GOD’S CROOKED LINES on Netflix is a thriller from Spain (org. title: Los renglones torcidos de Dios). While it is a long movie, it’s also quite brilliant. A mystery is at the heart of this one. Read our God’s Crooked Lines movie review here!
GOD’S CROOKED LINES is a new Netflix thriller mystery from Spain (org. title: Los renglones torcidos de Dios). And yes, it is a long movie with a runtime of just over 2½ hours. However, don’t let that keep you from watching it. Movies from South Korea tend to also be very long and they are awesome as well.
In this mystery thriller, we follow a woman who checks into a psychiatric hospital. However, the real reason for checking into the psychiatric hospital is to investigate the mysterious death of another patient. She’s a private investigator on a job, and she’s whip-smart but might be in over her head.
Continue reading our God’s Crooked Lines movie review below. Find it on Netflix from December 9, 2022.
Set in a very different time
God’s Crooked Lines is set in 1979, so obviously, the treatment (and understanding) of mental illness was very different. When Alice Gould (Bárbara Lennie) checks into the psychiatric ward, she isn’t there due to any actual mental illness.
Instead, she’s there as a private investigator, who has been hired to look into a murder case. While the underlying mystery plays a huge part, this psychological thriller is also a study of how mental illness patients have been treated in the past.
And it is also a look at how women were treated and viewed. In quite a few ways, the setting is like something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. You’ll see many fascinating and intriguing patients at the hospital. A few of them are probably there due to their appearance as much as possible mental issues.
Again, this is mostly due to the setting in 1979. There is quite a bit of back-and-forth timeline-wise. We keep going back to the night of the murder while following Alice (who goes by “Alicia” in the hospital) as she investigates. This can be a bit confusing but works well for the most part.
The cast of the Spanish Netflix thriller mystery
The star of God’s Crooked Lines is Bárbara Lennie as Alice Gould (the private investigator undercover as a patient). As Alice, Bárbara Lennie manages to exude confidence and delivers lines with the exact kind of speed and power necessary.
You may recognize Bárbara Lennie from the Netflix series The Mess You Leave Behind (2020).
The other key character, Dr. Samuel Alvar, is portrayed by Eduard Fernández who you might recognize from the HBO series 30 Coins. He does look very different in those two productions though. However, he was also in the Netflix series Criminal: Spain which might be easier to recognize him.
These are the two characters featured on the poster (or cover art, if you will) for the new Netflix movie from Spain.
However, there are many more actors in this psychological thriller since the plot is very much character-driven. Some of them you may recognize (such as Pablo Derqui from the 2021 Netflix movie Two/Dos), but probably not most of the patients.
Watch God’s Crooked Lines on Netflix now!
Directed by Oriol Paulo, who already wrote and directed the Harlan Coben Netflix series The Innocent and the fantasy mystery Mirage (2018). Also, you might know him as the director of The Invisible Guest or The Occupant. He also wrote El cuerpo (2012) which has been remade many times already!
REMAKES OF EL CUERPO
The best remake is the South Korean The Vanished – the worst is probably The Body from India.
Oriol Paulo also co-wrote God’s Crooked Lines along with Guillem Clua (who also worked on The Innocent) and Lara Sendim attached. She co-writes on most Oriol Paulo movies, so that’s another good sign!
The new Netflix movie is based on the acclaimed novel “Los Renglones Torcidos de Dios (The Crooked Lines of God)” by Torcuato Luca de Tena.
Please don’t let the long runtime (2 hours and 34 minutes) keep you from watching it. I mean, most of us have no problem binge-watching TV series. The idea that a movie can be too long is just our own warped perception of how it should be. Besides, an 80-minute movie can feel as long as this one!
Do not miss out on this one, if you enjoy good psychological thrillers with a mystery to unravel!
God’s Crooked Lines was released in Spanish theaters on October 6 and is out on Netflix from December 9, 2022.
Details
Director: Oriol Paulo
Writers: Oriol Paulo, Guillem Clua, Lara Sendim
Stars: Bárbara Lennie, Eduard Fernández, Loreto Mauleón, Javier Beltrán, Samuel Soler, Federico Aguado, Lluís Soler, Adelfa Calvo, Dafnis Balduz
Plot
Alice, a private investigator, checks into a psychiatric hospital feigning paranoia with the goal of collecting evidence for the case she is working on: the death of an inmate in unclear circumstances. But the reality she faces in her confinement will exceed her expectations and cast doubt on her own sanity. An unknown and exciting world will open before her eyes.
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