Where was In Her Place (2024) movie filmed? Filming location explored

Modified Oct 15, 2024 08:03 GMT

A still from the Chilean film In Her Place (Image via Netflix)

In Her Place is a Chilean historical drama film directed by the Osar-nominated documentary filmmaker, Maite Alberdi. Inés Bortagaray and Paloma Salas wrote the film's screenplay, which is based on Alia Trabucco Zerán's book, Las Homicidas, published in 2019.

Produced by Rocío Jadue and brothers Juan and Pablo Larraín under Fabula, In Her Place is a crime drama based on the true story of Chilean writer María Carolina Geel (Francisca Lewin), who shot her lover at the Crillón Hotel in 1955. The film follows Mercedes (Elisa Zulueta), a paralegal who becomes intrigued by Geel's life.

In Her Place premiered at the 72nd San Sebastián International Film Festival on September 23, 2024. The film was released in select theaters across Chile a week later on September 30, 2024. Moreover, it received a worldwide release on Netflix on October 11, 2024.

The film's synopsis, as per Netflix, reads:

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

In Her Place was filmed entirely in Chile's capital city of Santiago.

Details about the filming location of In Her Place

Francisca Lewin is seen as María Carolina Geel in the Netflix film In Her Place (Image via Netflix)

In Her Place is set in 1950s Santiago in Chile. The movie was filmed entirely in Chile's capital city of Santiago by cinematographer Sergio Armstrong.

Santiago is a popular filming destination in Chile and has been featured in several Hollywood films like James Bond's Quantum of Solace, Spy Kids, Gun Shy, etc. Moreover, The Motorcycle Diaries, an Oscar and BAFTA-winning film, was also shot partly in Santiago.

Plot summary

With a runtime of 1 hour and 35 minutes, In Her Place chronicles the true story of the 20th-century writer, María Carolina Geel. She made national headlines after killing her lover, Roberto Pumarino Valenzuela, at the Crillón Hotel in 1955.

The film depicts her highly publicized trial, which found her guilty of homicide and sentenced to three years in prison. But in a surprising turn of events, she received the presidential pardon and was set free in August 1956.

However, the movie focuses on the fictional character, Mercedes, who works as a paralegal with the judge overseeing the murder trial. She is given keys to the defendant's wealthy apartment to fetch new clothes for Geel while she is in police custody.

Once there, Mercedes gets drawn into Geel's lifestyle and visits the apartment every day after work. She tries on her clothes, makeup, and perfume to escape the drudgeries of her own married life. At home, Mercedes feels underappreciated by her husband Efrain and two teen boys.

She quickly becomes enamored by Geel's independent lifestyle and yearns for the freedom and carefree existence that was not afforded to women in the middle of the 20th century in post-war Chile.