God’s Crooked Lines: Plot, Cast, Production, Review, Spoiler, Where To Watch and More
The 1979 novel of the same name by Torcuato Luca de Tena served as the inspiration for the Oriol Paola-directed film “God’s Crooked Lines.”
The main character of the movie is Alice Gould de Almenara, a stunningly attractive and brilliant woman who visits a mental hospital in Spain to investigate the unsolved death of a prisoner.
The father of the deceased called her because he wanted her to look into the situation. The numerous turns and surprises in “God’s Crooked Lines” make it an engaging watch even if it has a duration of 155 minutes.
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God’s Crooked Lines: Plot
Dr. E. Donadio, the physician who recommended Alice be admitted to the hospital, wrote a letter to Samuel Alvar, the asylum’s director, cautioning him about Alice’s intelligence and pleading with him not to believe her lies, no matter how persuasive they may sound.
She wanted the hospital to believe that her husband had kidnapped her legitimately despite the fact that she had repeatedly been hospitalized for attempting to poison her spouse.
His goal was to take over management of her substantial estate. Alice responded to all queries and said that her husband had decided not to involve the authorities in the poisoning case.
By doing this, he would no longer be the only one with authority over her wealth and the court would not name him as her guardian.
Alice was incredibly persuasive. Anyone would be inclined to believe her account given her expressive eyes and smart responses.
When Alice first encountered Monserrat, the facility’s deputy director, she immediately felt sympathetic toward her.
Alice came from a wealthy household and was attractive and intelligent. The main reason Monserrat sought to meet her every need was because she was different from the other residents of the facility.
She was permitted to bring a psychological book with her. She had newspaper cuttings about Damian Garcia del Olmo’s suicide, the case she was looking into, inside the book.
Ignacio Urquieta, a prisoner who admitted his mental instability and received special privileges for his exemplary behavior, was a friend of Alice’s.
Additionally, she grew close to the Romulus and Remus twin brothers, who were born there. Romulus had grown up thinking one of the asylum’s girls was his sister, and he would do anything to keep her safe.
He would assault anyone who dared to call her his sister, even though she wasn’t really his sister. Romulus thought Alice was their mother and admired her.
Alice questioned whether Damian had ever upset Romulus and whether this could have contributed to the murder. She was also keeping an eye on Luis Ojeda since he had regularly tried to abuse her sexually.
The “elephant man,” who was always by his side and shielded him from any harm, was always with him.
She mentioned to Dr. Arellano during her consultation that her husband Heliodoro had no interest in having kids. She did not have any mistrust for him, but she would not be shocked if he had an affair.
God’s Crooked Lines: Ending Explained
The facility invited Dr. del Olmo to the asylum to confirm Alice’s assertion. He was present when Ignacio revealed that Alice did not kill Luis.
Alice concurred with Ignacio’s claim that Luis’s death was the result of an accident. To protect the reputation of the facility, the police were excluded from the case.
Dr. del Olmo was seen by Alice, but she didn’t identify him. She gazed at the man in front of her in surprise when he informed her that he was the man she had identified as her customer.
She yelled that the man in the room was not the one who introduced himself as Dr. del Olmo. She was informed by Arellano and Monserrat that the man was actually Dr. del Olmo.
The individuals who had previously trusted Alice were now questioning her, and Alice could see that she was visibly scared and bewildered.
She could also see that the story she had constructed was disintegrating. She contemplated what the truth truly was during her torturous treatment and unconsciously understood that the truth might be whatever she wanted it to be.
She therefore began anew at the beginning. She went over the full account again and sought to determine where she had erred.
She came to understand that the man posing as Dr. del Olmo was someone her husband had chosen to deceive her.
Heliodoro dragged her into the inquiry so she would voluntarily check herself into the asylum just to be imprisoned there for the rest of her life.
Now that she was aware of the truth, she persuaded Monserrat and Arellano once more of her innocence. She thought that her mental instability had been demonstrated by Drs. Donadio, Heliodoro, and even Dr. Alvar.
She asked Monserrat and Arellano to look into her bank account since it would prove she was telling the truth if her money was missing.
However, the bank declined to provide any information because they had no reason to doubt that she was mentally ill.
Arellano visited Alice’s home to ascertain his uncertainty and learned that her spouse had left. As suspicions grew, Monserrat learned that Heliodoro had given a sizeable payment to the asylum.
