Roma

Starring: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey, Carlos Peralta, Marco Graf, Daniela Demesa, Nancy Garcia Garcia
Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A maid (Yalitza Aparicio) works for a middle class Mexican family in the 1970s.

Review:

Tim: I was hoping that Roma would be among my favorite movies of the year. I love Alfonso Cuaron and I was impressed that this Netflix release won 3 Academy Awards. I was intrigued that Cuaron called this his most personal film and I loved that it focused on the maid of a middle class family (a group of people who are underrepresented in the movies). I had every reason to love this movie, but I ended up just really, really liking it. These movies are somewhat agony for me- Roma is such a good movie, it's expertly crafted. It's memorable. I really enjoyed the film. And yet, it wasn't among my favorite movies of the year- in fact, I wouldn't quite call it a great film. In that light, this movie failed to meet expectations. I still think it's so worthwhile, but it just wasn't great enough.

I've thought a lot about this movie. I appreciate that Cuaron made such a personal film- by all accounts, he based almost everything in this film from the memory of his own family's servant. It's quite beautiful that he would make such a touching film based on a real life person who meant a lot to him and his family. I love the story behind the film. Unfortunately, it felt to me like it was a little too personal. By that I mean that every second of the film was chalked with meaning for him. You can tell he swam through his memories throughout creating this film. However, those are his memories, not ours. This love letter to a woman who served his family so well certainly means a lot, but something was lost in translation. I don't think he was able to objectively look at the film. It meant tons to him, but it means less to the audience. We're not familiar with the real-life person, we're not close to growing up in Mexico in the 1970s. I don't think Cuaron or this film does enough to draw us in. I was interested in the characters and the story, but I was never able to get lost in either. I really liked the film and the characters, but I never loved them. This is a movie Cuaron poured a lot of love into, but I don't think he did it in a way that translates to the audience. That is the chief reason I wouldn't consider this a great film. It's thoroughly enjoyable and a good movie, but a great movie required more of an emotional pull from us.

I thought the cast was good, but it was obvious they weren't all the greatest actors. I think Yalitza Aparicio's performance was stunning for someone who had never acted before. If you're looking for examples of Cuaron's genius, look no further than Aparicio. He was able to pull something beautiful out of her. I give her a ton of credit, too- I cannot comprehend how she managed to give such a great performance. Her performance felt so authentic and vulnerable. I will say I was a little surprised she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. The fact that this was her first role is astonishing, but I wouldn't have called her performance great in general. It's great for a non-actress, but just really, really good in the grand scheme of things. Still, she makes this movie work with her believable portrayal of this woman. I give her a ton of credit.

I will say that my favorite aspect of this film is the expert craftsmanship of Alfonso Cuaron. He is undoubtedly one of the great directors of all time. I might not have loved this movie, but it's so incredible good. There were a number of moments that absolutely blew me away- and it was a result of Cuaron's direction. The hospital scene is obviously memorable, but it was the scene in the water at the beach that became unforgettable to me. I had to look up how he filmed Cleo moving out into the water, because it was gorgeous and thrilling and it put you right in the middle of the action. It was truly a remarkable bit of filmmaking. I was glad that Cuaron won the Academy Award for Best Director- his direction here is stunning. The movie also deserved its win for Best Cinematography- it's a gorgeous film.

The third Academy Award the film received was for Best Foreign Language film. It deserved it. Again, I might not have loved Roma, but I absolutely recognize the genius here. In addition to the three Academy Awards Roma received, it was nominated for another 7, including Best Picture. Plus, it had to fight against the bias of the fact that it's a Netflix film. By any account, it's remarkable what Cuaron achieved here.

One of the great things about movies is you can endlessly argue about them. Obviously, a lot of people were touched by Roma. I found it a technically magnificent film, but it felt lacking to me from a human and emotional standpoint. As mentioned, I think Cuaron was too close to the characters and story and couldn't quite get it from his head to the audience. For that reason, I really liked the movie but was unable to truly love it. That bums me out because I wanted to love it. Still, there's nothing wrong with directors putting out movies of this quality- you have to view Roma as a success.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Y Tu Mama Tambien, Gravity, Great Expectations