Oriol Paulo is the director of the 2022 Spanish psychological crime thriller God’s Crooked Lines (Los renglones torcidos de Dios). The film, which was adapted from the Torcuato Luca de Tena novel, slightly changes how the plot is carried out. Consider watching it because Oriol Paulo does a fantastic job with the plot and enjoys keeping the audience guessing. Spoilers follow for the explanation and comparison of the God’s Crooked Lines movie’s narrative and conclusion to the book.
The Book Ending of God’s Crooked Lines is Described
It’s helpful to know some background even though the movie’s plot isn’t determined by the book’s narrative. It is quite evident from this book that Alice is schizophrenic and believes Dr. Donado to be Del Olmo. She did make an attempt to poison her spouse to death. She develops a story about looking into the hospital for the death of Del Olmo’s son when she thinks she will be admitted to a mental hospital.
Nevertheless, the husband is an unfaithful gold digger who snatches Alice’s fortune and flees. Although the committee determines that Alice has a mental illness, they also believe that she is capable of returning to society and leading a normal life now that her husband has passed away. But eventually, Alice decides to seek medical attention after realising her need for it.
Let’s go on to the God’s Crooked Lines movie’s plot now that it is out of the way.
The Story of the Film God’s Crooked Lines
Spoiler for God’s Crooked Lines
The fact that the incident with the patients outside in the rain and the fire is not something from the previous year is one of God’s Crooked Lines’ crucial and perplexing features. This non-linear storytelling is excellent. Everything else is past tense, save for the rain and fire incident (other than the final committee hearing is a flashback). To give the impression that a murder occurred a year ago, it was done in this manner. However, the murder actually takes place right now.
Let’s go over the events in the story’s chronological order and attempt to draw a conclusion using God’s Crooked Lines’s elements.
Damian, who is he?
Raimundo Garca Del Olmo, who was taken to the mental hospital a year ago, is the father of Damian. The reason he was taken there or the nature of his condition are not disclosed.
God’s Crooked Lines: Who was Damian’s murderer?
Damian’s death was allegedly the result of suicide. However, given that the institution has a history of disguising fatalities as accidents, it is quite likely that there was foul play involved. Nevertheless, whatever how enigmatic Damian’s passing may have been, it had little bearing on the lives of the protagonists in God’s Crooked Lines. When we discuss Raimundo Garca Del Olmo, we’ll chat more.
Did Alice really poison Heliodoro, her husband?
Yes, it looks that Alice poisoned Heliodoro more than once, and this is not a fabrication. In the end, Heliodoro is exposed as a gold-digger who has always preferred Alicia’s money over her. He is a man who enjoyed playing polo and gambling. In a later section of the article, we’ll go back to the poisoning.
Who is Dr. Donadio? | God’s Crooked Lines Is he attempting to set Alice up?
Donadio is not attempting to frame Alice, though. He is the family doctor and, at the very least, feels that he is acting in her best interest. He most likely is unaware that Heliodoro is a jerk who wants Alice’s money. It’s crucial to remember that Alice, not Dr. Donadio, typed and signed the letter that described her as “very clever and dangerous.” Dr. Donadio will be discussed again a bit later in the article.
Dr. Samuel Alvar, who is he? Does he collaborate with Heliodoro?
Yes, it would seem that Alvar is working closely with Heliodoro and is content to keep her in the facility permanently. Alvar claims to be a “by-the-books” type of person, so receiving money as a donation from his patient’s husband—and that money being four times her fee—is highly out of character for him. We’ll shortly put everything in perspective in this essay.
God’s Wrong Directions Was she insane? Was Alice delusional? Alice: Was she mentally ill?
Although it is true that her spouse was a dishonest gold-digger, Alice is also making up stories as she goes. The clearest hint comes from the fact that she enters a state of anxiety and panic when she sees Dr. Donadio, the guy she had mistaken for Del Olmo, appear in the last scene. It’s possible that Alice is inventing a fresh story or that Dr. Donadio is also complicit in the fraud. We’ll get to this in a moment.
Alice is making up stories as she goes, even though it is true that her husband was a dishonest gold-digger. The most obvious clue may be found in the fact that she experiences worry and terror when she sees Dr. Donadio, who she had mistaken for Del Olmo in the previous scene, appear. It’s possible that Dr. Donadio is also involved in the deception or that Alice is making up a new tale. We’ll discuss this shortly.
Why did Alice make up a story about Del Olmo that is false?
