Amends

A Venezuelan friend recommended this one to me and I'm very glad he did since I had never head of it.

In many ways it reminded me of Crash. Not so much in the storyline but its philosophy and execution. Each character, with the help of an NYC backdrop, showed every bit of their humanity. I think its that quality in a film that allows it to bind to an audience and effectively deliver a message. Like Crash, this film had a weighty moral message .

The story stays in the present and progesses linearly but fragments of the past and future are spliced seamlessly, creating an interesting puzzle for the viewer. At the critical juncture, the horrific event that crystalizes the message, those fragments all of a sudden make sense. The message seems to be that accidents occur; destructive, life-changing ones at that, but the event often pales in comparison to the recovery. It could have been a completely depressing experience but the story and script are so real, focused and well-rounded that I walked away feeling good. Sobering but still uplifting and thought-provoking.

I was super impressed with the leads: Eduardo Verástegui and Tammy Blanchard. I had never heard of either. By the quality of performances in this one, I'm sure we will be hearing more. Even with full-on Jesus beard, I've inserted Verástegui into my good looking actors list. Before Jake G. but definitely after Jason Statham :)





Bella
9.0/10