What Is the Story About?
Private investigator Alice Gould willingly admits herself in a psychiatric hospital faking paranoia to collect evidence for a case she’s been working on: the untimely death of an inmate under suspicious circumstances. However, her world turns upside down when the hospital ambience and inmates plays with her sanity and her confinement becomes an inescapable trap.
Performances?
Barbara Lennie is the star of the film. Her unassuming and manipulative performance as Alice Gould is the fulcrum of the film. Every close-up of hers toys with the audience’s mind and she certainly is the film’s greatest asset. She holds the moments of mystery and tension together with equal ease.
Analysis
Spanish director Oriol Paulo is no novice. He has made arguably some of the most popular thrillers of last decade. His films like The Body (2012), The Invisible Guest (2016) and Mirage (2018) shot him to acclaim and they even got remade in multiple languages. ‘God’s Crooked Lines’ is Oriol Paulo’s film feature film after a gap of 4 years. Also an adaptation of the 1979 novel of the same name by Torcuato Luca de Tena. Based on a screenplay jointly written by Oriol Paulo, Guillem Clua and Lara Sendim, God’s Crooked Lines has everything you would want from a psychological mystery thriller.
God’s Crooked Lines starts off with Alice Gould, a Private Investigator who gets herself admitted to a mental asylum. We see a smart, stubborn, flamboyant and visibly feigning to be mentally unstable Alice Gould being medically analysed before her admission in the asylum. She is there to investigate the mysterious death of an inmate. Alice spends quite some time investigating the supposed murder only to fall prey to her own cobweb of lies. She is rendered clueless and now has to trade her own sanity to get people to believe her.
The writing throws quite a few partially predictable make-believe gotcha moments to deceive the viewers, but has enough unexpected twists and turns throughout the duration to engage. The screenplay cleverly mixes up timelines and tends to the cluelessness of the audience.
Despite being 150 minutes long, God’s Crooked Lines is very much engaging, all thanks to its stacked cast, which is one of its biggest assets. Every single one of them carries the halo of deception with ease. In particular, Barbara Lennie carries the proceedings with her effortless performance. Getting a hang of her character means decoding where the film is going. It also helps when the supporting characters are well written and aids her performance seamlessly.
The film also packs a punch in its climax act. It possesses some of the most well enacted moments in the film with reveals one after the other and a shocking open ending. A Mystery thriller’s fate is in its world building and third act, and honestly God’s Crooked Lines delivers on both fronts. In short, God’s Crooked Lines is very much worthy of your time. If mystery psychological thrillers are your forte, give it a shot on Netflix.
Other Artists?
The supporting cast of God’s Crooked Lines packs a punch. Eduard Fernández as Dr. Samuel Alvar is the best performer of the lot after Barbara. Loreto Mauleón as Dra. Montserrat Castell is elegant and voice of sanity, while Javier Beltrán‘s Dr. César Arellano is charming and elegant, but doesn’t get impressive scenes as much. Pablo Derqui as Ignacio Urquieta and Samuel Soler as Rómulo / Remo churn out stellar acts too. Their chemistry with Barbara is worth a special mention.
Music and Other Departments?
Fernando Velázquez’s music doesn’t elevate the film or its moments of tension, but sets up the air of mystery adequately. In comparison to his exceptional soundtracks in The Orphanage, A Monster Calls, Julia’s Eyes, and The Impossible, this one doesn’t stand out as much. Bernat Bosch’s cinematography is pleasing to the eye. Even when the narrative heaps up tension, the lighting and frame composition oozes a calm in the air.
Highlights?
Core Story
Twists and Turns
Climax
Cast
Drawbacks?
Music
Duration
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes Definitely
God’s Crooked Lines Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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