Henry Cavill's Argylle is a movie heavy on twists, so don't be surprised if a little explanation is needed to help the film make more sense.
The movie follows Bryce Dallas Howard’s Elly Conway, an author known for the highly successful book series following the fictional agent Argylle (portrayed by Cavill). It turns out, however, that the events in her stories are hitting a little too close to reality.
The question then becomes: how on Earth is she predicting all of these details so accurately?
Who is the Real Agent Argylle?
Warning - This article contains spoilers for Argylle.
Surprisingly or not, there’s actually a good reason why Elly Conway’s stories are so accurate: she’s the real agent Argylle—or agent R. Kylle, which is her actual name.
Prior to the start of the story, Bryce Dallas Howard’s leading hero was a real bonified spy. But, during her mission to recover the master file that would bring down The Division, things went south, and she never returned with the info.
Instead, that's when Elly Conway was born.
Bryce Dallas Howard's character eventually showed up in a hospital with amnesia. The Division took advantage of this, knowing the information she previously had, and brainwashed her into believing she was someone else entirely.
They did this by planting Bryan Cranston and Catherine O’Hara’s characters as her fake parents (plot twist) who would push her to write down all her thoughts in a journal.
This brainwashing shaped her into becoming a writer who crafted these illustrious tales about Henry Cavill's agent Argylle, a fictional version of herself, reliving her past adventures. The Division hoped the stories would play out long enough to find out where the master file went—but they didn't count on Aidan’s interception.
As for where the master file was, at some point before R. Kylle lost her memory, it had made its way over to the “Master of Secrets”. After discovering her true identity, Elly is convinced to go undercover as her former self in order to retrieve it.
It's here she learns that not only was she a spy, but she was once part of The Division—a secret her former self tried to protect by double-crossing the hacker who first retrieved the master file, a move that landed her in the hospital without her memories.
The Real Argylle Saves the Day
After those big revelations, Aidan and Elly start to have some trust issues. Thankfully, they make up and get back on good terms.
But they still need to successfully send the master file over to Samuel L. Jackson's Alfred Solomon in order to take down The Division.
Eventually, after some over-the-top and goofy-looking sequences, the duo is able to triumph and expose The Division—but not without the surprise help from Ariana DeBose's not-so-dead techie, who breaks the Winter-Soldier-esque mind-control over Elly.
After a brief reunion, Elly is able to finish the file transfer.
So, at the end of the day, the good guys prevail, and The Division is exposed, even if it doesn't feel like it in the end (the public seems to be none the wiser about the group's existence or Elly's involvement). But, for Elly, all is once again right in the world as she continues her existence as the writer who started it all.
Argylle is now playing in theaters worldwide.
