Me Too

Fine acting and sensitive direction help sell a risky premise without succumbing to prurience or sentimentality in this Spanish drama about a 34-year-old college graduate with Down syndrome who works at Seville's General Office for Disabled Persons. Living with his loving parents, Daniel (Pablo Pineda, who does have Down syndrome) develops a crush on bleached-blonde colleague Laura (Lola Dueñas), a woman who drinks too much and indulges in the occasional one-night stand. Daniel tells Laura that his mother (Isabel García Lorca) never gave up on him and continues to tutor him in various subjects, including English. While Laura enjoys Daniel's company, their fellow employees think she's leading him on and Daniel's mom and dad wonder if there's something wrong with her. When Daniel inevitably gets too close, Laura pushes him away, although the pair eventually come to a meeting of the minds. Without being too heavy-handed, Me Too points out that the mentally disabled have sexual and romantic desires, but might not know how to act on these feelings if no one has ever talked to them about these particular matters. As a subplot, co-directors Antonio Naharro and Álvaro Pastor keep returning to a dance class that meets regularly at Daniel's workplace, where two of the participants, both with Down syndrome, fall in love and face their own set of obstacles. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)