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Working with non-professional actors was a brave choice but it shows unfortunately in this movie. As I understood it in the Q+A after the screening, the director Laura Mora Ortega wanted locals from Medellin because they speak the language (slang) more authentic than an actor. The part where the main character Paula snaps and messes up a bedroom and the office, reminded me a bit (only a tiiiny bit) of Tommy Wiseau in the infamous "The Room". Otherwise she did good for most of the time. The script had some issues too. Near the end there was a scene about a political celebration that felt a bit forced. The dialogues with the dealer (Gato I think was his name) were awkward. Although the camera work is from time to time extremely shaky, it is well done. Some shots of the movie where totally breathtaking when they ride around at night in a festive Medellin for example. In a few shots we see the sunlight reflect beautifully on Natasha Jaramillo's (Paula) hair which acts like a canvas. The tone of the film is gripping and it has a realistic feel to it. I have very mixed feelings as you can read here. I was disappointed right after the movie but the longer I think about it the better it gets, especially with an ending like that.

Really intense prison-/boxing-/survival-drama. Its shocking, uncomfortable and harsh. Fortunately I have never been to a Prison like that but It felt so real. Where did they find all these tattooed thugs? The characters are all believable and the cinematography is original. You can see an impressive "oner" during the first fight in the ring. There is very little dialog and the subtitles for are absent for most of the time. I suspect this is done on purpose to make us feel like the protagonist Billy Moore. The sound design is great! The panting is loud during some of the scenes and the clashing, sweaty bodies in the fights sound just fantastic! The only complaint that I have is that it felt a bit long because it got a little repetitive, especially during the training sessions.

I have seen a lot of western movies but none of them was as bad as The Ballad of Lefty Brown. Let me say up front that Bill Pullmans performance was the only good thing in it. It seems that the producers spent most of their money on him. Unfortunately he is not able to save the movie from being a debacle. The acting of the other characters is TERRIBLE, especially from the boy. The cinematography is quite lazy. With a such a spectacular landscape(Montana) you could do better. The colors of the movie are all over the place and the tone is inconsistent during the movie. I did like the grainy feel(shot on Kodak film) but in some of the night shots it was way to dark for me to see and it didn't feel like a stylistic element done on purpose. The editing is also worth mentioning...The fight scenes where done in the usual boring technique we are so used to see from Hollywood movies. No punch is actually seen, only a cut accompanied with a very unrealistic sound effect. The shootouts where a joke! Sometimes they take cover behind bushes and thin wooden planks. The people in the movie all look very clean, the leather holsters, saddles, etc seem like fresh out of production. The story is soo unrealistic all the time and the characters in it are plain stupid..all of them! The script...what where they thinking??? Now I know that western movies are not realistic but this movie had just so many flaws and it was hard to be quiet during its run time to not ruin other peoples experiences. This film should be called "The Ballad of the suppressed Laughter"...at least for me.