Newcomer Catalina Sandino Moreno shared Best Actress honors (with Monster's Charlize Theron) at the 2003 Venice Film Festival for her powerful but low-key performance as a pregnant Columbian teenager who becomes a drug mule--more out of chutzpah and ambition than resigned desperation--in this forthright drama. The disconcerting story (by rookie writer-director Joshua Marston), which pulls no punches yet paints few characters as out-and-out villains, begins with headstrong Maria marching out of an abusive job at a rose nursery, only to be seduced by the allure of making hundreds of U.S. dollars simply by swallowing condoms packed with cocaine and taking a plane (something exciting she's never done) to New York City (somewhere exotic she's never been). Of course, the "simply" isn't as simple as it seems. With a low-budget-blessed intimacy that personalizes the minutiae of Maria's trials and tribulations, the film is both poignant and potent. But while Moreno never seems disingenuous, her character becomes harder and harder to sympathize with when she starts making stupid, obvious mistakes after a trafficking mishap puts her in danger. Imperfect, but compelling nonetheless, this is a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include English audio commentary by writer-director Joshua Marston and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a small but solid film.] (R. Blackwelder)
Maria Full of Grace
HBO, 101 min., in Spanish w/English subtitles, R, VHS: $26.95, DVD: $27.95, Dec. 7 Volume 19, Issue 6
Maria Full of Grace
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