Under Her Control aka Le jefa – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)

“Under Her Control,” aka “Le jefa,” is a rather dry film for most of the duration until it finally gets interesting in the latter half of the film.

Director(s)	Fran Torres
Screenplay By	Laura Sarmiento
Date Released (Netflix)	8/31/2022
Genre(s)	Action, Drama, Romance, Thriller, Young Adult, Non-English (Spanish)
Duration	1 Hour 49 Minutes
Content Rating	TV-MA
Noted Cast
Sofia	Cumelen Sanz
Beatriz	Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
Nacho	Alex Pastrana

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Film Summary

All Sofia wants is a better life. She works as a store clerk, and her boyfriend Nacho is trying to rent apartments for a living, and it isn’t enough. That’s why she is excited when she gets the opportunity to work for self-made millionaire Beatriz, who owns a fashion brand. However, a pregnancy threatens to derail everything she has been working for until Beatriz, who is childless, makes a deal with Sofia to raise the child and help Sofia hide the pregnancy from her boyfriend.

But, both get far more than what they bargained for.

Things To Note

Reason(s) for Film Rating

• Dialog: Nothing too graphic or notable
• Violence: Stabbing, violence against a pregnant woman, blood
• Sexual Content: Sofia’s breasts are seen multiple times in the film, and she has a handful of sex scenes with Nacho – nothing titillating
• Miscellaneous: Scenes of Sofia vomiting, people drinking and smoking

Character Descriptions

Please Note: This character guide is not an exhaustive list of every cast member, and character descriptions may contain what can be considered spoilers.

Sofia

According to her resume, Sofia has a bachelor’s in finance from the University of Buenos Aires, an MBA in international trade, and she did her thesis on Beatriz’s company. On top of that, while working, she shows she has an eye for fashion and is more than capable of doing the work. All of which makes Beatriz quite taken by her.

Beatriz

Beatriz is the type of person who has dedicated her life to her job and while she had time for flings, real romance, marriage, and children? Unfortunately didn’t come. She became a millionaire but with an empty home outside of the cook, cleaning staff, and others who maintain the property. But, with dreams of becoming a mom, Sofia’s predicament is a God-send for her.

Nacho

Sofia’s boyfriend just wants to give her what she deserves. He recognizes she wants to work, but he wants to set it up so she can have an easy job working for him and be with their family.

Review

Our Rating: Negative (Acquired Taste)

Highlights

Things Picked Up Towards The End

Most of “Under Her Control,” aka “Le jefa,” is rather tame. Sofia is expected to eat well and exercise, and she is challenged by the isolation Beatriz has her under so no one would know she paid her assistant for her baby. However, as Sofia finds herself not trusting Beatriz and Beatriz, because of her own anxiety, finds herself not trusting Sofia? Things get interesting, and sadly, it isn’t until the film is at the tail end.

And even then, after such a mediocre build, while seeing the violence jostles you, it may not be enough to clear the stupor you were in before things got interesting.

Low Points

There Isn’t Enough Of A Push To Make Beatriz Look Legitimately Crazy Or Have You Raise An Eyebrow With Sofia

While “Under Her Control,” aka “Le jefa,” has the look of a psychological thriller, it doesn’t have the follow-through to deserve that. Yes, towards the end, things get a little crazy. However, for the bulk of “Under Her Control,” aka “Le jefa,” this is a dry film. Granted, it starts off with a sex scene between Sofia and Nacho, so you may think it might be interesting, especially considering Sofia coming off rather ambitious and talented and having her life potentially derailed by pregnancy.

However, once Sofia is in Beatriz’s care, the film grinds to a halt, and nearly all the potential it could have had dries up. Beatriz might be hiding a few things and acting funny, but she is also a woman who desperately wants a child. So while we don’t get enough details to say she is misunderstood, at the same time, it isn’t until the end you can firmly say whether or not she is crazy.

Then with Sofia, there is a push that there could be more than meets the eye with her, but again, “Under Her Control,” aka “Le jefa,” drops the ball. It rarely, if ever, pushes its character development to make these characters intriguing. More often than not, you are just waiting, hoping your patience will be rewarded, and honestly, the violence at the end, as graphic as it is, doesn’t compensate for the waiting game you were forced into.

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