Killing 'em softly - Once Upon a Time in Mexico - Jamaica Observer
Micheal A. Edwards
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Columbia Pictures/Troublemaker Studios
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, Salma Hayek, Willem Dafoe
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
MULTIPLE characters, multiple backgrounds, multiple agendas, multiple gunfights and a crazy grand finale.
The above are hallmarks of a certain type of moviemaking, a style of cinema that masks weighty ideas with a free-wheeling visual technique and off-beat characters who, while nether definably good or bad, are still likeable, or at the very least, intriguing.
It's a style that arguably was pioneered by the late Sergio Leone, whose so-called "spaghetti westerns" made an international star out of Clint Eastwood, and whose masterful gangster epic, Once Upon A Time In America is paraphrased in the title of this movie. Call it a "tortilla western" if you like.
The maestro would no doubt have been flattered by the tribute. Once Upon A Time in Mexico updates and brings to closure the legend of El Mariachi, the string-picking gunslinger that director-auteur Rodriguez introduced (virtually on a shoestring) with the eponymous first film. Desperado, doubled as both remake and sequel, fleshing out the character and providing Rodriguez with a platform to take on other ventures, such as the successful Spy Kids trilogy.
The multi-thread plot unfolds at a dizzying pace, sort of like those Mexican hat dances that they always do in the conventional westerns. There's a local drug lord, a power-hungry yet idealistic governor, a corrupt narcotics agent, an American fugitive, a retired FBI man with revenge in his heart, a heartless military general bent on building his own empire, and an amoral yet curiously honourable CIA agent (Depp), orchestrating this whole crazy carnival yet finding himself in over his head.
And there's the Mariachi, or "El" as he's sometimes referred to. Ironically, Banderas, in this film speaks far less than he did in his first English language feature, The Mambo Kings (in which he had to be taught his dialogue phonetically, having no facility whatsoever with the English language). Still his smouldering intensity, impeccable grace and the occasional one-liner are enough to carry him through.
While the dialogue is spare, its almost always spicy (too spicy at times), the characters saying just enough to get the story to its next point. Indeed, Rodriguez clearly intends to let the action (read the guns) do most of the talking for him. Visually, his action scenes belong up there with those of John Woo and his own collaborator Quentin Tarantino, but whereas Tarantino's scenes tend to have a sort of jagged linearity, Rodriguez is much more fluid, but not quite as operatic as Woo. Suffice it to say, if gunfights are your thing, Mexico's got them - and they're good.
But there is a story going on here. Beneath all the toing and froing, One Upon A Time In Mexico is driven by love and revenge and the yearnings of a man - and his country - to be free of the bloody past. The other players and sub-plots, rather than fillers or distractions are enhancements - think of them as salsa on the meat - to the main message, which the careful viewer will realise is delivered poignantly, but not sanctimoniously.
Almost a one-man production team (he's principal photographer, editor and effects supervisor in addition to writer and director) Rodriguez gives Mexico a welcome "indie" feel. There's a definite sense of collaboration among the cast who each shine in their respective turns without overshadowing the others.
Except for Depp. While his political incorrectness may have kept off the mainstream awards podiums, if ever there was an actor completely in control of his craft, it's Depp. As CIA agent Sands, he keeps the audience off balance for virtually the whole picture, moving back and forth from random viciousness and ruthlessness to agitation to beneficence to betrayal and finally redemption with an ease and aplomb that's almost scary to watch.
There are standouts among the support cast too, including Marco Reinaldi as a drunken Mariachi sidekick and Mickey Rourke (where's he been?) as the drug lord's fugitive henchman, Chihuahua cradled in his arms.
From the comic to the romantic, from the noble to the grotesque. Once Upon A Time in Mexico is a good time (for adults, mind you) at the movies. Viva Roberto!