for his help but gets rejected by him. His rejection frustrates her even more and she wanders alone in the desert. 

She finds herself being a terrible parent and feels everyone hates her. She doesn’t understand what she has done wrong and this makes her go crazy. 

The next morning, Matthew realizes she is missing and tries to find her only to find her traumatized and stripped naked, she reappears in town. Everyone only stares at her when Matthew comes to her rescue. Matthew takes her home and bathes her. They comfort each other after realizing their daughter is gone.

Later that night, they hold hands in the bed and tell the wrong they have done. In the morning Catherine apologizes to her son. They are sitting on the porch holding Lily’s diary in their hand and reading her poem.

The movie never shows the viewer a clear ending. The movie ends with Lily not being found leaving the audience with a cliffhanger. 

Where Was Strangerland Filmed?

Strangerland movie was filmed in three places in Australia. Canowindra, Broken and the outback of these towns are the major locations.

According to imdb, the movie was filmed in Canowindra, New South Wales, Australia.

The production team also reaches Broken Hill and Sydney to shoot the scene of the movies. The outback towns of Canowindra and Broken Hill make the perfect location for the film shooting.