Review of Miss Bala (2011) by Eric R — 08 Feb 2012
Based loosely on a true story, Miss Bala tells the story of Laura, a young woman living in Mexico who has aspirations of becoming a beauty queen. She finds her world flipped upside down when she accidentally falls into the hands of a cartel which terrorizes northern Mexico.
Early on she tries to rid herself of the gang but the safety of her family is at risk, so she really has no choice to cooperate. Miss Bala is a well paced, dark film exposing the Mexican drug trade and the heinous acts which occur.
The film really does a fantastic job of telling this story completely from Laura's point of view. The film doesn't fell the need to explain the purpose of the various tasks she performs for the cartel but wisely choices to stay focused on this scared, fragile girl who has no choice but to comply with whatever she is asked to do.
It's a character this is very isolated and alone and this emotion is strongly realized. The camera feels like a character in this film as it moves around examining rooms and details. I cannot finish the review without mentioning how strong of a performance Stephanie Sigman gives as Laura, and I would be shocked if we didn't see a lot more of her in the years to come.
This review of Miss Bala (2011) was written by Eric R on 08 Feb 2012.
Miss Bala has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
