La suerte dormida (2003) User Reviews

Better than Erin Brockovich

[newland80 · 7/10 · 29 December 2004]

"La suerte dormida" is the impressive directorial debut of Angeles González-Sinde, one of our greatest screenwriters. Based loosely on true events, it tells the quest of a lawyer who fights a big corporation to clear the accidental death of a miner. At times I was reminded of "Erin Brockovich", but this is certainly better and more realistic.

Adriana Ozores has the gift of making her acting look extremely easy, and her role here is no exception. That's why some people think she repeats herself constantly, but she has shown a great variety of performances in her career. In this case, she is excellent as ever as a grief-ridden widow who finds a new hope in her life by getting involved in this case and in a relationship with a younger man. The supporting cast boasts great performances by Félix Gómez, José Soriano and Carlos Kaniowski.

If you feel like watching a strong drama, this is highly recommended. However, expect no big twists like in most American courtroom dramas, this is of the realistic kind. Also watch it for the great performances by a solid cast.

Overall rating: 7/10

Adriana Ozores at her best...

[rainking_es · 6/10 · 25 July 2004]

This is the story of Amparo (Adriana Ozores), a lawyer which gave up on his profession because of a personal tragedy (this is something we find out when the movie is way too advanced), but she has to go back to it in order to help some friends of her, which have lost their son in an accident at work. It is nothing but another trial-movie, mixed up with the personal story of the main character. Nothing very original, but it's OK. Amparo will find about the corruption that lies beneath all the big enterprises and how they commit negligence in order to make more money (Who would have thought it!!).

(Warning!! Spoiler to come!) The script it isn't very brilliant: we find out what the main character's been through (the death of her husband and her son) when has passed more than 40 minutes since the very beginning. We can see that Amparo is depressed, but we don't know why. The movie is supposed to be based on a real fact (the death of a young miner) but Amparo's self tragedy prevails over anything else in this movie. Maybe the director used the death or that miner just as an excuse to relate Amparo's evolution. The parts about the trial issues, the research, etc. are too weak, which makes La Suerte Dormida a little unbalanced.

As for the actors, Adriana Ozores appears in each and every one of the sequences. She's the absolute starring here. And she makes a nice work (as usual). Mrs. Ozores is one of the more talented and prolific actresses from latest Spanish cinema. But just like the movie itself, the cast is unbalanced as well. Adriana Ozores or veteran Jose Soriano Esperame En El Cielo, Lugares Comunes) are great actors (their scene in the kitchen is superb), whereas some of their partners on this film are not as good as them (no way!). And that's a widespread disease in Spanish cinema (great actors -ussually veteran ones- all together with bad ones -the dead young boy's mother is a good example of what I'm saying-).

My rate: 6/10