7 Women and a Murder (7 donne e un mistero) is an Italian language mystery film that revolves around seven categorically distinct women who get themselves involved in the murder of a man. The film is directed by Alessandro Genovesi and written by him and Lisa Nur Sultan, and stars Margherita Buy, Diana Del Bufalo, and Sabrina Impacciatore in titular roles.
The complete cast of the one-hour twenty-four-minute film includes Benedetta Porcaroli, Micaela Ramazzotti, Luisa Ranieri, Ornella Vanoni, and Luca Pastorelli. Furthermore, Federico Masiero serves as the cinematographer of the flick while Claudio Di Mauro heads the editing department.
The official description of the film reads as
When their family patriarch is stabbed, seven women, each with ulterior motives, become trapped together in a mansion to solve the puzzle of his murder.
-7 Women and a Murder Review Does Not Contain Spoilers-
This conventional whodunnit murder mystery starts with the entry of Susanna (Diana Del Bufalo), who makes her way into the grand mansion of her father as part of her meet and greet with an aloof family (that has literally zero enthusiasm about her visit). Susanna’s eccentric family members include her self-centred mother Margherita, faint-hearted Aunt Agostina, a sly grandmother and sister, and a newly joined maid, Maria.
The visit eventually turns into an immediate nightmare when everybody learns about the death of Marcello, the casanova styled old man, the father of Susanna. And start to suspect each other of the murder. Moreover, the scene turns into a ruckus when everyone spills their well-kept secret to prove their innocence and reaches the conclusion that the killer is present in the same room.
Almost everything in the movie is an age-old tale of the genre, that adds nothing new to the story. Even though the screenplay could have evolved with the repetitive ingredients, but the constant attempt to force wit and humour, ends up sabotaging the whole setup.
For instance, one can dissociate emotions of death in a mystery film, when the execution of over-the-top elements is thorough and convincing. Like, a group of women having a joyous celebratory dinner right after the murder of their family head, feels completely undigestible and artificial due to the lack of character exposition.
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All in all, this use of constant and forceful elements to divert the attention of the investigation feels like a rushed approach with an even weaker treatment. Something, that should have been prevented to make the setup more interesting and sharp.
However, there is a certain moment of genuine intrigue that arrive nearly midway through the film. When all the ladies learn about each other’s secret and sit back to contemplate. The tragedy is, that the entire thing lasts for only a couple of minutes before it ventures into the mundane pathway again.
At last, there are no binding elements to the story. And I can hardly think of anything that you’ll remember after watching the movie. The cast makes an attempt to outshine the plot, but again, falls flat in the process.
7 Women and a Murder Final Thoughts
This Italian whodunnit feature does not make the cut for a tight and grip-worthy flick and hence fails to abide by the parameters of the genre. P.S. You can look for better murder mysteries to watch during the holiday season.
7 Women and a Murder is streaming on Netflix. Let us know your thoughts about it in the comment section below.
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