Nella Larsen's 1929 novel Passing has finally made its way onto the big screen, and we're still scratching our heads over that ending. Who killed Clare (Ruth Negga)? That's the question on everyone's lips after Clare falls to her death in the final moments of the film. Did Clare's husband, John (Alexander Skarsgård [1]), push her out of the window? Or, was it Irene (Tessa Thompson)? Both Irene and John had motive to kill Clare, a Black woman who had been living her life "passing" as a white woman, but did they actually do it? Perhaps it was neither of them and Clare is actually responsible for her own death? We have so many questions. Unfortunately, Clare's death is also left a mystery in the book, so all we can do is theorize about who dunnit.
Passing is out in select theatres now and will be available to stream on Netflix on Nov. 10.
Did John Kill Clare?
John seems like the obvious choice, given that he was furious with Clare for deceiving him into believing that she was white throughout their entire time together. After discovering the truth, he sets out to confront her at the party that she and Irene are at. John is fuming as he demands to see Clare and storms inside the home. "You liar!" he shouts out at Clare, who's standing near the window Irene opened earlier. He then calls her a "dirty liar" and runs towards Clare who falls out of the window, though it's unclear if he actually pushes her or not.
Visibly shaken up, John runs out of the apartment and he's later seen sitting in the snow near Clare's dead body. When the cops question Irene about what happened, one of the policemen says that Dr. Redfield told them that John shoved Clare, but Irene tells him that she's "quite sure she just fell before anyone could stop her."
Did Irene Kill Clare?
Another possibility is that Irene may be responsible for Clare's death. She seemed to be growing quite jealous of how friendly Clare had gotten with her husband and she was clearly the most shaken up by Clare's death. During John and Clare's confrontation by the window, Irene is shown putting her arm across Clare when he runs towards her, though it's not clear if she was simply protecting her or if Irene actually pushed Clare towards her death. It's also worth noting that when everyone made their way downstairs to check up on Clare, Irene was the last one to head down and she immediately lost it when police began questioning her.
Did Clare Die by Suicide?
However, it's also very possible that neither John nor Irene pushed Clare and that she jumped out of the window herself since everyone had already discovered the truth about her "passing" as white. Perhaps she didn't want to face reality and felt her life was over? When police were questioning the people downstairs, most of them kept saying that "she just tumbled over and was gone."
So, does this mean Clare was responsible for her own death? We'll let you decide.