Elize: Shadows of a Woman – Review | Netflix (3/5)

ELIZE: SHADOWS OF A WOMAN on Netflix is a thriller based on a true story. In fact, the same true-crime case was also covered in a previously released Netflix docuseries. With a 90-minute runtime, this movie is an efficient crime thriller. Read our full Elize: Shadows of a Woman movie review here!

ELIZE: SHADOWS OF A WOMAN is a Netflix movie from Brazil. It’s a crime thriller based on the true story of a woman who shot and killed her husband. Then she dismembered him and scattered the body parts over a larger area of woodland. The body parts were later discovered, and she ended up admitting to the crime.

This 2026 thriller is the story of how and why she ended up killing her husband. Just like the docuseries about this true crime case, the movie is divided into chapters. Not told entirely chronologically, as we begin with the murder. However, after knowing how it all ends, we go back and get the full story.

Continue reading our Elize: Shadows of a Woman movie review here!

Cold-blooded murder or self-defense

The core question at the center of this crime is based on what kind of person Elize is. As a result, it has people quite divided. Most people either liked or loathed the docuseries and will, undoubtedly, feel the same way about this feature film.

If you believe she was a cold-blooded murderer going after his money, you won’t like Elize: Shadows of a Woman.

However, if you believe she feared for her own safety and was scared of losing her daughter, then you’ll probably like this one. I mean, the title of “Shadows of a Woman” does refer to how she went from being poor, but full of life, to being a shadow of her former self, as her husband drained her of happiness.

That’s the core message of this movie, which doesn’t seem far-fetched when looking at the facts. Whether that can excuse murder is an entirely different thing. Money is power, and as such, he had a lot of power, and she only had what he allowed her to have.

Lorena Comparato is Elize

As already mentioned, this Netflix feature film is based on a very well-known. Here, we see it through a fictional lens. Portraying the real person, Elize Matsunaga, is Lorena Comparato (Golden Mouth, Impure). She’s the one who has to relay the inner workings of this woman who became a murderer. And she’s very good!

Also in the cast are Henrique Kimura, Miwa Yanagizawa, Julia Shimura, and Denise Weinberg.

As the story is told in Elize: Shadows of a Woman, it’s difficult not to have sympathy for Elize. Not that this excuses murder, but his power over her and what he threatens her with is enough to make many people (usually women in this case) act and react in desperation.

Watch Elize: Shadows of a Woman on Netflix now

The dramatic psychological thriller (org. title: Elize: Sombras de uma Mulher) is directed by Felipe Vellas (Criminal Code). The screenplay comes from acclaimed author and screenwriter Raphael Montes (Good Morning, Verônica) in collaboration with Mariana Torres (Good Morning, Verônica Season 3).

There is a good reason why the movie Elize: Shadows of a Woman is made in the same vein as the true crime documentary series Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon a Crime. Both were produced by Boutique Filmes. As such, the narrative follows that of Elize herself.

Just keep that in mind, while also acknowledging that she may very well be telling the truth. And remember, this is a fictional take on the true-crime case, so watch it as such.

Elize: Shadows of a Woman is on Netflix from July 22, 2026.

Details

Director: Felipe Vellas
Writers: Mariana Torres, Raphael Montes
Cast: Lorena Comparato, Henrique Kimura, Miwa Yanagizawa, Julia Shimura, Denise Weinberg