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| Spanish thriller “Cell 211” |
| By heraldnet.com |
| Published: 10/01/2010 |
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The early reels of the Spanish thriller “Cell 211” are marked by an unusual spectacle: A main character who, when faced with a catastrophic situation, acts intelligently. This is so rare that the movie earned a lot of good will right away; after all, how many plots depend on someone doing something stupid, just to keep things moving? The character is Juan (Alberto Ammann), a young man recently hired as a guard at a tough prison. His first day is actually tomorrow, but he’s getting an informal tour from a couple of guards. Bad timing. At this moment, a massive riot breaks out, Juan is left alone in an empty cell, and he needs to think fast about how he’s going to survive when discovered. He does the only logical thing: He pretends to be an inmate. The prisoners haven’t seen him before and he might as well try to bluff it out, rather than become a hostage. This will mean a few instant decisions need to be made at lightning speed: ditching his wallet and shoelaces, for instance, and inventing a backstory about a murder conviction. It’s convincing enough that the prison yard’s big dog, a fearsome lifer named Malamadre (Luis Tosar), buys it completely. And as the next couple of days unfold, Juan finds himself stuck in the middle of tense negotiations between prison authorities and the increasingly violent inmates. Good set-up. It needs to be, because director Daniel Monzon loses his early grip on plausibility about halfway through. In particular, issues involving Juan’s pregnant wife begin to strain the film’s hold on lean, clean storytelling. The grungy panic inside the prison is well-orchestrated, and both Ammann (who looks more like a grad student than a criminal) and the beetle-browed Tosar (a familiar face from Spanish cinema) are excellent. Tosar won Spain’s best actor award, and the movie itself ran riot, taking a total of eight Goya Awards, including best picture and director. The enthusiasm is understandable. This movie’s got a strong, violent pulse and it even touches on a few social issues in the bargain. I just wish I could believe in the second half as much as the splendid opening. Read More. |
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