Hot Milk ending left Killing Eve legend shocked by "tremendous" finale

After they travel to the Spanish seaside town Almería to seek help from a healer, the pair's pent-up resentment and bitterness towards each other only grows, and it all culminates in a memorable but somewhat ambiguous final scene that writer/director Rebecca Lenkiewicz admits has divided audiences so far.

"I mean, some people are very angry at the ending," she told RadioTimes.com during an exclusive interview. "They just want to be told what happened, but most people embrace the ambiguity – and they love to talk about what happened."

She added: "I was very specific about wanting some dark screen time before the credits come up. And for me, that's time for people almost to bring the film back to themselves. I think it's a hopeful ending, but everyone has a different take."

For her part, Shaw admitted to loving how the film ends – even if she was initially rather taken aback when she realised what direction it was going in.

"I didn't read how it would end on the page, Rebecca sculpted it as she went along," she explained. "It's quite different in the book. And I think [it’s a] tremendous ending. When I saw it, I was shocked!"

Meanwhile, Lenkiewicz added that the initial ending in her script had been "softer" but that events during and after the making of the film made her decide to go all in.

"After everything we'd been through on set, the film had become a kind of creature in itself," she said. "And in the edit, the film almost dictates to you. It says, ‘No, I need to end this way.’ And I love how it ends."

Shaw also spoke about how taking on her role as Rose– and specifically acting her chronic pain – had had a profound effect on her, even leaving her with a twitch in her neck after they had finished filming.

"I had to prepare for it, but it's also, I think, concentration," she said. "And that's where acting is not in any way a glamorous activity.

"Unlike the stage, there isn't a curtain up – you have to be really, really ready for the thing, and you have to yield to it in a very humble way.

"And I think I just sank into it, which is often quite depressing, actually, but you just have to do that and imagine somebody suffering. I began to feel Rose's suffering affecting me in a really useful way, I think. But I wasn't always having the best time!"

Hot Milk is now showing in UK cinemas.

Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.