chicagopoetry Review of Inhale

Inhale (2010)

Could Have Been Utterly Silly If Not For Baltasar Kormákur

[7/10 · 13 August 2010]

The premise of Inhale is quite ridiculous. A notable prosecuting attorney puts everything on the line because he's heard rumor of a "Doctor Navarro" who can obtain illegal organs. In search for a new pair of lungs for his dying daughter, said attorney completely abandons the subplot of defending a sex offender (never to resolve that issue) and he leaps across the border into Mexico on a journey into the underworld to find a new pair of lungs. Do you remember that old movie Hardcore with George C. Scott? It's basically that, except instead of plunging into the seedy pornography industry to find his kidnapped daughter, our hero dives head first into some mythical Mexican organ dealing crime syndicate that is every bit as sleazy. Some very violent and sexually explicit events result, giving this one a strong R rating if not an NC17. The implausibilities pile up but somehow, with the tense direction of Baltasar Kormákur and some fine bad ass acting from Dermot Mulroney, what could have been a laugh fest turns out to be a very engaging, edge of your seat thriller. Smart subtle touches like a few seconds of our man clipping the stitches on his forehead with toenail clippers gives Inhale the feel of a real big screen blockbuster. And an extremely disturbing moral debate develops as we have to wonder why this man's daughter's life is more important than those who are getting killed in his pursuit to save her. The moral of the story is be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Will he do the right thing at the last moment? You'll have to watch to find out. This is a very gripping film. I enjoyed it.