The second film I screened from the Cinemania section of the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival was Ron Morales Filipino kidnapping thriller, Graceland.
The film focuses on Marlon Villar (Arnold Reyes), a longtime chauffer of Congressman Manuel Chango (Menggie Cobarrubias). After being fired from his job because of a political scandal, Villar picks up Chango’s daughter and his own after catching them playing hookey. While driving Chango’s daughter home, his car get hijacked and Villar is forced to drive to an unknown location. Upon arrival, the gunman unknowingly shoots Chengo’s daughter and ends up taking Villar’s instead, which clearly wasn’t the plan. In order to get his daughter back, Villar must obey the kidnappers’ wishes and attempt to get the ransom from Chengo’s family. The movie then becomes a spider-web of deceit and betrayal as the hunt for the two daughters commences and disturbing facts are made known.
Even though Graceland seems like it’s supposed to be one of those edge of your seat type thriller, I found it to be more like a guess game with a suspenseful backdrop. I say this because the movie is predictable to certain extent but, there are pieces of information missing or subtle things you need to pick up on that you are supposed to interpret in one way but are actually meant to be taken another way. It’s this continual game of cat and mouse with the audience that really propels the film and continues to do so even after the credits start rolling. The final minute of the film is brilliant and really makes honest, or so called honest, people examine themselves and question their decision making in the past. Graceland’s question is, “was it all worth it?”
I thought Arnold Reyes, who played Marlon, did an excellent job in displaying the full range of emotions of a father whose daughter has just been kidnapped, he gave one hell of a performance. Unlike other kidnapping thriller, Marlon is a poor man with no fighting abilities, this isn’t Taken and he isn’t that smart. Things are out of his power and he 
has to abide by the rules, this is what sets Graceland apart from other kidnapping thrillers. Ron Morales did a good of keeping the script realistic enough to make this distinction clear. You could tell that Reyes and Morales worked well together to create a character that was truly expressive, inept and that people could sympathize with.
After watching a terrible Filipino film, Big Time, only a few weeks ago, I’m glad that the country had a chance to redeem itself and show that the island nation does have some quality features to export.
Overall, Graceland is a solid caper that you should check off as one of your TFF films to see. It’s another fine Cinemania selection from the festival and one that’s a truly well written piece of cinema. The main characters are fully developed, it wastes no time in setting up the story, and it makes damn sure that you leave with some food for thought.
Rating: A thought provoking thriller that has earned the title “a Filipino gem” in my book (7/10)
You can catch Graceland during the festival on:
Friday April 20th at AMC Loews Village 7-1 at 9 pm
Saturday April 21st at Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 4 at 11:30 pm
Saturday April 28th at Clearview Cinemas Chelsea 8 at 12:45 pm
Recent Comments