Excellent thriller very well resolved

Gripping from the opening scenes of Esposito exploring his memories as he struggles to write asnd visiting his old boss - who is still working and then the gradual exposition of what happened 20 years earlier and how they eventually caught and broke a confession out of Gomez by Irene goading him about his inferiority - and then the unexpected release and his presumed employment as a hired killer for the deep state, Epiosito's colleagues murder in his flat and his exile to a remote outpost.

Then in the present they track down Morales (the victim's husband) and discover no trace of Gomez. Eposito visits Morales, also in self imposed exile to a remote town, and discovers him living alone with a photo of his wife. He eventually confesses that when the investigation failed he tracked down Gomez and captured and killed him

Driving away something doesn't ring true to Epiosito and he circles back and watches Morales house until he sees him carry food and water to a barn. Inside he discovers Gomez still alive and serving a real life sentence for his crime in solitary silence - Morales does not speak to him.

Eposito leaves and resolves to seek his own closure with the murdered colleague, who he now realises was killed because he told the killers that he was Eposito, and Irene - which ends the film with her smile. 

Review of "The Girl With The Needle"

Good but horrible. B&W photography exactly suited the mood. Performances good. Story unfolds well. Based on true events.