With sufficient evidence, Monserrat and Arellano were able to accept Alice’s story that she had been duped into being sent to the hospital.
God’s Crooked Lines: More Details
In the interim, Alice spoke to every inmate of the asylum and begged them for assistance in aiding her escape from the establishment.
She requested that Ignacio give him his lighter, and as she did so, she started a fire that caused complete havoc. She was now in the ideal position to depart.
She discovered that Romulus had been killed just as she was preparing to leave. She made the decision to look into the matter, and in order to do so, she interacted with the coroner and used her identity to get inside the building.
She examined Romulus’ body and came to the conclusion that it had been crushed by a heavy item, as evidenced by the depressed chest and numerous fractured bones.
She concluded that Romulus had been killed by the “elephant man.” The man had always liked Romulus’ sister, but he was unable to approach her, therefore his affection remained unrequited.
Luis, the sole person he could refer to as his best friend, was stolen from him. She continued by saying that Romulus had killed Luis that day in the forest in order to defend her.
He had sufficient reasons to despise Romulus as a result, and he used the upheaval to commit suicide. He was detained for the crime because his hands contained the glass wounds that Alice had foreseen.
Alice’s intelligence left an impression on the cops. She identified herself as a private eye who was being imprisoned in the asylum against her choice.
The police had grounds to suspect Dr. Alvar, despite his efforts to claim differently. They claimed that after Arellano went to the bank and asked them to investigate, they checked her account.
They discovered that she had been declared legally disabled, which allowed her husband to empty all of her bank accounts.
The police took up her case, and the asylum’s staff requested in a letter to the municipal council that Dr. Alvar be fired as the corrupt director of the facility.
Later, we find out that Remus, not Romulus, was killed that night by the “elephant man,” not Romulus. When the fire broke out, Romulus went to save his sister, but the “elephant man” thought Remus was Romulus and killed him.
As their mother figure and possessor of the knowledge, Alice claimed to be able to tell Romulus from Remus.
Romulus might have wanted Remus to survive, and the fact that people thought he was still alive may have helped Romulus deal with the loss. After her release, Alice agreed to pay him a visit.
To discuss her case, she was brought before the medical board. The only information they had about Monserrat’s missing husband was that he had boarded a ship somewhere in South Asia.
Dr. Donadio’s simultaneous presence in Zurich, according to Alice, was not a coincidence. They both intended to show she was insane.
Dr. Alvar was still not persuaded; in his opinion, all Alice could prove was that her husband had withdrawn the money from her account; they lacked any evidence that he had devised the evil scheme to have her admitted to the asylum.
However, Dr. Alvar made the decision to abstain from voting and invited the rest of the faculty to make the choice.
He asked them to substitute his resignation letter for his expulsion letter in case they decided to vote her insane.
The board decided in Alice’s favor and pronounced her to be sane. Dr. Alvar mentioned speaking with Dr. Donadio before leaving the facility.
After attending the meeting in Zurich, the man and his wife left on a trip. They believed he had escaped, but in fact he never got any of their letters.
Dr. Donadio had been asked by Dr. Alvar to come and explain the situation before the board.
It turned out that Dr. Donadio was the Dr. del Olma that Alice had pictured. Alice stared at him in horror and bewilderment as he entered and questioned what problem she had gotten herself into.
God’s Crooked Lines: Cast
The supporting cast of God’s Crooked Lines packs a punch. Eduard Fernández as Dr. Samuel Alvar is the best performer of the lot after Barbara.
Loreto Mauleón as Dra. Montserrat Castell is elegant and voice of sanity, while Javier Beltrán‘s Dr. César Arellano is charming and elegant, but doesn’t get impressive scenes as much.
Pablo Derqui as Ignacio Urquieta and Samuel Soler as Rómulo / Remo churn out stellar acts too. Their chemistry with Barbara is worth a special mention.
God’s Crooked Lines: Music and Other Departments
Fernando Velázquez’s music doesn’t elevate the film or its moments of tension, but sets up the air of mystery adequately.
In comparison to his exceptional soundtracks in The Orphanage, A Monster Calls, Julia’s Eyes, and The Impossible, this one doesn’t stand out as much.
Bernat Bosch’s cinematography is pleasing to the eye. Even when the narrative heaps up tension, the lighting and frame composition oozes a calm in the air.
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