Set in 1950s Chile, “In Her Place” (Original title: El lugar de la otra) is based on the true story of Chilean writer María Carolina Geel, who was accused of killing her lover in a hotel. The film mainly follows Mercedes, a reclusive secretary of the judge in charge of the writer’s case. It explores María’s psychological state through Mercedes’ eyes and examines the skewed gender dynamics in the mid-20th century in Chile. Previously, the film premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Golden Seashell Award. Now, it is selected as Chile’s entry for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards.
Spoilers Ahead
In Her Place (El lugar de la otra, 2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
“In Her Place” is a period crime drama that follows Mercedes, a secretary of the judge assigned to work on the case of a popular Chilean writer, accused of murdering her lover. As the trial proceeds, Mercedes is captivated by the writer’s life, which leads her on a liberating journey of self-discovery.
What happens in ‘In Her Place’?
Mercedes (Elisa Zulueta) is a married woman in 1950s Chile, who lives with her husband, Efrain, and their two sons. Efrain is a photographer, who earns with his occasional jobs. Mercedes has to juggle everything—meeting their every need, preparing meals, and then heading off to her demanding job as a paralegal for Judge Aliro. On one such busy day, she learns about a shocking crime. María Carolina Geel (Francisca Lewin), a popular writer, gets accused of murdering her lover. Aliro is assigned as a judge, in this case, to work on her defense. Mercedes sees María as she gets arrested, carried by a group of cops.
Mercedes notices the blood on María’s face. She looks simultaneously apprehensive and confident, which captivates Mercedes. Soon, she joins Aliro and his colleagues inside the Crillón Hotel, the same place where Maria allegedly killed her lover, Roberto Pumarion Valenzuela. Aliro’s team discusses how the accused, legally known as Georgina Silva Jiménez, might have shot her husband. The court gets hold of her belongings including her apartment keys. Mercedes remains in charge of it. Meanwhile, the media swarms the court building, looking for any detail to publish a sensationalized news piece about a female murderer.
Maria’s Confession
María admits having shot Roberto but doesn’t call him her boyfriend. So, Aliro decides to look for alternate options like a psychological evaluation to protect her from rotting in prison. María’s attorney requests Aliro to get hold of clean clothes for her. Aliro tells Mercedes to get them from Maria’s apartment. While in her place, Mercedes gets intrigued by Maria’s life. After picking up her clothes, she stays back and cherishes the silence that she rarely gets to experience at her home. During the investigation process, Aliro listens to testimonies from people who were present in the hotel at the time of the incident.
Most of the witnesses paint Maria as an intense woman who passionately loves Roberto. They describe her volatile behavior. Men criticize her for being forthright and consider her unladylike for rejecting their advances. Most of them call her perverse for being independent. While she is a skilled writer, they judge her for her motherly qualities or the lack thereof. Mercedes writes down these details seething with anger. At the same time, their words make her more interested in unapologetic Maria. The next day, she shows up at Maria’s place and treats it as her own.
The Investigation & Self-discovery
Mercedes makes Aliro concerned about his reputation and integrity. To preserve it, he decides to help María, to prove his sympathies toward this ‘poor woman.’ Meanwhile, Mercedes frequently visits Maria’s apartment and keeps treating it as her own. She cooks pasta, reads Maria’s books, and tries on her clothes. In a way, she tries to imagine herself in Maria’s shoes. This out-of-body euphoric experience makes her question her identity. Back home, her husband and her kids do not respect her. They insult her without caring for her emotions and without realizing the misogynist ground reality.
They expect her to do the chores without an expectation of warmth or reward. On her birthday, her husband buys her a vacuum cleaner and considers it a generous gift. She cries by herself, upset at how unaware he is of her emotional needs. Is that all there is to her life – meekly serving men’s needs, everywhere, without expecting anything in return? She wonders. At the court, Roberto’s loved ones share what they think of him. They villainize Maria for standing up for herself. It makes Mercedes even more fascinated with Maria’s life and her identity.
