La viuda negra

Netflix offers us a surprising offering, based on true events that shook Spain and Europe in 2017, based on Patraix's Black Widow. Directed by Carlos Sedes and starring Ivana Baquero, Carmen Machi, and Tristán Ulloa.

The film offers a powerful true crime thriller that captivates you as we learn about the brutality of the events and the underlying story of its two main perpetrators. The film is further enhanced by the excellent script and the decision to tell us from the perspective of its three protagonists, concluding with the unfolding of the events that saddened all of Spain in 2017.

Carlos Sedes's direction offers no grand extravaganzas, but it does employ an absolute seriousness when confronting the stories and the rawness of his characters. The director's work, rendered with a documentary essence, helps us truly capture the crime in its entirety, and we want to confront the events with complete unease and uncertainty. His leading trio plays an essential role in making everything work smoothly. Machi, Baquero, and Ulloa give their all to their characters, which means we see the true protagonists of reality in the skin of their cast.

Its two-hour running time, which may seem a bit long, really flies by once we're completely hooked on the events and the way it tells us everything behind the horrendous crime. The use of sound and narration are fundamental pillars that make Netflix's offering a pleasant and well-chosen pastime. The streaming platform surprises with a very interesting film that manages to pique our interest thanks to all its virtues and a story that is effective in every aspect, and whose director knows how to handle everything with the necessary caution, so that the necessary fiction never interferes with the reality of a brutal crime.

One of Netflix's pleasant surprises this 2025.

They say that truth is stranger than fiction and I think that applies here because if I hadn't known it was a true story I'm not sure I would have believed in it.

The movie follows a police investigation into the murder of a young man in Valencia, Spain. A prime suspect is quickly identified, but the detectives need to surveil and wire tap for some months to gather enough evidence for a conviction, and also to find a suspected accomplice. The film dramatises both the suspects' and the police actions during this period.

This was a very clever script that quickly outlined the basic facts of the case, and then very slowly drew you right into this strange world. You see the story unfold through the eyes of the detectives and as it becomes more and more surprising so the characters become more and more interesting.

The acting was brilliant all round and the film was well paced and nicely photographed. I was riveted by the end and keen to find out more about the true story.

While its story of a deceptive widow is highly predictable, 'A Widow's Game' is elevated by its fantastic presentation. Spanish productions consistently prove they are among the best at crafting thrillers, and this is no exception. They have a masterful ability to present simple subjects with such style and tension that they become thoroughly entertaining. Despite its familiar plot, the execution is compelling enough to make it well worth a watch.

Currently streaming on Netflix comes this true crime account of a woman, Ivana Baquero (the young girl from Pan's Labyrinth, all grown up!) whose husband is killed in a car park. Baquero is seen happily married to her new husband but behind the scenes the union happened after the hubby forgave her for her past sexual indiscretions but due to some psychological background we never get to identify, Baquero, who then begins seeing a co-worker, Tristan Ulloa, a doctor, sexually & when their lustful clutches get more passionate, Baquero convinces him to kill her hubby which the police, led by an intrepid detective, Carmen Machi, suspect w/some well-placed phone taps, the dominoes sure do fall. What keeps this film in the winners' circle is the weird time signature it adopts to tell the tale, we spend about 40 minutes on the crime & the incipient investigation while the remaining time spreads the wedding & the lead up to the murder out which begs the question why. Is it because the crime is so well known in Spain, the filmmakers decided to try something different? The verdict, it doesn't work even though Baquero gives it her all which is a shame.

Maje plots the murder of her husband; she gets an older colleague of hers to fall for her and then pressures him into murdering her husband.

Based on real-life events, this is a story that rocked Spain a few years back. A more accurate translation, and perhaps a more fitting title, would have been 'Black Widow,' a title that would probably have been a more apt name.

Every now and then, Netflix drops something a little different and surprising; this was both of those things. It's a fascinating story-it's scandalous, shocking, and almost hard to believe. There's something almost old-fashioned about it: a woman brainwashing an older man into murdering her husband; it's like the plot of a stage play.

I liked the way it was presented; we're given all the facts; the only ones who aren't in possession of the pieces of the puzzle are the killers. It worked well.

Ivana Baquero is very good as the manipulative widow; I thought Carmen Machi was great as Eva.

7/10.