The Family Next Door

Essie Walker, a young mother, is on the beach with her eight-week-old baby, Mia, when rain forces her to shelter. Exhausted and detached, she reflects on her disconnection from motherhood. In a flashback, she remembers leaving Mia crying in the garden until a neighbor intervened. When the pram stops, Mia cries. Essie blocks out the sound, leaves Mia at a playground, and goes to a café.

Essie returns home drenched. Essie’s mother Barbara asks where Mia is, and Essie admits that she left her at the park. They drive back to the park to find other mothers surrounding Mia. The women challenge Essie’s claim that Mia is her daughter and refuse to give her the baby. Essie panics and screams for her child as a police car arrives.

Three years later, Essie’s second daughter, Polly, is six months old. After the incident with Mia at the park, Essie stayed at a psychiatric hospital for several months to recover from the postpartum depression that followed Mia’s birth. Barbara now lives next door to Essie, Essie’s husband Ben, Mia, and Polly in Pleasant Court, a development in suburban Sandringham, outside Melbourne. 

Ben’s fitness business is thriving. When he comes home that night, the family discusses a new single woman who has moved in nearby. Later, Essie and Ben have sex. The doorbell rings, and when she answers it, Essie meets the new neighbor, Isabelle Heatherington. After Isabelle leaves, Essie realizes her thoughts were focused on her new neighbor rather than on her baby.

The next morning, Essie hosts her neighbors: Ange, a real estate agent, and Fran, a lawyer on maternity leave, to discuss Isabelle. From the window, they watch Isabelle outside and note that she has introduced herself to everyone on the street. 

The conversation turns to the kidnapping of a baby from its grandmother’s porch a year earlier in nearby Chelsea. Fran blames the grandmother for leaving the baby unattended, and a tense silence follows as the women recall Essie’s incident with Mia. Ange suggests they start a neighborhood watch.

That evening, Fran returns from a run to find her six-week-old daughter Ava crying. She takes the baby from her husband, Nigel, to soothe her. She thinks about choosing to have a second child when their first, Rosie, was a year old. Nigel had resisted as he was experiencing depression after having recently lost their savings in a bad investment.

Later, Fran receives a message from Ange about neighborhood watch flyers. She finds Nigel watching over a sleeping Ava. Overwhelmed by a private dread, she deflects his worried questions, unable to say what is wrong.

On an early run, Fran is intercepted by Isabelle, who asks probing questions about Fran’s work and newborn, arousing Fran’s suspicions about her intentions. Ange’s husband, Lucas, a photographer, greets them, and Fran uses the interruption to break away.

As Fran runs off, Isabelle calls out that Fran looks as if she has not had a baby. In a flashback, Fran recalls the severity of Nigel’s depression and her decision to tell him she was pregnant again, hoping it would help him recover.

That evening, Fran overhears a tender exchange between Nigel and Rosie. Still rattled by Isabelle’s interest in Ava, she wonders why Isabelle doesn’t fear being seen as intrusive. Nigel suggests new family portraits to include Ava, then initiates sex. As they kiss, Fran breaks down crying. When he asks what is wrong, she doesn’t tell him, knowing he cannot help her with this secret.

Ange lies in bed, planning to have sex with Lucas. She then hears Lucas on a hushed, urgent phone call. Her desire fades, and she turns out the light. Her sons, Will and Ollie, sleep nearby.

The next evening, Ange watches her younger son, Ollie, skateboard. Isabelle joins her, and Ange probes her reasons for moving to Melbourne. Isabelle vaguely cites a personal project. Their elderly neighbor, Mr. Larritt, drives into the street, distracting Ollie.

Ollie falls and breaks his wrist. Isabelle sprints to him and offers calm, practical help before a shocked Ange can react. Isabelle’s composure stands out as they manage the injury.

Ange waits in the emergency room with a sedated Ollie, irritated that Lucas is not there. She notes that Isabelle reacted more instinctively than she did. Lucas returns with snacks but is intercepted by Erin, a former client, whose toddler has a burned foot.

The way Lucas interacts with Erin raises Ange’s suspicions. When a nurse calls for Ollie, Ange takes him for treatment and notices Lucas is still outside talking with Erin instead of rejoining his family.

While babysitting her granddaughters, Barbara reflects that Essie hasn’t seemed like herself lately. She and Ben share concerns over the phone about Essie’s level of stress, the result of Polly’s sleep problems. They agree to monitor Essie. Barbara hangs up with a bad feeling and resolves to remain vigilant.

The next morning, Essie brings muffins to Isabelle’s house. She remembers the fire that occurred there four months ago, before Isabelle moved into the home. Essie had been featured on a news report about it that night.

Isabelle opens the door before Essie knocks, holds Polly, and offers to babysit. She comments on Essie’s distinctive eyes—one blue, one brown—but does not invite her inside the home. As she closes the door, Isabelle says goodbye to Polly by name. Walking away, Essie realizes she never told Isabelle her younger daughter’s name.

Isabelle watches Pleasant Court from her window, feeling like an outsider. Her father calls, but as usual, his attention is focused on his new family, including Isabelle’s half-sister Rachel. Isabelle thinks the suburban life that she sees could have been hers and notes that she’s come here to get her life back. She thinks of Jules, her friend and lover in Sydney, as she focuses on her purpose.

An unidentified narrator describes delivering her baby in a hospital, refusing a nurse’s offer to call her husband, who had called her “unhinged.”

Essie plans to attend Ange’s neighborhood watch meeting but stops to invite Isabelle, who has just burned dinner. Essie suggests takeout instead. They skip the meeting and share a meal at Isabelle’s house. Isabelle reveals that she works for the Abigail Ferris Foundation, which finds missing children, and is in Sandringham for a specific case. Essie feels drawn to Isabelle but rattled by the implications of her job and their discussion about abducted children.

Late that night, Isabelle lies awake, enjoying her anonymity in Melbourne. People often recognize her name in Sydney and treat her with fear or pity. She receives a text from her lover in Sydney, Jules, and reflects on their relationship. She knows he is unaware of her true reason for moving: to find a specific person in Pleasant Court. Her next call will be to tell him her search is over.

Returning from the neighborhood watch meeting, Fran finds Nigel asleep with Ava on his chest. He assumes that Fran has postpartum depression, but Fran knows her crying and behavior are the result of her secret. In a flashback, she recalls an affair with her colleague Mark, during Nigel’s episode of depression, which coincided with her pregnancy. Fran has been overwhelmed by guilt because of the affair, using excessive running as a form of self-punishment.

Unsure of Ava’s paternity, she watches Nigel’s tenderness and resolves to keep the secret. She gently wakes Nigel and leads him to bed, resolving to carry the burden alone.

At Will’s soccer game, Ange grows suspicious when Lucas wanders off. She picks up his ringing phone and answers, but the caller hangs up. She suspects it was Erin. When Lucas returns, she mentions the silent call.

They share a tense look, during which Ange’s thoughts about “last time” suggest a history of infidelity. Lucas dismisses it and takes Ollie for ice cream. Ange forces a smile and avoids confrontation.

Ange confronts Essie about missing the neighborhood watch meeting. In front of Ben, Essie lies that she was caring for her sick mother. Later, Mia runs across the street, and Isabelle intercepts her safely, playful and at ease with the child.

Essie confesses the lie to Barbara, who is disappointed that Essie involved her. When Essie asks Barbara to babysit so she can go out with Isabelle, Barbara agrees but says she’s worried about how taken Essie seems to be with Isabelle.