Netflix’s In Her Place ending explained: Why does Mercedes have to vacate Geel’s apartment?

The Chilean historical crime drama film In Her Place premiered on September 23, 2024, at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival. Directed by Maite Alberdi, the film dropped on Netflix on October 11, 2024.

The synopsis of the film reads:

“After Chilean writer María Carolina Geel murders her lover, the case captivates shy legal secretary Mercedes, sparking a connection between the two women.”

Inspired by a true event and based on The Murderers by Alia Trabucco Zerán, the film portrays the 1955 historical incident in which writer María Carolina Geel killed her lover at the Crillón Hotel. In Her Place shows the aftermath of the incident through the eyes of Mercedes, a legal secretary working on Geel’s case.

As Mercedes immerses herself more and more in the case, she starts finding some semblance between her and Geel’s life experiences. At one point, she even starts living in Geel’s apartment. However, she eventually has to vacate it once Geel is granted a presidential pardon and her sentence is reduced.

---

In Her Place ending: Mercedes has to vacate Geel’s apartment

Mercedes works as a legal secretary to Judge Aliro. When Geel’s sensational case makes the headlines and Geel is arrested, Aliro has to deal with the complicated case. His secretary, Mercedes, also becomes pretty involved in the affair.

Initially, she is given the task of bringing in fresh clothes for Geel from the latter’s apartment, since she is held in police custody until the trial is over. Initially, Mercedes, like most people, disapproves of Geel. However, she gradually starts relating to Geel’s experiences.

Mercedes also starts spending more and more time at Geel’s apartment. The apartment becomes some sort of a haven for her, where she can enjoy some respite from thankless household chores.

Like most women, Mercedes is burdened with a heavy load of responsibilities that society expects women to naturally perform. In Her Place subtly shows how Mercedes despises the same, even though she mostly tolerates it.

Thus, Geel’s apartment becomes a refuge for Mercedes where the latter can revive her passion for photography, enjoy some personal space and time, and most importantly, be herself without having to constantly worry about her chores and family.

As the film nears its end, Geel is sentenced to 541 days in prison by Judge Aliro. Mercedes is happy with the news since it means she can have the apartment to herself for some more time. However, given Geel’s social status as a famous writer, she is granted a presidential pardon which nullifies the earlier sentence.

As In Her Place comes to an end, a distraught Mercedes watches Geel move back to the apartment. However, Mercedes has got a taste of freedom in that apartment, and her life will most probably not be the same anymore.

---

Why does Mercedes relate to Geel’s experiences?

In Her Place, as the title also suggests, is about how the experience of one can resonate with another. The film shows how, irrespective of class, the condition of women remains largely the same given the general patriarchal nature of society.

There are suggestions made throughout the film that Geel is a free-spirited strong-willed woman who has been badly treated by men. Even though Mercedes is of a more docile temperament, the sexist and condescending treatments she receives are no less oppressive.

For instance, her husband is dismissive of her passion for photography. Further, while everyone gets to enjoy a good family time, she has to prepare meals for them. In Geel’s apartment, Mercedes gets to know herself anew.

Also, halfway into the movie, she has a conversation with Geel in the latter’s prison cell. Geel tells her how society mostly looks down upon strong-willed women, and oppresses the quiet ones. This strikes a chord with Mercedes, whose experiences have been similar.

Thus, In Her Place is the story of two women, coming from different backgrounds, and of different temperaments, finding a common ground based on the fact that they are women living in a largely patriarchal society.

---

Why did Geel murder her lover?

The reason is never made explicit in In Her Place. Instead, there are theories and suggestions. The brothers of Roberto, the victim, think that Geel became jealous of the fact that Roberto started seeing someone else after breaking up with her. This, however, is only one of the theories.

In her defense, Geel states that she was tired of men treating her heavy-handedly. On the night of the murder, she had a gun on her before arriving at the hotel.

Therefore, the murder was a premeditated one. Thus, it could be that Geel wanted to take revenge for the way she was treated by Roberto.

The case, however, is quite complicated as Geel reportedly kissed the dead man after killing him. It suggests, she still loved him in a way.

In Her Place, thus, recounts a complicated case where the line between good and bad is rendered blurry by the fact that the wrongdoer is also the victim of systemic discrimination.

---

In Her Place is currently available for streaming on Netflix.