Edgardo Viereck is a Chilean writer/director with a lot of good ideas but with hefty need for a partner to help him create a film that holds to those thoughts. GENTE DECENTE ('Decent People') as a title is a terrific start for telling a story about deceit and cheating and irresponsible friendships - a tasty non sequitur of a title, until he spoils it in the end.
The story opens with one of many erotic scenes: Andrés (Luciano Cruz Coke) is bedding hooker Gloria (Viviana Rodríguez), a bachelor's party gift from his friend Roberto (Francisco Melo) on the eve of his wedding to Rosario (Katyna Huberman). Problems arise when Gloria takes one of Andrés' business cards and later shows up at his law office where she tempts him into making love in the office - a deed captured on routine office security video cameras and is overheard by the firm's secretary Carolina (Francisca Reiss). Gloria needs Andrés' help (and money) in dealing with her procurer Ernesto (Alejandro Trejo) and her techniques approach stalking. Somehow the dark video gets into the hands of Rosario who is devastated that her fiancé would be adulterous before their wedding and Rosario begins to stalk Gloria. Ernesto discovers Andrés' identity, mistakes him for a man named Carlos who he sees as a threat to his possession of Gloria, and makes threats to Andrés for the money Gloria owes him and for the identity of 'Carlos'. In the apartment building where Gloria lives there is a security camera and once again videos of the various characters appear in dangerous hands. Gloria is murdered and the explosion that causes affects everyone in the film: who is the killer, who is 'Carlos', what is reality and what is staged? The facts come together quickly in the end and it is all too obvious to the audience.
The actors employed in the film (with the exception of Luciano Cruz Coke) are fairly mediocre, but even borderline acting can be corrected to an extent by excellent direction and fine editing, neither of which exists here. This seems more like a television novella than a film made for theater audiences. In Spanish with English subtitles. Grady Harp
