Netflix’s new Argentinian film, Elena Knows, is a sedate drama about an old woman suffering from Parkisnon’s trying to solve the puzzle of her daughter’s death. The film is not a conventional whodunnit/mystery flick. Those elements are present in the storytelling, but the focus remains on Elena. It can be best described as a character study with shades of crime and investigative vigor. The latter isn’t quite there to attract fans of the genre. Elena’s search for Rita’s killer is more of an inward reflection of their times together. Mercedes Moran plays the titular character.
With all the responsibility on her shoulders, Moran turns out to be a reliable anchor. Her physically painstaking performance sees her maintain a gait typical of a Pakrinson’s patient. Elena Knows is as much about a mother grieving the death of her child as it is about the quicksand nature of time. In this piece, we break down the Netflix film’s plot. In the last segment, readers can also find an ending explanation for Elena Knows that talks about the puzzle of Rita’s death.
Elena Knows (2023) Movie Synopsis & Plot Summary:
Elena is an old woman suffering from Parkinson’s. She has one middle-aged daughter, Rita, and no signs of any other close family. Due to her condition and the constant bickering with Rita, Elena has grown desolate. Rita has also suffered as a result. Being the only caregiver, her job is ten times tougher, handling Elena’s tantrums and difficult behavior. During one rainy night, Rita drops off Elena for an appointment with a stylist. The day goes ordinarily until nightfall. When Rita doesn’t show up, Elena is dropped home by the store owner and her husband.
Elena is later informed by the police that Rita has taken her life. Her body is found at the local church near the bell tower. Although the police have closed the case due to lack of any foul play, Elena suspects as much. Firstly, she is not willing to believe that her daughter wouldn’t commit such an act. Secondly, Elena believes Rita wouldn’t go to the church in such conditions since she has always been afraid of storms and getting struck by lightning. These factors push Elena to pursue what she considers to be leads. She travels to different places from whatever little remains of her memory where she and Rita spent time together.
What are the places that Elena visits in pursuit of leads?
The film is quite ambiguous when it comes to disseminating information. On many occasions, we only get half of the truth or memories that are offered to us in the wrong context. Hence, it becomes difficult to break down what exactly is going on at a certain moment in Elena Knows. However, we have collated a segment for you here that lists all the vital events from Elena’s constant traveling that eventually led her to solve Rita’s death.
One of the constant presences in the film is a police officer at the station. It is indicated he knows Elena from before. The officer maintains that the case is closed. But as Elena grows restless and wants answers, he points her in the direction of Dr. Benegas. He has been treating Elena’s condition as well. At first, Elena thinks it is because of her that Rita went to him. But when Elena visits Benegas, she learns that Rita had come to him for antidepressants. Elena had been thus unaware of her daughter’s mental health.
It is strongly suggested that Elena knew about her condition before as well. But due to Parkinson’s, the memory had been erased. Another important cog in the story is Father Juan from the local church. The duo have known him for two decades. However, Elena has always been suspicious of him. She always advised Rita to stay away from Juan. In the present day, Elena accuses him of having an affair with Rita. Juan vehemently denies the accusations.
Juan tells her that the altar boys found Rita’s body hanging in the bell tower. Since they had organized a mass later that evening, Juan phoned the police about the discovery and asked them to come after the mass had taken place. Juan also points out that Rita had stopped coming to the church a long time ago. This is a further indication of her depression.
Elena Knows (2023) Movie Ending Explained:
Who killed Rita?
Elena tries going to Isabel’s place in the film’s climax to convince her to take on Rita’s case in court. Isabel is one of Rita’s childhood friends. But they had been estranged for a long time when Isabel had a child at a very young age. Elena had always warned Rita that Isabel had taken advantage of her. However, Elena’s accusations did not prove to be true. Isabel doesn’t have too much information about Rita because they haven’t been in contact for some time. Still, she tries to acquit Elena of any blame when Isabel tries to point out that Rita did indeed kill herself.
Taking care of Elena, all alone without her erstwhile partner Pablo’s help, had taken its toll on Rita. Elena’s condition was only deteriorating, with no possibility of improvement. This disease is a terminal one, and there is no emerging ahead of it. Rita had been too lonely, weary, and heartbroken watching her own mother become a person she herself didn’t recognize. It was almost as if Rita was living with a stranger in the house who had once been her closest friend. The worst part about it all was that Rita could not do anything to change it.
The answer to the film’s ending is that no one killed Rita. She killed herself after being overwhelmed with the proposition of caring for Elena and watching her disappear into the claws of her terminal disease. Elena comes to terms with the reality in the film’s final scene, where she drops her umbrella. If you recall the opening scene, Elena weighed heavily on her umbrella to navigate the station. She carried it everywhere, but that scene established the importance of it in physically enabling Elena to live life. That is symbolic of Rita, her only pillar of support in life.
The ending sees Elena drop it, embrace the gloom and scourge of rain, and go back into her apartment. It is a poetic culmination of Elena’s maddening and relentless search to find something wrong with the outside world and prevent her own culpability. However, it in no way suggests that Elena had anything to do with Rita’s death. Such a daunting task can intimidate any person. Rita had not run away at the first instance. She did not put Elena in a nursing home and had no intention to, as Pabnlo revealed earlier in the film. Rita stood by her mother for as long as she could…until the time it became too difficult for her.
