Under Her Control review: Underwhelming thriller with dire pacing issues

Under Her Control is a Spanish thriller drama about a young woman working at a big company with a boss that she idolizes. When she faces a sudden change in her life, her boss gives her a solution that could work out for both of them. The film is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

Sofia is a young aspiring woman who wants to make it big in the world of fashion. She has a loving and supportive boyfriend named Nacho who works in real estate and just wants to provide a good life for his partner.

Sofia applies for an internship at a big fashion label helmed by Beatriz. Beatriz created an empire on her own and is the subject of adulation from young women everywhere.

Sofia nails her interview and shows that she is capable at her job, winning over Beatriz in short order. However, her life is interrupted by the revelation that she’s pregnant. Sofia thinks about getting an abortion so that she can focus on her career.

Beatriz finds out about the pregnancy and tries to take advantage of the situation because she has always wanted a child but was never able to have one. She convinces Sofia to go through with the pregnancy and give her the baby in return for monetary compensation.

Sofia goes along with things initially but when Beatriz gets a little too controlling, Sofia starts to feel suffocated and is pushed to her limit.

Performances

There are three notable roles to pay attention to in Under Her Control, that is Beatriz, Sofia and to a lesser extent, Nacho. Majority of the focus is on these three characters and the actors that portray them.

Aitana Sánchez-Gijón plays Beatriz, and being a seasoned professional she does her job well but she’s given mixed direction for her character’s motivations and that comes out in her performance.

Cumelén Sanz plays Sofia, the young girls forced to deal with a difficult situation. Sanz is great as the naive girl who turns out to have a whole different side to her evidenced by the fact that she lied her way through her interview and then her actions in the end when her survival instinct kicks in.

Álex Pastrana is Nacho, the caring boyfriend who doesn’t get too much screen time. When he is given his moment, he comes across as the basic distressed boyfriend without the right kind of urgency although he definitely makes the effort.

Positives

Having the movie end on a cliffhanger as Sofia goes into labour right as she’s trying to escape is a brilliant creative decision, albeit slightly predictable to more seasoned viewers. It leaves the audience wanting that little bit more as they might be curious to know her fate.

In fact, the final stretch is one of the few shining lights of the film. With Sofia cracking under the pressure and going berserk, it ramps up the intensity of a film that is sorely lacking up until then.

Negatives

The director has taken a confused approach towards this film and there are several moments where it falls just short of good cinema. Going all in Beatriz’s obsession for having a child would have been a good decision but the director isn’t brave enough in that aspect.

Sofia finds a jar of ashes with no explanation or follow up, and even after Beatriz finds out that Sofia lied about her education, there is no significant build on the key information even though it slightly supports Beatriz’s paranoia.

Under Her Control is extremely dull for the first hour and it’s very easy to be distracted or move your attention away from the screen which is not a good sign. The dialogue isn’t anything special or engaging except for one little line delivered by Sofia referencing the pied piper.

Verdict

Under Her Control is an uninteresting film that has an amalgamation of borrowed concepts without doing justice to any of them. There is so much potential for the film and yet the end product is wholly disappointing.

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Also Read: Under Her Control ending explained: Does Sofia give Beatriz her baby?