Identity Theft (2007/II)

Director:

Alfredo Rates

Writer:

Jon Kalkin (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 May 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

The Cash is Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence

Plot:

When a drug deal turns into a bloodbath, a junkie-gangster crosses paths with an illegal alien. The...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Mob Action | Theft | Latino | Identity

Cast

Antonio Chávez	...	Francisco / Diego de Robertis
Sam Gros	...	Leslie
Cristobal Tapia-Montt	...	AA Speaker
Raul Villarreal	...	Diego De Robertis

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Chile

Company:

Laguna Productions

Soundtrack:

Coming Through Part II

Rought Edges, But Worth The Bother

The first comment summarizes the plot for this movie with numerous details. I hesitated in continuing to view this film because of the lines and delivery, along with the background acoustics were not as professional as the big league films (the scene with Antonio Chavez at the DMV is a prime example, with them sounding like they were in a hollow echo box), but, hey, this wasn't a big leaguer. The theme of the story held my interest, and after pushing aside the initial thwart of what seemed like line-reading, I continued watching and was intrigued to know how the story would unravel and the ending resolution. The story content and the characters kept this film working. They kept it cohesive.

This film wasn't a "message" movie, but it did contain a fair amount, but not rammed down one's throat regarding drugs, violence and getting clean. This movie covered a great deal of territory (drugs, money, sins of the flesh, jealousy, ambition ... and identity theft with a twist) giving a blend of a parallel of lifestyles in reverse, but with interesting depth and insights. These insights in how they were conveyed were creatively well done. Raul Villarreal's role was a tough one to pull off and put across believably, but he did well in the various transformations of his character becoming a responsible and compassionate young man in the face of so many adversities. In fact, Antonio Chavez' role had many facets of twisting transformations as well. Considering the short length of a movie's time, both actors carried it off well and probably better than many famous actors could manage. The one thing that bothered me was I kept thinking Raul Villarreal was wearing a wig, which I found to be distracting (it wasn't the little tail in the back of his head so much as his forehead hairline and, well, it just looked like a 1980's cheap Japanese wig with a bleached ponytail in the back instead of straight up). It was distracting enough that it was harder to get into his character. Perhaps it looked better on the big screen, but on my 30" crt TV squinting at the DVD widescreen format, well, it just looked bad. Despite this, I hope to see more of Raul Villarreal in future films ... he has more to offer given time.

Yes, there are great blockbuster movies to watch, but I have to say that this movie has merit and should not be dismissed because of the lack of funds to give it better props (at least expense was made on the jacket art for the DVD, but alas, lacked English subtitles for the hearing impaired). Low budget and rough edges, but it is worth the bother.