Pratik Handore
Netflix’s ‘7 Women and a Murder’ is a murder mystery movie with comedy elements directed by Alessandro Genovesi. Also known as ‘7 Donne e un Mistero,’ the Italian film is based on the 2002 French movie titled ‘8 Women’ directed by François Ozon, which itself is an adaptation of Robert Thomas’ 1958 play ‘Huit Femmes.’ The film features an all-female cast and follows a group of women dealing with the murder of the family patriarch.
After the eldest daughter, Susanna, returns home, she discovers her father has been murdered, and her family members, including her mother, nana, aunt, and sister, are suspects. The women search for the killer and are forced to confront their dark secrets. If you are wondering about the killer’s identity, here is everything you need to know about the ending of ‘7 Women and a Murder.’ SPOILERS AHEAD!
7 Women and a Murder Plot Synopsis
‘7 Women and a Murder’ opens with Susanna, the daughter of wealthy businessman Marcello, returning to her hometown for Christmas. She arrives at the family’s mansion and is greeted by Maria, the new housemaid. First, Susanna reunites with her nana, Rachele, before meeting her mother, Margherita. Soon, the women gather for breakfast, and Susanna meets her aunt, Agostina, and younger sister, Caterina. The women have breakfast while having a casual conversation and try to catch up. However, Agostina is bitter about Caterina keeping the nights on all night, causing her to lose sleep.
Meanwhile, Margherita instructs Maria to wake Marcello up for breakfast. Margherita and Margherita no longer share a room for unknown reasons despite being married for over twenty-five years. When Maria opens the door to Marcello’s room, she finds him dead. The women in the house get scared and ask Caterina to confirm whether her father has really died. Caterina discovers that Marcello has been stabbed in the chest and believes he was murdered. Therefore, she locks the room so no one can contaminate the crime scene. When the women try to call the police, they discover that the telephone lines have been cut off.
Soon, the women realize that the killer is among them and suspect each other. Margherita reveals that she and Marcello were having a hard time in their marriage, while Rachele tells the group that Marcello was experiencing financial troubles. As Susanna tries to collect clues and patch together the events leading up to Marcello’s death, it is revealed that Marcello asked Rachele for her stocks to save his business while Agostina was in love with her brother-in-law.
Margherita decides to drive to the police station and inform them about her husband’s death. However, the car engine has been tampered with. Before Susanna’s investigation can progress, Veronica, Marcello’s girlfriend from his youth, arrives at the mansion. Margherita suspects Veronica of being the killer and reveals that she and Marcello had recently rekindled their affair. A blizzard stops Veronica from leaving the house, and the women are locked together while suspecting each other of being the murderer.
Eventually, Caterina realizes that someone is trying to frame the women for Marcello’s murder one by one after fake evidence is discovered to diver suspicion on Margherita and Veronica. The women each reveal their activities on the previous night but are unable to be completely honest for various reasons. Therefore, Caterina concludes that their secrets keep them from identifying the killer. Hence, the seven women are forced to reveal their secrets one by one. Whether the trail of secrets leads the women to the killer forms the rest of the plot.
7 Women and a Murder Ending: Who Killed Marcello?
As the narrative progresses, the seven women are forced to reveal their deepest darkest secrets. Susanna reveals that she saw Marcello the night after arriving to tell him that she is pregnant out of wedlock. However, Susanna is devastated after Rachele reveals that she is not Marcello’s biological daughter and was conceived from Margherita’s affair with a man named Umberto before marriage. Likewise, Margherita also reveals that she was planning to leave Marcello and was waiting through the holiday season out of respect for her daughters. However, she was concerned about Marcello adding Veronica to his will. Moreover, Maria was also sleeping with Marcello, and Angostina had written Marcello a letter professing her feelings for him.
Eventually, the group of women realizes that Marcello planned to meet his lawyer in the morning to finalize his will. The changes to Marcello’s will were directly set to affect the women, giving them all a motive to kill Marcello. Meanwhile, Veronica deduces that Margherita wants to leave Marcello for another man. Soon, Margherita and Veronica realize that they are having an affair with the same man, Marcello’s business partner. As the two women fight, the rest realize there is no way for them to inform the police.
Ultimately, only Caterina stands as the odd one out who has not revealed her secret. Therefore, she finally decides to reveal the truth about the night of Marcello’s death. After laying out the events of the night and establishing the presence and motives of the other six women, Caterina admits that she killed Marcello, albeit only as a part of an elaborate drama. Caterina explains that Marcello was tired of serving the women in his house and failing to have their respect.
Before Marcello could finalize his will, he wanted to know how the women would react to his death. As a result, he took Caterina and Maria’s help to fake his death. In the end, none of the women killed Marcello. Nonetheless, the women are all responsible for Marcello losing faith in his family and struggling to find a purpose to live. Therefore, Caterina helped Marcello fake his death so that he could understand the true motivations of the women who live under his roof. He was alive all along and listened to women reveal their secrets.
How Did Marcello Die? What Happens to the Women?
In the film’s final moments, the women learn the truth about Marcello’s fake death. However, when they head to his room to confront Marcello, they discover that he has jumped from the terrace. Before Caterina reveals the truth, Maria notices someone on the terrace. The moment occurs right after Veronica and Margherita discuss their affair with Marcello’s business partner. Therefore, it is likely that Marcello overheard their conversation and committed suicide.
In the end, the women inform the police and report Marcello’s death as a suicide confirming that the group was responsible for the patriarch’s death in some form or other. However, the women stick together and do not suspect each other in front of the police. Rachele explains that women should not throw their lives away for men and must band together even if they do not see eye-to-eye. Thus, the group covers up Marcello’s death and passes it off as suicide without being implicated in the case.
Ultimately, the women stop suspecting each other and realize they are motivated by self-preservation. Therefore, they are able to set aside their differences and protect each other. Moreover, with the holidays around the corner, the group decides to remain at the mansion. The women have the money from Marcello’s will and Rachele’s stocks. Hence, they are free to choose their own future and no longer depend on a man for income and satisfaction.
