In Her Place (El lugar de la otra) is inspired by the sensational 1955 case in which a popular novelist, María Carolina Geel, met her lover, Roberto Pumarino, in the tearoom of the ultra-fancy Hotel Crillón, pulled out a revolver and, in front of numerous witnesses, shot him in the face five times, killing him.
In In Her Place, director Maite Alberdi tells the story from the point-of-view of a fictional character, Mercedes, who is the secretary of the judge in charge of the case. The part of Mercedes is played brilliantly by Elisa Zulueta.
Geel (Francisca Lewin) never denies that she committed murder. After all, waiters and other customers saw it happen. But she refuses to explain why she did it. Because the case turns into a media storm, the judge, Aliro Veloso (Marcial Tagle), based on the real judge, orders Geel to be locked up in a low-intensity prison for women, run by nuns.
Mercedes lives with her husband and two sons. They love her and she loves them, but this is a patriarchy. She prepares breakfast for them and cleans up after them. Even after a full day’s work, she returns to cook and clean again. When Judge Veloso sends Geel to the nuns, he gives Mercedes the keys to Geel’s home and orders her to pack a suitcase with clothes Geel can wear while she is in custody. Entering Geel’s luxurious apartment, Mercedes is transformed. There is a large wardrobe, books, a typewriter, plants, and a sense of freedom that Mercedes has never known. She begins spending her free time in the apartment, feeling relaxed and comfortable in a manner she has never been before. She even meets Geel’s lover.
Mercedes’ husband makes his living taking wedding and other formal photographs in their cramped home. Mercedes knows a lot about photography. She tells her husband what lighting to use when a customer has bad skin, and she can tell when her husband has overexposed his film. But, as a woman, she is not allowed to be employed this way herself. However, when the judge orders her to photograph Geel’s living conditions at the nunnery, Mercedes pulls out an old camera that belonged to her father, and does the job.
If In Her Place was a film made in the United States, it would probably be a Best Picture contender, and Zulueta would be a contender for Best Actress.
Alberdi has been nominated twice for an Academy Award in the Documentary category, in 2021 for The Mole Agent and in 2024 for The Eternal Memory.
