So reads what is quite possibly cinema's most exquisitely positioned billboard in the final shot of Joshua Marston's film. Refreshingly, for a movie concerning the drugs trade, this is about as didactic as it gets, and given the context of the movie even this has a myriad of meanings.
No political rhetoric or attempts at apportioning 'blame' here, then. Maria Full Of Grace keeps things simple, offering up a tight and beautifully crafted character study of a resourceful young Colombian girl's involvement in a ruthless and often brutal industry. We follow Maria from quitting her soulless job as a rose de-thorner in a Colombian factory, through taking up the offer of acting as a mule, to her facing an increasingly desperate situation upon arrival in New York. We are with her every step of the way and, though she makes a lot of wrong decisions, one can't help feeling that she always makes them for the right reasons.
Much of the success of the film can be apportioned to Catalina Sandino Moreno, with a performance utterly deserving of the movie's title. Maria is portrayed with a quiet dignity and unshaking resolve in the face of a terrible situation, a portrayal made all the more involving by a total lack of histrionics and melodrama. Quite simply, the performance is a masterwork of understatement. Writer/director Marston too, however, deserve's a great deal of credit. His script treats a highly controversial subject with humility, while his direction remains unintrusive and allows the film to breathe. Special notice should be given to his treatment of the gut-wrenching plane ride - a hushed nightmare filled with claustrophobic tension.
The strength of this movie is exactly what is hinted at in the title - its grace. The subject matter is given the sensitivity it deserves and at no point does the filmmaker's point of view intrude on the very personal drama being played out on screen. Maria Full of Grace is not really a movie about drugs at all - at its heart is a deeply affecting and highly intimate portrayal of a young girl learning the meaning of responsibility. It is far more personal than it is political, and it is much richer for it.
No political rhetoric or attempts at apportioning 'blame' here, then. Maria Full Of Grace keeps things simple, offering up a tight and beautifully crafted character study of a resourceful young Colombian girl's involvement in a ruthless and often brutal industry. We follow Maria from quitting her soulless job as a rose de-thorner in a Colombian factory, through taking up the offer of acting as a mule, to her facing an increasingly desperate situation upon arrival in New York. We are with her every step of the way and, though she makes a lot of wrong decisions, one can't help feeling that she always makes them for the right reasons.
Much of the success of the film can be apportioned to Catalina Sandino Moreno, with a performance utterly deserving of the movie's title. Maria is portrayed with a quiet dignity and unshaking resolve in the face of a terrible situation, a portrayal made all the more involving by a total lack of histrionics and melodrama. Quite simply, the performance is a masterwork of understatement. Writer/director Marston too, however, deserve's a great deal of credit. His script treats a highly controversial subject with humility, while his direction remains unintrusive and allows the film to breathe. Special notice should be given to his treatment of the gut-wrenching plane ride - a hushed nightmare filled with claustrophobic tension.
The strength of this movie is exactly what is hinted at in the title - its grace. The subject matter is given the sensitivity it deserves and at no point does the filmmaker's point of view intrude on the very personal drama being played out on screen. Maria Full of Grace is not really a movie about drugs at all - at its heart is a deeply affecting and highly intimate portrayal of a young girl learning the meaning of responsibility. It is far more personal than it is political, and it is much richer for it.