"You never know what a person will do until you push them into a corner."
A taut heist film/hostage drama that proves to have more dimensions than it initially seems. I have to wonder why Denzel bothered with Tony Scott's The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 after being in this, though, because this film feels like the true successor to the original '70s classic.
"The enemy is implacable."
"It's not the Devil or anyone else. It's me."
Johan is a Mennonite farmer with a wife, Esther, and several children. Johan and Esther have an open relationship. Johan is cheating on Esther and he's open with her about it.
Writer/director Carlos Reygadas favors long takes that allow the drama of the situation to unfold at its own pace. That may be too slow for some, and indeed it tested my patience from time to time (You Will Believe a Cow Can Be Milked!), but the journey is ultimately worth it.
This "film" has a running time of about 79 minutes. Here's how that breaks down:
5.5% - Kirk Cameron's smug, hot chocolate-obsessed introduction
3% - A seemingly unmotivated cutaway to what looks like a much more interesting movie but is, in fact, not (Bonus: We get to see this footage again in its entirety when it's placed in the proper context)
2.5% - Cheaply animated opening credits set to a ska cover of "Silent Night"
7.5% - Kirk's "brother-in-law" --…
