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EN BRAZOS DE UN ASESINO
Director: Matías Moltrasio Cast: William Levy, Alicia Sanz, Adrián Lastra, Roberto Sosa MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:46 Release Date: 12/6/19 |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | December 5, 2019 A strange and sometimes discomforting combination of a violent thriller and an allegedly sexy romance, En Brazos de un Asesino is about the relationship between a professional hitman and a woman whom he kind of, sort of saves from sex slavery. The hitman is generically fascinating in the way of so many characters of his type—possessing a mysterious past, a suave way of doing his work, and a moral code that seems contradictory to his profession. The woman could have been an even more fascinating character, but that's not the purpose of this movie. Instead, it's mostly about Victor (William Levy), a handsome and deadly assassin, and hence, it should come as little surprise that Levy co-wrote this screenplay (with Jeff Goldberg, adapting a novel by J.A. Redmerski). While taking a job from the sinister Javier (Roberto Sosa), Victor, raised since childhood to be a professional killer, is unaware that Sarai (Alicia Sanz), Javier's "favorite" among the women he has kidnapped or bought, is plotting her escape. She sneaks into Victor's car, and the hitman decides to bring her along on his current mission, an overly convoluted affair (It involves Victor's apparent attempt to get paid for two conflicting jobs). Ultimately, none of that really matters, except as an excuse for a few bloody shootouts and as a chance for the unlikely partners to talk about their histories. Those scenes are the movie's best, partially for how they reveal Victor's past, as well as his involvement in "The Order," but especially for establishing Sarai as a woman torn between her desire for freedom and wanting to help the women still being held by Javier. That's the promising setup for the character, and then director Matías Moltrasio spends the rest of the movie finding assorted ways to sexualize her—a long-time victim of rape. It's not entirely the filmmaker's fault (although a gratuitous shower scene and the decision to dress Sanz, who's quite good in the role, in assorted revealing costumes can't be accidental). After all, the third act, as Sarai tries to find her place in a world filled with trauma, is all about the sexual relationship between Victor and the woman who essentially was his captive. In the end, En Brazos de un Asesino is Sarai's story. The movie couldn't have done much worse communicating the obvious depth of that character. Copyright © 2019 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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