‘In Her Place’ (2024) Netflix Movie Review - When Crime Gets a Little Too Literary

Ah, "In Her Place"—a 2024 Netflix release that promises murder, passion, and, wait for it… a lot of deep thinking. Directed by Maite Alberdi, who, until now, was known for documentaries, the film dives headfirst into the psychological murkiness of its lead, played by Elisa Zulueta. So let’s break this down. There’s the true crime angle: María Carolina Geel, a celebrated author, was in the prime of her career when she shot her lover. Not exactly your regular Tuesday. But instead of going full-blown crime thriller, Alberdi chooses the path of mood, reflection, and, occasionally, some heavy-handed melodrama.

If you enjoy films where people stare pensively out of windows before committing shocking acts of violence, then In Her Place is your jam. The atmosphere is as thick as the Santiago smog. There's a certain elegance to the way Alberdi has framed the 1950s setting—one of swirling cigarette smoke, slow jazz, and those painfully chic, old-school hotel rooms that make you wonder why people don’t dress up just to check in anymore.

Elisa Zulueta delivers a quietly captivating performance. Her portrayal of Geel is nuanced—balancing the roles of tortured intellectual and femme fatale—but without slipping into the cartoonish villainy you'd expect from someone who, you know, just committed homicide. The courtroom scenes, though somewhat sparse, add an interesting twist, focusing more on societal perceptions of women rather than the brutal crime itself.

Visually, In Her Place is a knockout. It’s got that glossy noir look that makes you feel like you should be sipping an Old Fashioned while watching. Every shot looks meticulously crafted, right down to the retro costumes and perfectly moody lighting. You can almost feel the oppressive weight of societal expectations pressing down on our protagonist as she waltzes her way through scandal after scandal.

But hold on, did you expect action-packed sequences or pulse-pounding suspense? Well, keep moving. This isn’t Gone Girl, it’s more like Brood Girl. While the movie technically centers around murder, you’ll spend more time watching characters exchange quiet, philosophical dialogue than chasing leads or uncovering dark secrets. Geel’s inner turmoil takes center stage, but at some points, it feels like she’s just circling around the same angst-ridden monologues. "Oh no, I've shot him, but what does this mean about my place in society?"

Alberdi’s decision to focus more on intellectual dilemmas than, you know, the actual murder makes the pacing drag. At around 96 minutes, it’s not a long film, but trust me, there are sections that feel like they were shot in slow motion, just to give you more time to think about what it all means. Sure, the themes of gender, power, and societal constraints are relevant and poignant, but they are served in such a heavy-handed way that you may find yourself wishing the plot would pick up the pace—or just pick up something, anything, other than metaphors for oppression.

There’s also this sense of emotional detachment that makes it hard to care about the characters after a while. You’re told Geel is a complex, tortured soul, but do we feel it? Well, sometimes. But mostly, you feel like you’re watching a well-dressed intellectual seminar where someone might casually mention a murder, shrug, and then return to debating the meaning of life.

The cinematography feels like it’s trying to save the movie, with a good number of shots that belong in a museum of mid-century art. Seriously, if there were an Oscar for best window-staring scenes, this movie would win.

And let’s talk about the title: In Her Place. Clever, right? Because, you know, women were metaphorically “in their place” in the 1950s. Also, the movie takes place in a hotel room. Get it? The layers are endless. Maybe too endless.

If you’re going to include a true-crime element in a movie, it’s probably best to give us more than a blink-and-you-miss-it courtroom sequence. The entire trial (a literal life-or-death moment for our protagonist) felt like an afterthought.

Ultimately, In Her Place is more for those who enjoy soaking in an atmosphere of slow-burn drama than anyone looking for pulse-racing intrigue. It’s a film that feels like it’s fighting with itself—part historical true crime, part introspective character study. You walk away from it wondering if you’ve just witnessed an artistic masterpiece or simply sat through 90 minutes of tortured gazes and philosophical meanderings about gender roles.

Would I recommend it? Sure, if you’re the kind of person who likes to dive deep into the meaning of every line and plot point. But if you came for the true crime thrills and twists, you might find yourself drifting away to check your phone... or Googling the real story to find out what actually happened in that hotel room. In short, it’s a bit like a literary podcast in film form. It's not quite thrilling, but it definitely makes you feel cultured.

Final Score- [5/10]
Reviewed by - Anjali Sharma
Follow @AnjaliS54769166 on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times