REVIEW: ‘City Of Shadows’ Lacks Tension Needed For Thrills

City of Shadows (Ciudad de sombras), directed by Jorge Torregrossa and written by Carlos López, Clara Esparrach, and Jorge Torregrossa, follows Spanish officers Milo (Isak Férriz) and Rebecca (Verónica Echegui) as they try to hunt down a serial killer who is stringing up the powerful and corrupt from some of Barcelona’s landmarks and setting them on fire. As the clock ticks, the duo must unravel the mystery before more die. 

There is a delicate balance to a narrative built on a game of cat-and-mouse. The hunted must be elusive, ethereal, yet nearly omnipresent. They are always there, whether you know it or not. Plans in motion, and a clock ticking, they taunt, waiting to see if the hunters might actually foil them. 

By extension, the hunters must feel like they are just one step behind. One more clue, a lucky break, the slightest error on the part of the hunted, and they will close the net and have their suspect. Without these things, a cat-and-mouse story will fail to grasp its audience’s attention as it sifts through the clues and moments of its narrative. This is the biggest problem City of Shadows succumbs to. 

City of Shadows struggles to find a hook to draw viewers into a true cat-and-mouse tale.

For most of the series’ six episodes, the police feel so far behind their target that there is no chance of catching them. Even as pieces slowly fall into place, it’s not until the final episode that the hunt truly feels afoot. And by then, it is far too little, far too late. What is delivered can’t make up for the long road it takes to get there.

To fill out the other episodes in the series, a couple of subplots aim to create some intrigue and emotion, but they never fully land. A local reporter, Mauricio (Manolo Solo), looking to get back into the limelight, becomes embroiled with the killer, getting exclusive footage of grizzly deaths he uses to propel his career…. er, I mean, keep the people informed. 

Solo’s performance is one of the best elements of the series. Mauricio’s condescending attitude and snake-oil salesman energy when he’s on the air create the perfect self-righteous celebrity who couldn’t care less but wants everyone to think no one could care more. 

Plot elements offer potential but never find their place in the overall story.

But while Solo’s performance is strong, his character’s role in City of Shadows brings little to the narrative. It feels like the only reason his plot exists is that having DVDs show up anonymously at a local TV station would be too cliché for this type of story. Little is learned from his rendezvous with the killer, making his plot serve little purpose beyond bringing a colorful character to the proceedings. 

The other major subplot, City of Shadows, revolves around a painful incident from Milo’s past. Much like the previous plot, this one has elements that stand on their own but never really gel with the main story. It adds strain to Milo’s character, but it often feels awkward and frequently out of place when it crops up.

While the plot is always floundering, the cast has good chemistry. Milo and Rebecca don’t hit it off at first, but they slowly grow to understand and appreciate each other in a way that feels organic and earned. This helps give the viewer something to invest in while they wait for the story to get going. 

The shining beacon of the City of Shadows is in Milo and Rebecca’s partnership.

Even beyond the starring duo, everyone at the police station they work with brings a handful of strong interactions to the series. Whether ally or antagonist, these interpersonal moments further shape the series’ personality. 

Just as the narrative doesn’t do enough to pull the viewer into its story, City of Shadows‘ cinematography suffers from similar problems. The work throughout the series feels too basic for many of the tense moments it tries to convey. This lack of style further sanitizes the presentation, making the slow-moving narrative feel even less engaging. 

City of Shadows has some great character personalities, but utterly fails on the narrative side. It takes too long to get going, and too much of what it tries to do fails to feel cohesive with the larger story. 

City of Shadows is streaming now exclusively on Netflix.