Netflix has released the trailer for Elize: Shadows of a Woman, a psychological thriller that takes one of Brazil’s most infamous real-life criminal cases and reimagines it through the lens of fiction. The film premieres globally on Netflix on July 22, and the trailer makes it clear this is not a straightforward retelling but a deep, intimate, and very dark exploration of how something so extreme could happen behind closed doors.
Elize: Shadows of a Woman is inspired by the real-life case of Elize Matsunaga, a Brazilian woman who murdered and dismembered her husband, Marcos Matsunaga, in their apartment in São Paulo in 2012. The crime sent shockwaves across the entire country and has remained one of the most talked-about cases in Brazil ever since. The film does not position itself as a documentary recreation of events. Instead, it takes a fictional and dramatic approach to the story, focusing on the couple’s turbulent relationship, the psychology of both characters, and the circumstances and choices that ultimately led to an act that nobody saw coming.
Netflix dropped the official trailer alongside the premiere date announcement, giving audiences their first proper look at the film. The trailer positions Elize: Shadows of a Woman firmly as a psychological thriller rather than a crime procedural. The focus is clearly on the relationship between Elize and her husband, the atmosphere of the film, and Lorena Comparato’s central performance in the title role. The tone is dark and intimate, and the trailer has already drawn significant attention online ahead of the July 22 premiere.
The screenplay was written by Raphael Montes and Mariana Torres, the same duo behind Good Morning, Veronica, one of Netflix Brazil’s most acclaimed and internationally recognised series. Montes was clear in his statement about what the film is trying to do. He said this is not just a movie about a crime; the aim was to tell a story that would make people think and open up a genuine conversation about violence and what pushed Elize to commit an act of such brutality. Torres added that they wanted to show Elize’s duality, that this is a story people can relate to in many ways, but unfortunately with the worst possible outcome. Both writers seem very aware that the danger with a project like this is reducing a complex human story to spectacle, and everything about how they talk about it suggests they have tried hard not to do that.
The film is directed by Felipe Vellas, who previously directed the Brazilian series Criminal Code. Alongside Lorena Comparato in the lead role, the cast includes Henrique Kimura, Miwa Yanagizawa, Julia Shimura, and Denise Weinberg.
Elize Matsunaga was a former nurse who married Marcos Matsunaga, a wealthy businessman and heir to the Yoki food company. In May 2012, she shot and killed him in their luxury São Paulo apartment after discovering he intended to divorce her. She then dismembered his body and disposed of the remains in different locations. She was arrested after confessing to the crime and was later sentenced to more than 19 years in prison. The case consumed Brazilian media for years, not just because of the violence, but because of everything it raised about class, marriage, money, and power.
This is actually not the first time Netflix has brought Elize’s story to its platform. In 2021, Boutique Filmes, the same production company behind this new film, produced a four-part true crime documentary series called Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon a Crime, which is also available on Netflix. That series included Elize’s first-ever on-camera interview from prison, alongside testimony from investigators, lawyers, and others connected to the case. The new film takes a very different approach—fictional rather than journalistic—and the two pieces of content complement each other rather than compete.
Elize: Shadows of a Woman premieres on Netflix worldwide on July 22. Brazil has been talking about this case for over a decade. Now the world gets to see it through a completely new lens.
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