Alice is shielded by her “private investigator” mind, which creates a carefully thought-out story about her mental health. She fears being institutionalised as a result of her actions (perhaps poisoning) after discovering her spouse is unfaithful and lashing out at him.
So, based on the news on TV, Alice fabricates the tale of Del Olmo requesting her for assistance in examining his son’s “strange suicide” for the first time. She is so convinced of this that she begins to mistake Dr. Donadio for Del Olmo. She has only ever seen the genuine Del Olmo on television and in the news; she has never truly met him.
Her story unravels when she meets the actual Del Olmo, and she creates a new one about being conned.
Take note of Alice’s power to influence people subtly as well. Despite it being against the regulations, she persuades Montserrat to give her permission to bring a book with her. Alice learns from this that she can eventually persuade Montserrat to break additional laws. She utilises her charm to gain Dr. Arellano’s trust, and after her recommendation, he buys new glasses.
Who is Raimundo Garca Del Olmo, according to God’s Crooked Lines?
Del Olmo is an arbitrary man who, at the same mental facility Alice is in, allegedly lost his kid to suicide once. Alice is unable to identify the genuine Del Olmo when we encounter him in the facility. The real Del Olmo has never met Alice and never asked her to look into whether his son’s death was the result of foul play. Practically speaking, he is just some man. However, his personality is crucial since Alice uses that to support her fabrication. Dr. Donadio is the person the audience has been viewing as Del Olmo.
Let’s now address the crucial query.
What Really Happened in God’s Crooked Lines?
Right now, it seems like Alice is either nuts and Alvar is right, or else she’s just a regular person who has been tricked by the doctors and her husband. Both are correct, and this is why.
So let’s assume one of the possibilities and check if the rest of the puzzle fits.
Assume Donadio, Alvar, and Heliodoro are all working together. Donadio poses as Del Olmo and begs Alice to look into the facility by appealing to her maternal instincts. She is informed by Del Olmo (Donadio) that Alvar is the insider. Donadio and Alvar are both bought by Heliodoro. Alvar is prepared to make her appear as insane as possible once she enters and, if necessary, take her all the way to lobotomy.
Donadio, though, is a family physician. Knowing him, Alice forges a letter from him and brings it to the mental hospital. It seems strange that Dr. Donadio, of all persons, pretended to be Del Olmo and asked her to look into the matter. Alice was taken aback when she realised the guy she had mistaken for Del Olmo in the closing scene was actually Dr. Donadio, whose identification the doctors could confirm.
This reveals that Alice’s mental instability was confirmed when she thought Dr. Donadio was Del Olmo. Dr. Donadio also doesn’t seem to be one of the con artists attempting to steal Alice’s money because he didn’t pretend to be Del Olmo.
Probably what happened was that Dr. Donadio began to hear Alice speak to him as Del Olmo soon after the poisonings, which confirmed to him that she need medical attention. Alice is admitted to the mental hospital due to her dread of being institutionalised, but she insists that she is not entering as a patient. In the first scene, Dr. Donadio is the one who delivers Alice to the facility. She responds in the affirmative when Dr. Donadio queries her, “Are you sure you’re all okay without me? You might be recognised by someone. Dr. Donadio is displaying a sympathetic rather than malicious expression right now since he is aware that Alice thinks he is Del Olmo.
We are now left with Heliodoro and Alvar. One of the doctors confirms that Heliodoro has emptied all of Alice’s financial accounts, therefore we are certain of this. Additionally, Dr. Montserrat discovers proof that Alvar received four times the payments from Heliodoro, despite Alvar’s assertion that it was a contribution. Alvar would have requested Heliodoro to pay the institution personally if it was a donation and he was clean.
God’s Crooked Lines: Explained Finale
God’s Crooked Lines’ climax reveals that Alice is now anxiously searching for a different story to make her appear normal once more after realising she mistook Dr. Donadio for Del Olmo.
An overview of the con:
• Dr. Donadio did not participate in the con. He thought Alice ought to be institutionalised because she was projecting false narratives, in need of assistance, and had tried to kill her husband.
After Alice gets hospitalised, Heliodoro takes advantage of the chance to empty her financial accounts.
• Heliodoro paid Alvar to make sure Alice wouldn’t be released as part of the fraud.
Why didn’t Alvar introduce Dr. Donadio before the committee kicked him out?