In Her Place (El lugar de la otra, 2024) ‘Netflix’ Movie Ending Explained:
Will Mercedes Choose Freedom in Maria’s World or Return to Her Own Life?
After a court session, when Mercedes arrives at Maria’s apartment, a man shows up, wondering who she is. Mercedes lies that she is Maria’s distant relative and strikes a connection with him. They smoke and drink together. By the end of the night, they play music and start dancing. He approaches to kiss her and she rejects it. He realizes that she is also a woman trying to escape who she is in her life outside. Later, she returns home with Maria’s wristband. Efrain notices that. He also realizes that Mercedes has not been as attentive to the family as before. So, he follows her and finds her in Maria’s apartment.
Mercedes finally comes clean and reveals how Maria’s place allows her the solitude she seeks but does not get at home. Efrain feels bad for her. However, he expects her to leave and never return to the apartment since it is intrusive and not their reality. He wants her not to get used to the comfort of this life. As it happens, she meets Maria at her place of admission. She clicks photos of Maria’s current room and remains in awe of her. While there, she speaks with another convict, a middle-aged woman arrested for killing her son-in-law. She does not feel any remorse. Instead, she feels content for having helped her daughter find peace.
Can Mercedes Find Liberation in a World That No Longer Offers Her Escape?
This story does not scare Mercedes as much as it liberates her. It makes her see an example of someone taking charge of their situation instead of submitting to their reality without rebelling. While relearning the ideas of comfort and freedom, she attends to her work duties. After an extended legal battle, Maria receives a presidential pardon from the Head of State, Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, bringing her fight for freedom to an unexpected resolution. Despite the positive outcome, a part of Mercedes dies in the wake of this decision. This means she won’t be able to enjoy her leisure time at Maria’s place. In fact, at the end of “In Her Place,” Maria returns home after being pardoned from her charges. Mercedes sees her arrive outside her apartment. Maria notices her as she returns to her apartment. Moreover, the media continues insulting Maria, calling her a blood-thirsty, mad woman.
Is ‘In Her Place’ on Netflix based on a true story?
“In Her Place” on Netflix is based on the true story of María Carolina Geel, a Chilean writer, who was arrested for the murder of her lover in 1955. It is directed by Maite Alberdi, known for her Academy award-nominated documentaries, “The Eternal Memory” and “The Mole Agent.” Now, “In Her Place” has been selected as Chile’s entry for Best International Feature at the 97th Academy Awards.
In Her Place (El lugar de la otra, 2024) ‘Netflix’ Movie Review:
“In Her Place” has all the ingredients to turn into a melodrama. It revolves around a woman stuck in a thankless marriage, who becomes aware of her discontent after seeing a woman refusing to be burdened by societal expectations. So, the premise alone can lead it to the territory of sappy dramas that capitalize on tropes without a deeper understanding of the character’s psyche. Instead, we see a stimulating drama about a woman’s journey of self-realization that does not equate freedom to a soaring achievement but a daily truth. The film’s understanding of liberation does away with the empowerment film cliches.
“In Her Place” offers a deeper look into Mercedes’s psyche in relation to Maria through a neatly written, well-realized screenplay. It connects the two women through an intrinsic need to escape from the burden of expectations. Since patriarchal society is at the root of their misery, it critiques this exploitative structure. Still, it remains more focused on these women’s stories than the men they need to fight against. It beautifully captures the sheer joy in Mercedes’ life after being able to live the life she desired, be respected, and be comfortable in her own skin.
While it presents awful, unsympathetic male characters, it also criticizes the patronizing nature of sympathy men allot to women without fully comprehending the root of their dissatisfaction. It examines the paradoxes from that era where a seemingly positive outcome has its share of unpleasant baggage. Beyond these writing and directorial choices, the film resonates because of Elisa Zulueta’s moving central performance which allows us a window into her upheaval. She balances a tightrope act of simultaneously portraying strength and vulnerability that lies beneath what we see on the screen.
