Netflix's next big true-crime drama is almost here. Elize: Shadows of a Woman is coming to the platform this month. It tells a fictional version of one of Brazil's most talked-about crime cases. Here is everything you need to know before it comes out.
Elize: Shadows of a Woman comes out on Netflix on July 22. It is a Netflix Original, so it will only be on Netflix. You won't find it anywhere else.
This is not a documentary. It is a fictional story based on a real case. It is inspired by Elize Matsunaga, a Brazilian woman who killed and cut up her husband's body in their São Paulo apartment in 2012. The crime shocked the whole country and stayed in the news for months.
The film does not focus much on the crime itself. Instead, it looks at what happened before it, a broken marriage, betrayal, and a slow mental breakdown. The people who made the film say they did not want to just shock viewers. They wanted to start a conversation about what pushes someone to do something so extreme. They also wanted to show Elize as a real person, not just someone from a headline. This looks like a slow, emotional thriller, not a fast-paced crime story.
The film is written by Raphael Montes, along with Mariana Torres. The two also worked together on Good Morning, Verônica. It is directed by Felipe Vellas, who also made Criminal Code. The film is made by Boutique Filmes, the same company that made a documentary about this case a few years ago.
Lorena Comparato plays Elize, the main character. The rest of the cast includes Henrique Kimura, Miwa Yanagizawa, Julia Shimura, and Denise Weinberg.
The film has a TV-MA rating. This means it has strong violence, difficult themes, and mentions of abuse. It may not be suitable for younger viewers.
Yes. Netflix already has a documentary about this same case, if you want the real, true story instead of a dramatized one. This new film is more like a companion piece , it tells the same story, but through fiction.