Saturday, August 31, 2024

Príncipes Salvajes / Untamed Royals (2024)


 

There are essentially two kinds of Mexican movie. The first kind features a hapless protagonist, usually a lucky loser from the lower middle classes, catapulted into some sort of 'comedic' caper.

Príncipes Salvajes (Untamed Royals on Netflix) is the other kind: a relentless portrayal of the irredeemably morally bankrupt upper class elites and the officialdom which reports to them.

In this instance director Hinojosa Ozcariz places viewers amidst a group like the sociopathic teens of Hollywood films such as Cruel Intentions (1999), yet without the dramatic resolution.

The set up here has a certain promise and there are some fetching performances, but even 'empty' young people need to be written a little better than this. Shades of dark, so to speak.

Specifically there appears to be a sort of missing link dramatically here between the second and third acts, which left me feeling let down. I didn't need 'consequences' as such, but I did need something which ultimately made more sense as a story.
 

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