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‘Maria Full of Grace’
packs an emotional punch
‘I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead’ is a crisp British crime thriller
 HBO Video |
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‘Maria Full of Grace’
Most of us make a face when we have to swallow an aspirin or two. Imagine trying to down sixty or seventy pellets the size of a large grape that are loaded with drugs?
This is the task Maria Alvarez takes on in “Maria Full of Grace,” which won awards at both the Sundance and Berlin film festivals. As the story opens, 17-year-old Maria is working at a thankless and mindless job at a factory in Colombia that de-thorns and packages roses. Of course, she desperately longs for something better, and then is forced to find something when she quits in a huff. Her predicament is further complicated when she discovers she becomes pregnant by her loser boyfriend.
An acquaintance hooks her up with a drug lord, who recruits her as a “mule,” somebody who swallows drug pellets and then flies to New York to deliver them to dealers there. Despite the risks of arrest and the possibility that one of the pellets could open up in her stomach, Maria decides she needs the money and agrees to the scheme.
Watching her swallow the pellets is not easy on the eyes, but it emphasizes just how badly this poverty stricken girl wants out of her current situation. After she gulps down enough drugs to keep all of Bogota high for a few days, she discovers that she will not be taking this journey alone, that there are other young women like her recruited for the same purpose. And all of them may not make it.
Maria then faces a harrowing flight to the U.S., a grilling by customs officers, and a less-than-cordial reception by the drug dealers.
This is a small but powerful film that sheds a light on drug trafficking through the experiences of one relatively naïve girl. It also portrays its main character not as a victim but as conflicted; because of her own choices, Maria is partly to blame for her plight, and for what transpires when she joins up with drug dealers.
The DVD of “Maria Full of Grace” is skimpy, but adequate. The film is riveting. The only extras are the movie’s trailers, and an excellent commentary by writer-director Joshua Marston. This project took about five years to come to fruition, and it seems from Marston’s explanation that his social awareness, his interest in world politics and the drug war, and his vision for this story helped keep it moving forward. He describes in great detail the problems he and his producers had with finding the right Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno in a superbly understated performance) and shooting on location.
“Maria Full of Grace” grabs you early and stays with you long after the final credits.
HBO Video, $27.95
‘I’ll Sleep When I'm Dead’
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Paramount Home Entertainment |
Perhaps the granddaddy of them all was “Get Carter,” the 1971 gangster yarn starring Michael Caine (and please, don’t confuse it with the 2000 remake starring Sylvester Stallone, generally regarded as one of the worst pictures ever, in any category). Mike Hodges, who cut his directing teeth in British television, helmed “Get Carter” and achieved international acclaim as a result. He’s been flying under the moviemaking radar ever since, entertaining us at intervals, always with a thoughtful, character-driven piece.
His latest, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” is another triumph, but one that arrived and disappeared from theaters with little fanfare. Just like his 1998 mini-sensation, “Croupier,” it stars Clive Owen as a loner drawn out of his cocoon by extraordinary events.
In “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” Owen plays Will Graham, who left the gangster life to drift aimlessly in the countryside doing odd jobs and refraining from much human contact. When his brother turns up dead, Will returns to his old haunts to find out what happened and possibly to exact revenge.
Like Hodges’ other works, “I’ll Sleep” is intelligently written and is more about the character’s inner conflicts than it is about gunshots and car chases. Owen, who appears in theaters soon in Mike Nichols’ “Closer,” is one of the finest actors working today, and the full brunt of his talents are felt here. His excellent supporting case includes Charlotte Rampling and Malcolm McDowell.
Alas, the DVD of “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” is disappointing for its complete lack of extras. There is nothing. Nada. Zero. Just a splendid gem of a feature film that cries out for a commentary from the director, at least.
Still, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead” without additional features is a lot more satisfying than most of the slop that comes out of Hollywood and then onto DVD with a cornucopia of brainless extras.
Paramount Home Entertainment, $29.99
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