'Matices' and its crude x-ray of trauma

A mix of traumas served up in a strange mansion with a psychologist who promises to provide a cure for the conflicts is the recipe for the Spanish miniseries Matices, a puzzle-drama thriller about a group of people who reveal secrets and twists in an intense plot.

It has elements of Agatha Christie's work: a psychologist offering treatment in an environment that could easily pass for a cult, and emotionally broken patients who have been capable of doing things that border on the wrong or the dangerous.

There is a crime, a wine created especially for the patients in a kind of ritual to achieve the desire to change or be reborn, which will not be an easy objective, since the traumas of the six guests will be part of the twisted fabric of the police investigation, led by Lieutenant Castro, of the Civil Guard (played by Raúl Prieto).

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Its narrative approach gradually unfolds with the participation of Eusebio Poncela in the role of the enigmatic Dr. Marlow; Elsa Pataky, the psychiatrist's daughter; Enrique Arce and Miriam Giovanelli, a married couple dominated by tragedy; Colombian actress Juana Acosta, in the role of a businesswoman suffering from a hostile relationship with her husband; and Hovik Keuchkerian, Maxi Iglesias, and Fariba Sheikhan, who reflect experiences related to abuse, homophobia, and racism.

They all face a distorted reality, so it's not unusual to relate the detective and the psychiatrist as one and the same; they are almost comparable in this story, despite the great difference in their work.

“That's always present, and it needs to be said. The police officer interrogates you to see if you're guilty of something, while Dr. Marlow forces you to interrogate yourself to see if you feel guilty. That's where the parallel lies,” reflects screenwriter Javier Naya in a conversation with EL TIEMPO.

“You're not the first person to mention this. In fact, my mother, watching the series, noticed it too. There are moments when the police officer himself seems to speak like Dr. Marlow, and vice versa. They even mimic each other in tone at certain times. That makes us even more curious about what's happening,” adds Alex Meriweather, creator of this production.

But beyond these connections or ties, the important thing is that they risk infusing the suspense into a plot directly connected to mental health. As a viewer, you think, "Oh, this couple has a marital problem," but then you realize it's not just that, there's abuse; and beyond the abuse, there's another layer and another layer of tension.

“It's true that we wanted the topic of mental health to be on the table; that was completely explicit. What's more hidden are the other traumas and conflicts the series also addresses. Although trauma runs through them all, then we have Cecilio (Maxi Iglesias), where homophobia is addressed; Ana, where machismo and abuse are discussed... and I won't say any more to avoid spoilers,” Naya emphasizes.

For him, the key was to cover a lot of things in a single series without it feeling forced. “Was there a responsibility? Yes, of course. But we also wanted to entertain. This is a genre series, a thriller that balances itself very well naturally, because we deal with universal themes. At first, you might label the characters, but in Matices we go further, we give them two twists,” he explains.

"But behind each of these labels is a very particular, unique story, completely different from the others. That's where this multifaceted image of the characters comes from: because people are multifaceted. And that's also a criticism present in the series," Meriwheater adds.

What they both agree on is that despite the shadows surrounding this group, there is room for a glimmer of light. “All these characters want to heal. That's a message that, little by little, is permeating society,” reveals Javier Naya, about this battle against many contexts and new secrets.