>>REVIEW
QUINCERAÑA
STARRING Emily Rios, Jesse Garcia and Chalo González
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland
Opens Friday, December 8
The Plaza
Hollywood loves making movies about those awkward teen years. Whether the latest tweener rom-com or the next disturbing look at troubled youth, studio execs love to crank out sensationalized movies about rites of passage. That’s why Quinceraña is so refreshing. The movie may be centred on the months leading up to one girl’s 15th birthday, but it’s more understated than many films of its ilk.
Magdelena (Emily Rios) is quietly dreading her 15th birthday. In the predominantly Latino community of Echo Park in Los Angeles, a quinceraña is the social event of a young girl’s life. But the fact that Magdelena might not fit into her dress or that her family can’t throw her a bash that competes with her friends is quickly overshadowed by her unexpected pregnancy. After her devout Catholic family looks down their noses in shame at her embarrassing predicament, she runs off to live with her grandfather Tio (Chalo González). You see, he has already taken in Carlos (Jesse Garcia), her ne’er-do-well cousin, who has the stigma of being out in a family that frowns on homosexuality.
That’s a whole lot of family dysfunction to cram into 90 minutes, but the writer-director team of Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland never forces anything. The performances are natural, the cinematography is simple and most importantly the characters are believable. With a subtlety that has been lacking in indie film for the better part of the decade, Quinceraña never milks the scenario for pathos. Each performer is given just enough time to endear their character to the audience and by not overplaying any scene, their individual climaxes earn every bit of emotion they engender.
There are some wonderfully delicate moments in the film that I suspect a bigger budget or a known actor would have ruined. Quinceraña is the kind of piece that reminds you why you liked indie films in the first place. There is a quiet beauty in its simplicity and despite the matter-of-fact delivery, the film never runs out of steam. |
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