What we flagged
View all categories
Our take
A woman enters a psychiatric hospital to investigate a death, and God's Crooked Lines keeps us unsure whom to trust. Restraints and the oppressive ward are unsettling; an attempted sexual assault, frank sex talk and several nude scenes make it adult. We would wait until 17.
Uplifting themes
Pushes for the truth and shows how patients can be silenced when no one listens. It also shows courage, stubbornness, and quiet loyalty Alice is clever, brave, and stubborn, and refuses to be dismissed, though she lies and puts herself in danger. Some patients show kindness to one another Gives teens a way into talking about how mental illness was treated in 1970s Spain, and how stigma can still shape care today
Story (may spoil tone)
Alice Gould, a private investigator, pretends to be mentally ill in order to enter a psychiatric hospital and gather evidence for the case she is working on: the death of a patient in unclear circumstances.
What we flagged
Details
Violence Patients are manhandled and restrained by staff, and a stabbing and a v…
Patients are manhandled and restrained by staff, and a stabbing and a violent death sit at the centre of the mystery. Some of the harshest violence is described in talk or glimpsed briefly
Language The f-word and s-word are common, and the mother-f-word comes up too, m…
The f-word and s-word are common, and the mother-f-word comes up too, mostly in angry outbursts from staff and patients. Crude talk fills several tense scenes
Sex / nudity Hospital shower scenes show full rear nudity, with brief full frontal n…
Hospital shower scenes show full rear nudity, with brief full frontal nudity among background patients. A male patient dances nude in the rain, and Alice is sprayed while nude with a breast briefly visible
Drugs / alcohol Characters smoke almost constantly in wards, offices, and corridors, an…
Characters smoke almost constantly in wards, offices, and corridors, and wine and cigarettes are handed to patients as privileges. It is shown as everyday hospital life, with no glamour
Frightening The old hospital, its locked wards, and Alice's growing fear that she i…
The old hospital, its locked wards, and Alice's growing fear that she is trapped build steady, oppressive dread. Sudden alarms and loud outbursts add to the tension
Self-harm / suicide A young man's death is first described as a suicide, and relatives argu…
A young man's death is first described as a suicide, and relatives argue over whether that was really what happened. It stays in talk, with no method shown, and the grief around it is quiet
Sexual violence A patient called the Gnome ambushes Alice in an isolated part of the ho…
A patient called the Gnome ambushes Alice in an isolated part of the hospital and tries to rape her. The attack is interrupted before it goes further, and no explicit nudity is shown in that scene
Bullying / discrimination Patients are mocked, ignored, and treated as less than people by staff…
Patients are mocked, ignored, and treated as less than people by staff and doctors, and women are talked down to by powerful men. The cruelty is steady and a big part of the story
Gore / death / weapons Stab wounds and a bloody body are examined closely during the investiga…
Stab wounds and a bloody body are examined closely during the investigation, and blood shows on hands and clothing. The camera does not dwell, but the details are clear
Dangerous behaviour Alice fakes a mental illness to get herself admitted, which some teens…
Alice fakes a mental illness to get herself admitted, which some teens might find clever enough to copy. The film makes clear how risky and frightening that choice turns out to be
Mental health The whole film is set in a psychiatric hospital, with patients in distr…
The whole film is set in a psychiatric hospital, with patients in distress, restraints, rough staff, and dated views of mental illness. The suffering looks real and can be heavy for sensitive viewers
Grief / bereavement A young man's death hangs over the whole story, and his family's loss s…
A young man's death hangs over the whole story, and his family's loss shows in a few quiet, emotional scenes. The sadness is real but understated, and never played for big tears
Flashing lights We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
Family watch notes
What other parents think.
Be the first family to leave a watch note.
Talk after watching
- Alice pretends to be ill so she can look for the truth. What risks did she take, and would you have done it?
- The film shows how patients were ignored or talked down to. Which parts felt hardest to watch, and why?
Ask ClearAge
God's Crooked Lines
Ask about this guide, or name another film to open its ClearAge page.
