This is a fast-paced thriller about the kidnapping of a rich young couple after a night of clubbing and drug-taking in Caracas. The group then drive through the night and into the next day while they wait for the couple's parents to come up with the ransom money. The plot is full of twists and turns, and it was quite entertaining. However, a lot of what happens does not seem very realistic. I have the overriding impression that the movie is trying too hard to be cool and not trying hard enough to tell a convincing story.
Channelling the spirit of Tarantino, the gang of kidnappers are often funny though sometimes horribly cruel. They repeatedly justify their criminal activity, explaining that "half the city is starving". In general, though, the movie's efforts to discuss the social issues in Caracas are not well done. It also doesn't help the movie's progressive credentials that the homosexual characters are treated in such an unsympathetic manner.
As for the abducted couple, they don't inspire sympathy. Martin is a rich and selfish pretty boy who enjoys taking lots of drugs and, it turns out, has been indulging in homosexual encounters for years, unbeknownst to his fiancé Carla. She is also pretty and rich, but unlike Martin, she has a social conscience. She volunteers at a public hospital and is considering whether to let a poor, sick child come and live in her home. However, she seems to think that her volunteer work entitles her to better treatment from the kidnappers. She also shares Martin's partying and drug-taking lifestyle. Oddly, she also starts to bond with the kidnappers, chatting with them and repeatedly helping them get out of jams.
The director has thrown many twists and turns into the plot, but it would have been better if each was more fully developed. For example, when the despicable Martin has a chance to escape from the kidnappers, he abandons Carla without even going to seek help for her. Instead he tries to take a taxi home, but it turns out the driver is in cahoots with the kidnappers and returns Martin to them. This was a surprising (if unlikely) twist, and was one of many bizarre little twists thrown into the plot. I think it could have been done more cleverly by explaining why Martin didn't immediately go to the police and by somehow making it more likely that he'd end up in the hands of the kidnappers' friend.
Channelling the spirit of Tarantino, the gang of kidnappers are often funny though sometimes horribly cruel. They repeatedly justify their criminal activity, explaining that "half the city is starving". In general, though, the movie's efforts to discuss the social issues in Caracas are not well done. It also doesn't help the movie's progressive credentials that the homosexual characters are treated in such an unsympathetic manner.
As for the abducted couple, they don't inspire sympathy. Martin is a rich and selfish pretty boy who enjoys taking lots of drugs and, it turns out, has been indulging in homosexual encounters for years, unbeknownst to his fiancé Carla. She is also pretty and rich, but unlike Martin, she has a social conscience. She volunteers at a public hospital and is considering whether to let a poor, sick child come and live in her home. However, she seems to think that her volunteer work entitles her to better treatment from the kidnappers. She also shares Martin's partying and drug-taking lifestyle. Oddly, she also starts to bond with the kidnappers, chatting with them and repeatedly helping them get out of jams.
The director has thrown many twists and turns into the plot, but it would have been better if each was more fully developed. For example, when the despicable Martin has a chance to escape from the kidnappers, he abandons Carla without even going to seek help for her. Instead he tries to take a taxi home, but it turns out the driver is in cahoots with the kidnappers and returns Martin to them. This was a surprising (if unlikely) twist, and was one of many bizarre little twists thrown into the plot. I think it could have been done more cleverly by explaining why Martin didn't immediately go to the police and by somehow making it more likely that he'd end up in the hands of the kidnappers' friend.