Let's admit it. The great generation of great Spaniards actors died with Alfredo Landa. And yes, Javier Bardem can convince you at times, but here comes Penelope Cruz to trash the party. But what made Spaniard actors good was the fact that they knew what they were good act, which is to reflect the society where they grew up. Watch Antonio Banderas in an American action movie and then in an Spanish film and you will understand fully what I am talking about.
I would not say that thrillers are something that Spanish is famous for. And yes, I was amazed by "Los cronocrímenes", but I place that one on sci/fi, and yes, I loved "REC", but again falls under the sci/fi umbrella, and yes, there is a myriad of great Spanish-speaking thrillers ("El secreto de sus ojos")...but they are not "made in Spain". So when you heard about an Spanish thriller made by Spaniards and with Spanish actors...well, I raised my eyebrown but wanted to give it a try.
And boy was I glad I did it, and you will, too. I watched mine (as always) in original Spanish with English subtitles and love it. Most of the actors (I will come to that later) were just great, completely believable. The plot, that would made Hitchcock proud, is so open that only at the very end you really know what is going on. You have a story line, a few levels of complexity, and your final twist. What else could you wish for?
Well...there are some, minor things, that I could have wished for. I don't like when events on a movie are forced so the actors follow a certain path. Don't worry, I don't do spoilers period, but here I am going to take you to the edge of one to explain what I mean: You cannot go to any decent hotel and check into a room that has been booked by someone else, unless your name is somewhere around there. I know so because sometimes my name has been misspelled by the booking agent in my company and I almost could not use a room booked for me. So when this happens in a movie that does not require for me to suspend disbelief...well, it breaks the spell. And worst still, these are things that could been easily fixed.
Then is the actors. It seems that Jose Coronado is some sort of Spanish washed out and flushed Robert DeNiro that recently has been used to add weight to a movie. Coronado has been on great movies, but recently it seems to me he is a bit more than a token to get Spaniards to watch a movie. Same happens here. Mario Casas and Ana Wagener steal the show. The rest are good too, but I felt that Coronado could have done so much more with his role. I felt a missed opportunity there.
And the plot, while truly great, could have been even more. It gets predictable towards the end, and it didn't need to be. There were some lines that could have been expanded but didn't, and that would earn the full marks that the main actors so much deserved.
But still this is a fantastic movie and, if you love thrillers as much as I do, this one will not disappoint.
I would not say that thrillers are something that Spanish is famous for. And yes, I was amazed by "Los cronocrímenes", but I place that one on sci/fi, and yes, I loved "REC", but again falls under the sci/fi umbrella, and yes, there is a myriad of great Spanish-speaking thrillers ("El secreto de sus ojos")...but they are not "made in Spain". So when you heard about an Spanish thriller made by Spaniards and with Spanish actors...well, I raised my eyebrown but wanted to give it a try.
And boy was I glad I did it, and you will, too. I watched mine (as always) in original Spanish with English subtitles and love it. Most of the actors (I will come to that later) were just great, completely believable. The plot, that would made Hitchcock proud, is so open that only at the very end you really know what is going on. You have a story line, a few levels of complexity, and your final twist. What else could you wish for?
Well...there are some, minor things, that I could have wished for. I don't like when events on a movie are forced so the actors follow a certain path. Don't worry, I don't do spoilers period, but here I am going to take you to the edge of one to explain what I mean: You cannot go to any decent hotel and check into a room that has been booked by someone else, unless your name is somewhere around there. I know so because sometimes my name has been misspelled by the booking agent in my company and I almost could not use a room booked for me. So when this happens in a movie that does not require for me to suspend disbelief...well, it breaks the spell. And worst still, these are things that could been easily fixed.
Then is the actors. It seems that Jose Coronado is some sort of Spanish washed out and flushed Robert DeNiro that recently has been used to add weight to a movie. Coronado has been on great movies, but recently it seems to me he is a bit more than a token to get Spaniards to watch a movie. Same happens here. Mario Casas and Ana Wagener steal the show. The rest are good too, but I felt that Coronado could have done so much more with his role. I felt a missed opportunity there.
And the plot, while truly great, could have been even more. It gets predictable towards the end, and it didn't need to be. There were some lines that could have been expanded but didn't, and that would earn the full marks that the main actors so much deserved.
But still this is a fantastic movie and, if you love thrillers as much as I do, this one will not disappoint.