‘7 Women and a Murder’ Netflix Movie Review - This Murder Mystery is Underwhelming But Handsomely Created

The title of Alessandro Genovesi's film, 7 Women and a Murder, is fairly self-explanatory. There are seven women, and they have to deal with someone's murder. That's it. That's the outline of the story written by Genovesi and Lisa Nur Sultan. According to IMDb, it's based on the 2002 film 8 femmes, directed by François Ozon. I have not seen 8 femmes, so I can't compare the two movies side by side. But 7 Women and a Murder is handsomely created, and one can sit through the film by admiring the objects in the house it's set in.

That house looks beautiful with its properly arranged furniture. The colors pop, and the decorations are a sight for sore eyes. The costumes, too, are well-designed, and everything is further embellished through smooth tracking shots and camera movements. The film is a visual feast that keeps things breezy and fetching. It's not pleasant to get caught up in a murder. But if that happens, you should be confined in a house as beautiful as the one in 7 Women and a Murder. At least you will have fine ornaments to distract you from the grisly sight of a corpse.

The first part of the title refers to the following characters: Margherita (Margherita Buy), Susanna (Diana Del Bufalo), Agostina (Sabrina Impacciatore), Caterina (Benedetta Porcaroli), Maria (Luisa Ranieri), Rachele (Ornella Vanoni), and Veronica (Micaela Ramazzotti). The second part concerns the death of Marcello, the family patriarch, whose face is never shown to us. Someone has stabbed him in the back, and the murderer is one of the seven women. This makes everyone suspect, and for a while, we have fun.

Whenever a character is suspected, she is singled out from the group as the others throw questions at her. For example, if the women think Veronica is the killer, the movie will separate her from the group and frame the others together. In other words, the film has a simple style, which, nevertheless, is elegant. It's neatly organized and consists of a calm surface that doesn't allow humor or unhappiness to explode with fervor. The scene where someone is hit on the head by a glass bottle comes across as slapstick, but you don't laugh. When a character finds out how her letters were ridiculed, you don't feel sorry for her.

You have an unenthusiastic response because the film lacks seriousness. It lightly treads on the murder as well as the theme of women needing to stick together. This is the kind of film you watch with a feeble smile, and you wish it had been more witty and riotous. Still, there is great pleasure in watching its female cast, who wholeheartedly commit to every scene, tone, and dialogue. As soon as the story begins to falter, the actors pick it up and imbue energy into the atmosphere.

But even they are unable to cover up the underwhelming climax. The revelation remains mildly exciting because the writers don't know how to convincingly reach that moment. A character's personality is briefly changed, and then she is reverted to her previous form. As a result, the explanation seems to come out of nowhere. It feels clumsily inserted so that the movie can wrap up. If you want to cure your disappointment, watch Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and See How They Run. Those two murder mysteries won't let you down.

Final Score- [6/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times