This was originally on my list of Christmas movies. However, after some digging, I realized that 7 Women and a Murder isn’t really a Christmas movie. It takes place during Christmas but it’s only mentioned twice. So it got kicked out of the Christmas lineup.

Susanna (Diana Del Bufalo) has come home for Christmas. Shortly after her arrival, her father, Marcello (Luca Pastorelli), is found dead. All seven women in the house have a motive for his murder. But which of them did it?

Right away, I knew this Italian movie was going to fall under the love-it or hate-it categories. Netflix has it listed as an Agatha Christie or Knives Out type of movie. While I can see the similarities, I don’t think that 7 Women is anything like those. Both Agatha Christie and Knives Out have a singular detective trying to figure out who perpetrated the crime at hand. In 7 Women, they are left to try to figure out the killer on their own. As a result, everyone lies to one another and tries to out each other’s secrets. Without that impartial third party, the movie ends up just being about bickering women who point their finger at anyone but themselves.

That isn’t to say the movie isn’t interesting. It just isn’t as fun as the established detective movies. Personally, I always try to figure out who the killer is when I watch whodoneit movies. Doesn’t everyone? Isn’t that the whole point of the movie? But in 7 Women, we aren’t given any clues to try to piece together the puzzle. And, honestly, the solution is a little bit of a let down.

Instead of using the story or the plot to keep the audience’s attention, 7 Women uses the characters to keep us involved. Unfortunately, all of the women kinda suck. The least annoying of them is the youngest daughter, Caterina (Benedetta Porcaroli). But she still isn’t someone we want to be innocent.

Maybe it’s the differences between Italian and American cultures. Maybe this movie would be better if I understood Italian family dynamics. As it is, I spent too much of the movie waiting for something to happen and nothing did. I wanted to like it so much and, in the end, I didn’t.