Murder mysteries that double as a scathing critique of capitalism are a subgenre that’s totally up my alley. To be honest, I’ll take anything that lambasts capitalists into the stratosphere because if we can’t escape the hellhole of financial inequality we are in for the foreseeable future, at least we should get to watch rich people get bullied in the realm of fiction. But yeah, murder mysteries add an extra layer of excitement to an already interesting premise because you get to solve a puzzle. The Knives Out franchise and the stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Feluda, Charlie Cale, Miss Marple, and Nancy Drew are everyone’s top choices. Amongst the relatively newer stuff, I really liked Man on the Inside, Almost Cops, and Dept. Q. If you want to venture into bleaker territories, you have Chinatown, Se7en, The Batman, Paatal Lok, and The Madness. Now, of course, this isn’t some niche category of entertainment that only I and 5 other people like. It’s a pretty popular space, and everyone wants a slice of the pie. And since this subgenre is quite evidently crowded, those who are trying to put their foot in the door usually try to stand out by presenting a narrative that’s more “complex” and “mindbending” than its predecessors. City of Shadows has done exactly that. Has the gamble paid off? Let’s find out.
Jorge Torregrossa’s City of Shadows, adapted from Aro Sainz de la Maza’s El asesino de La Pedrera by Torregrossa, Carlos Lopez, and Clara Esparrach, starts off with the murder of Pinto, the CEO of one of the richest construction companies in Barcelona. Given how elections are on the horizon and the Pope is about to visit the city, it becomes an all-hands-on-deck situation with almost every police officer being brought in to solve this case. That means Milo, who had been suspended for assaulting another officer because he is dealing with the loss of his nephew, is also brought back to the fore and partnered with Rebeca to partake in this investigation. As soon as they utter the words “serial killer,” they are essentially benched because the authorities are just too afraid to reckon with the potential of such a threat. However, when Torrens, yet another affluent individual of the city, is abducted and then killed in the same way that Pinto was murdered, everyone comes to the realization that Milo and Rebeca’s hunch is right and they need to follow their lead instead of sidelining them. The three things that stand between Milo and proper career revival are the demons from his personal life, a pesky journalist named Mauricio who has it out for him, and Bastos, Milo’s boss, who wants to fire Milo for a pretty nefarious reason. Whether or not Milo will overcome these hurdles and nab the killer(s) is what forms the crux of the story.
Over the course of 6 episodes, City of Shadows covers a lot of ground. It talks about capitalism and how, under the garb of “developing” a city, the poor have been mistreated to a disgusting degree and the middle-income group has been rendered incapable of affording anything without compromising. It touches upon pedophilia and how orphanages and juvenile centers should be heavily scrutinized so that the lives of little children who have already lost everything get to preserve their innocence. It highlights systemic corruption, which allows those first two things to thrive because earning money on the side is much more important than ensuring that the people of your country aren’t inconvenienced in any way. Then it delves into mental health and how proper treatment for such issues is inaccessible to the general public. And it also does some subtle commentary on cancer, probably because the show’s lead actress, Veronica Echegui (rest in peace), was battling that godforsaken disease during filming. So, yeah, labeling the limited series as “overstuffed” won’t be an overstatement. And it would have been fine if its analysis had any kind of depth. What you see on the surface is all there is to it. On top of that, by the time the narrative comes around to its big twist about the killer’s (or killers’) backstory and their history with wealth, everything about this crusade against capitalists really crumbles. It’s such an odd detail; I really tried to understand what the writers were thinking when they wrote those lines, and I drew a blank.
City of Shadows’ visual storytelling is really inconsistent. Given how architecture and design are integral aspects of the story, I think Torregrossa and his team do a brilliant job of capturing Antoni Gaudí’s work in innovative ways. The manner in which the real-life documentary footage of the transformation of Barcelona, the othering of the poor, and the rise and rise of the rich is spliced into the fictional story is great. In fact, it’s so great that I think there should be documentaries about the evolution of every notable city in order to show what has been lost in the process and whether it was worth it or not. There’s a brilliant match cut during the flashback to the story about how Joan became a rebel. Everything other than this stuff is just bland. Conversation scenes use the most basic versions of the shot-reverse-shot technique. The editing is extremely awkward at times. I don’t think you’ll mind it all that much if you are not binge-watching the show. But when you are viewing all the episodes without any breaks, you start to notice the inconsistencies, and, I don’t know about everyone, but it gets on my nerves. I suppose if the story’s substance and its central mystery were somewhat intriguing, I wouldn’t have been irked by the boring visuals. Since the narrative wasn’t engaging enough, the show’s flaws became really noticeable.
I was extremely sad to learn that Veronica Echegui, the actor who played the role of Rebeca, passed away this year. Since I’m not in the loop regarding news from the world of Spanish entertainment and I wasn’t familiar with Echegui, the first 2 or 3 times that I saw the note of remembrance, I didn’t look up who was being talked about. When I Googled the name, I was just heartbroken because she won’t get to read about how well her performance has been received. Her no-nonsense attitude, her dialogue delivery, her body language, the story that she was telling about her character through her costumes, and her chemistry with Isak Ferriz were simply brilliant. All I’ll say is that this is a great final performance to remember her by. Speaking of Ferriz, he’s excellent. The way he expresses angst, panic, anxiety, and determination seems realistic and hence, relatable. Ana Wagener, Manolo Solo, Jordi Ballester, Marc Clotet, Aina Clotet, and the rest of the supporting cast are all fantastic. Since this is a spoiler-free review, I am afraid I don’t think I should do anything more than that. That said, do I recommend giving it a watch? Yeah, sure, why not? The murder mystery is decent; don’t expect to be wowed and you’ll be fine. The anti-capitalist messaging is alright. The visual storytelling is okay-ish. The performances are splendid across the board. So, unless you are viewing it too critically, you’ll have a morbidly enjoyable time with it.