Dr. Alvar no longer had any interest in keeping Alice in an institution. He knew he had betrayed the confidence of his coworkers and didn’t want to take any additional chances because it was his personal reputation that was at stake. With a letter to the municipal council asking for his removal, Dr. Montse and the committee planned to damage his name. He strikes a deal with them, promising to abstain from voting; in return, they accept his letter of resignation and toss the one demanding his expulsion.
God’s Crooked Lines: A chronological account of what happened
Heliodoro tried to poison him because Alice could not handle the fact that he only wanted her money.
Dr. Donadio heals Heliodoro and determines the poison, but he also observed Alice fabricating stories in an effort to cope, mistaking him for Del Olmo.
Alice fabricates a letter purporting to be from Dr. Donadio, and since she is aware of its contents, she has the upper hand.
Dr. Donadio takes her to the facility to receive assistance rather than calling the police. He takes a vacation.
Alvar flees with all of Alice’s money after Heliodoro pays him to make sure Alice is destroyed.
In the facility, Alice gives her account of looking into the death of Del Olmo’s son and claims that her marriage is happy.
Alvar plays a part in getting her upset and making her appear quite aggressive.
Because of her intelligence, Alice persuades the other doctors that she is not insane.
The doctors begin to doubt Alice’s account of events until the genuine Del Olmo, whom Alice cannot identify, appears. They reevaluate her since they think Alvar’s electric shock therapy is a touch excessive.
Alice creates a brand-new story in which her husband hired a random actor to play Del Olmo in order to make her appear insane.
The physicians discover evidence that Alvar accepted a bribe and that Heliodoro fled with all of Alice’s money.
Since Alice is a private investigator, she uses the hydrophobia patient to help her plot her escape, assumes the role of the coroner, and solves the murder’s mystery. Alvar is the only doctor who disagrees with her, thus the other doctors elect to expel Alvar.
Dr. Donadio, who Alvar connects with, is delighted to visit and clarify that Alice is mentally ill.
Alvar offers to quit in exchange for them accepting his resignation and dropping their eviction request because he believes his reputation is at danger.
Alvar finally convinces Dr. Donadio to appear at the meeting to show the committee that she is indeed mentally ill in order to show that he wasn’t just making it up.
Answers to Additional Frequently Asked Questions
Who murdered the gnome, and why?
The twin that can speak, Rómulo, killed the Gnome after witnessing Alice, who had been rendered comatose, being sexually assaulted. Rómulo believes Alice to be his mother for some reason. He has always detested the Gnome and the Elephant Man for pursuing Nina, whom Rómulo never stops defending. He kills Gnome when he attacks Alice and flees the scene.
Who is the assassin? Whom did one of the twins murder?
Rómulo is seen by the Elephant Man slaying the Gnome. We don’t understand why he doesn’t assault him right away, but the Elephant Man demands retribution. He finds the chance to trap and kill the person he thinks is Rómulo in all the chaos Alice has produced.
Who perished: Remo or Rómulo? How did Alice discover that the survivor was Rómulo?
The silent twin Remo gets killed by the elephant man instead of the real target, Rómulo. Remo’s hands don’t indicate any attempt at a counterattack, which is how Alice learns this. Remo remains a scared, silent person throughout, and the only person we witness challenging the Elephant Man is Rómulo. His fingers would have been sore from struggling if Rómulo had been the one to pass away. When they examine the cuts on the Elephant Man’s hands, they find that Alice’s hunch about whodunit fits.
The silent twin Remo gets killed by the elephant man Who passed away: Remo or Rómulo?
How did Alice discover that Rómulo was the survivor?
The silent twin Remo gets killed by the elephant man instead of the real target, Rómulo. Remo’s hands don’t indicate any attempt at a counterattack, which is how Alice learns this. Remo remains a scared, silent person throughout, and the only person we witness challenging the Elephant Man is Rómulo. His fingers would have been sore from struggling if Rómulo had been the one to pass away. When they examine the cuts on the Elephant Man’s hands, they find that Alice’s hunch about whodunit fits.
Meaning of “God’s Crooked Lines”
God is Unjust LiAlvar explains that every individual in his institution is a result of errors made by God while he learned to write. Alvar also asserts that he sent them and that he alone has plans for them, not God. Unquestionably, Alvar deserves the title of “the man with a tonne of god complex,” in my opinion. It is not unreasonable to assume that he is dishonest.
Folks, that’s it. What did you think of God’s Crooked Lines’ storyline and conclusion? Please add your thoughts to the discussion below.
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