This is seemingly marketed as a Mexican Kill Bill, frontloaded with bullets and babes, but you couldn’t be wider of the mark with this preconception. If anything, it shares more with George Clooney’s meditative assassin flick The American, by way of Maria Full of Grace.
Clutching to her dream of becoming Miss Bala, a title awarded to the local beauty queen, Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman) sees the prize as more than just a crown, it’s a way out for her and her little brother from the drug stained streets of suburban Mexico. Eschewing the wise words of her father, that the world which she desires so much to be a part of is full of the wrong kind of people, Laura attends a successful audition with her friend, Jessica (Irene Azuela), a process that leads to them becoming embroiled with the local cartel with life-changing results.
Exquisitely shot, Miss Bala has the look of a Soderbergh movie. Specifically, Traffic, with the harsh, sun soaked lens weaving gracefully around Laura, at times a passenger, much in the same way that she is during the uncontrollable carnage that unfolds around her. Events take place just out of sight; as Laura ducks to avoid a shower of bullets, so does our POV. When she is assaulted by the leader of the drug gang, we do not see what he is doing but the camera holds on her features to make the experience even more uncomfortable.
There’s no doubt that having an actress as alluring as Sigman demands the camera’s undivided attention, and it’s backed up by a determined performance, which sadly requires little more than set-piece manipulation after the ever-so-impressive opening third. It’s a shame that as Laura’s situation becomes increasingly fraught Sigman is given less to do in the acting department, because her initial character beats are infectious and strong. The transformation to dead-eyed mule is necessary but you can’t help but notice the void.
This may not have been such a bad thing if the plot hadn’t also descended into a repetitious bore. From the point at which Laura is press-ganged into working for the gang, the dialogue becomes sparse and the momentum slows to a crawl, struggling for propulsion from the low-key set-pieces. The plot seems to go on around Laura rather than involve her, and whilst this might serve to showcase some clever camera work, it’s nowhere near involving enough for the audience to care.
This is a movie of two very distinct halves, one with oodles of content, the other with all the style, which meshed may have been a perfect antidote to mainstream action thrillers. As it stands it would be a contender for many a beauty contest, but as for the crown, it slips off about half way through.
[etRating value=“ 3”]
