The 3 Marias

Grotesquely violent, laughably grandiose, and too self-conscious to pass for absurdist mythmaking, The 3 Marias is a horrific suspense piece about an elaborate revenge plan that goes awry. Marieta Severo plays Filomena, a middle-aged mother who decades before broke off an engagement to a crime lord (Carlos Vereza) and married his mortal enemy instead. Patiently awaiting his retaliation, the spurned mobster eventually sends his twisted henchman to kidnap, torture, and murder Filomena's husband and grown sons. As in a Greek tragedy, the grieving woman calls a meeting with her three daughters (whose names are all variations on Maria) and commands each to hire men capable of killing the killers. One of the girls (Julia Lemmertz) pursues a contract with a superstitious, snake-obsessed man who hasn't spoken to a woman in years; another (Maria Luisa Mendonca) approaches a rural police chief; and the last (Luiza Mariana) makes a bargain with a serial murderer to free him from prison in exchange for his services. The story takes a sharp turn when each of these deals hits complications, and the furious energy behind Filomena's wrath inadvertently spins out of control. Brazilian film director Aluizio Abranches' The 3 Marias could have been a smart, Tarantino-esque thriller; instead it's a bad marriage of needlessly baroque cinematography and witless bloodlust. Not recommended. (T. Keogh)