Jackpot (2020)

Maren works for a small towing company. One day, she finds a duffel bag full of money in a Lada Niva that she is towing from a disabled parking space, and after some hesitation, she takes it. Her partner Dennis, a bricklayer by trade, is temporarily confined to a wheelchair and dependent on her help after a work accident that happened while he was under the influence of alcohol; it is uncertain whether his insurance will cover the costly physiotherapy. The money would also come in handy because Maren is considering taking over her boss Gerhard’s company—he would like to retire. Dennis initially refuses to benefit from the crime, but then the sight of the money changes his mind. When they count it, they find it totals 622,500 euros. The man claiming the money confronts Maren at the company the next morning. His companion identifies herself as the car’s owner, pays to get it back, and drives off the lot. In a wooded area, the man searches the trunk. When he cannot find the money, he shoots the woman—just as he had earlier shot her partner, an associate who apparently intended to cheat him. Maren knows she will be getting another “visit.” Through her former accomplice Jenny, Maren, who has a criminal record, finds out who the man on her trail is: Henning Karoske, a ruthless debt collector, former boss of a security company that recently folded, and a former member of a special unit. Jenny advises that if Maren has a “problem” with him, she needs a gun, and hands her a pistol. Meanwhile, Dennis decides to let Gerhard in on the secret and give him the money. Out of loyalty to Maren, however, Gerhard refuses it. Henning sees through him when he turns up at the towing company again just before closing time and asks what happened to the bag. He forces Gerhard to give him Maren’s address. Warned by Gerhard, Maren urges Dennis to flee immediately. After helping him into the car, she is confronted by Henning, the bag in her hand. But Henning has not expected armed resistance and is shot. The two escape and check into a hotel suite outside the city. Earlier, Maren had called an ambulance to get help for Gerhard; during a covert visit to the hospital, she learns that, fortunately, his injuries are not serious. Henning stays on their trail. He is preparing to leave for Greece with his wife and child, where he plans to build a legitimate life using the money as start-up capital. After his wife Angeliki expertly treats his wound, he tracks down Jenny and forces her to call Maren in order to get her to reveal where she is. When he gets there, he discovers that Maren gave him false information over the phone and that Jenny alerted the police. He flees, gets Angeliki to pick him up, and plays his last card: Disguised as a policewoman, Angeliki calls Dennis and arranges a cash handover with him at a deserted motorway rest area, without Maren’s knowledge. When Maren and Dennis arrive, Henning opens fire on them in their car. Maren drives straight into him without being injured, incapacitating him, but her car will not start again. As she makes her way to Henning’s car, he regains consciousness, which Dennis notices just in time to warn Maren. In the exchange of gunfire, both men are fatally wounded. The next morning, we see both women in vehicles leaving the country: the unsuspecting Angeliki, with her daughter, in Greece; and Maren, exhausted and asleep, at a disabled parking space somewhere in Poland. A policewoman wakes her, and Maren’s despair erupts in violent sobbing. Taken aback, the policewoman tears up the parking ticket she has already filled out, and Maren drives away.