Thursday’s Widows Review: A Mystery Series That Captures You Without Disappointing You
Cast: Irene Azuela, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Zuria Vega, Mayra Hermosillo, Sofía Sisniega, Omar Chaparro
Created By: Humberto Hinojosa
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and a half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Thursday’s Widows original title (Las viudas de los Jueves) is a Mexican crime thriller series released on Netflix based on the novel by Claudia Piñeiro. Would you like a mystery series that reveals one revelation after another, with the final secret revealed only as a matryoshka doll? Thursday’s Widows has all these elements in a series that, in addition to the captivating initial premise, knows how to unfold in its development. It’s based on a good novel. Yet another serial product arrives on Netflix, destined to create addiction in the public thirsty for drama, scandals, and above all the tense atmosphere typical of thrillers. The ingredients are all there: five super-rich families who hide (super)secrets, a closed, isolated, and highly coveted community, and, above all, mysterious deaths, which we will find ourselves investigating one episode after another. Thursday’s Widows is pure entertainment, and it is not the first time that the novel on which this story is based – the bestseller inspired by true events by Claudia Piñeiro – has been adapted for the screen.
In 2009 the film of the same name was released in Argentina and directed by Marcelo Piñeyro, enjoying great success in his home country. As we will see in this review of Thursday’s Widows, a series of six episodes (of which we saw the first two in preview) is perfect, perhaps more than a feature film, to explore the sins of these five families, gradually revealing the key to the mystery that is outlined starting from the first episode and acts as the skeleton for the entire narrative. The passage from Argentina to Mexico does not detract from the credibility of the story, in which class differences and social discrimination play a truly fundamental role: Mexico City, in its chaos of poverty and delinquency, becomes the distant backdrop of the Los Altos de las Cascadas, a splendid complex of villas surrounded by greenery, among swimming pools, tennis courts, and exclusive schools; behind so much perfection, however, darkness and rot hide.
Thursday’s Widows Review: The Story Plot
In the prestigious community of Los Altos de las Cascadas, five families will face a tragedy: between secrets, gossip, and intrigue, the identity of the culprit will slowly come to light. But who are Thursday’s Widows? It is a group of rich ladies who gather every week, without their husbands, for chats and confidences (and quite a few drinks) in the exclusive community of Las Cascadas. Five women – Teresa (Irene Azuela), Mavi (Cassandra Ciangherotti), Mariana (Zuria Vega), Lala (Mayra Hermosillo), and the newcomer Carla (Sofía Sisniega) – tell each other about their lives, their husbands’ work successes and new goals achieved by their children: but what lies behind the broad smiles and the clinking of champagne glasses? Each of them has secrets, from an unsatisfactory married life to certain scandals that, if they came to light, could ruin them.
One of them, Mavi, who is also the real estate agent of Las Cascadas, seems to know them all but, as a good friend. This is at least until Thursday 26th December, when something happens that will upset all their lives: an evening of alcohol and drugs at Tano’s (Omar Chaparro) and Teresa’s house ends in tragedy. But what set in motion the deaths –accidental – of three prominent members of the small, privileged community? Mavi is ready to tell us the whole truth and, throughout the six episodes that make up the series, she will publicly air the dirty laundry of her friends and their families.
Thursday’s Widows Review and Analysis
An excellent screenplay based on an incredibly interesting novel which, inevitably, would end up first in the hands of the cinema (there is a film from a few years ago) and now in the form of a series. After the initial episode, the other five will reveal the secrets of each of the families (five) and the resolution of this twisted puzzle. The best thing about the series is its characters. A series that takes the time to develop its stories and mysteries, with a solid foundation on which to build a plot of envy, sex, money, and internal misery hidden behind the apparent wealth. Whether or not the series contains (obvious) social criticism is up to the viewer to decide. But it is a social criticism that overlaps perfectly with the plot, justifies it, and blends seamlessly.
Without this need to maintain privilege, there is no plot development, but this plot is not content to be a simple criticism. On the contrary, it knows how to unfold like a detective story without losing its essence. The secondary plots are also interesting, involving the protagonists’ children, the servants, and everything that surrounds this mystery that could have been an Agatha Christie story. However, it knows how to develop with personality, and, with a good pace and a good dose of surprises and twists, it always keeps the interest alive. Technically well done, with excellent and careful photography, good direction, and an editing pace that manages to maintain the tone of suspense throughout.
As we anticipated at the beginning, Thursday’s Widows has all the ingredients to be successful: the story proceeds at a fast pace, punctuated by a series of twists capable of involving the viewer more and more. What’s more intriguing than a series that reveals the darkest and most perverse sides of the elite? The social criticism is evident and Humberto Hinojosa’s series – just as films and novels had done before her – points the finger at the discrimination still so present in today’s world. In this sense, the Mexican setting is truly ideal, the color of the skin and the indigenous features become tangible proof of the poverty so despised by the protagonists: white people are rich, while those with dark skin are – from birth – inferior. Ramona’s subplot is very interesting in this sense, adopted daughter of the beautiful Mariana, who does nothing – albeit with “affection” than remind her how physically different she is from her and the rest of the family.
Los Altos is full of “different” people, but they are all part of the servants, therefore they belong to another world, which the protagonists hardly get close to: Teresa, for example, is attracted to the young gardener Uriel, but at the very moment in which he seems to return her attentions, she retreats shocked and disgusted. An emblematic situation is that of Las Cascadas, a microcosm that reflects an entire country and works particularly well in conveying the discourse carried out first by the author of the novel, then by that of the series. Furthermore, the series adapts perfectly well to the “glocal” philosophy so loved by Netflix: a local story but also perfect for an international market.
The varied cast is excellent, both female and male. In the first episodes, Irene Azuela, Cassandra Ciangherotti, and especially Omar Chaparro stand out more, who in the second episode is capable of giving life to an ambiguous and complex character. We are sure, however, that as the series progresses the rest of the supporting characters will also have their chance to shine. Thursday’s Widows could be, as we anticipated at the beginning, yet another successful Netflix series it brings together all the right characteristics to attract a large audience: drama, passionate plots, suspense, and an intriguing mystery to solve. All seasoned with the typical atmosphere of a soap opera.
Thursday’s Widows Review: The Last Words
Thursday’s Widows offers sharp social criticism in the frame of a drama/thriller with soap opera tones. It’s immediately addictive. Of which, chapter by chapter, the truth becomes known. Like how Tano lost his high executive position and how Martín was kicked out of the party that supported his political career. Serious events that they try to hide through appearances, but they unleash the drama that drives the series, which, despite lacking rhythm, manages to captivate with its level of production and performance.
Thursday's Widows Review: A Mystery Series That Captures You Without Disappointing You - Filmyhype
Director: Humberto Hinojosa
Date Created: 2023-09-14 19:57
3.5
Pros
- Strong performances, particularly from Ana Celentano
- Well-developed and complex characters
- Intriguing mystery
Cons
- Slow pace
- Lack of suspense
- Unlikable characters
- Convoluted plot
