"La estanquera de Vallecas" is the least interesting Eloy de la Iglesia movie I have seen yet. Reportedly trying to make a movie that would be more successful, de la Iglesia went for broad appeal, and yet still included his heavy dose of social realism, which didn't really mix with the humour.
The plot concerns two inept criminals who attempt to rob a store. They are a middle aged man and a young man, the latter played by de la Iglesia regular Jose Luis Manzano.
The robbery doesn't go well, as the lady behind the counter proves to be remarkably tenacious in fighting off the robbers and attracting attention to the area. Also inside the store is her niece, a young girl who at first is hampered with a dental plate marring her features and voice, but take my word for it, that is Maribel Verdu, the Spanish actress who would go on to worldwide fame in "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Pan's Labyrinth". It's hard to recognise her without the floatation devices she would later have strapped to her chest.
The beginning scenes are entertaining and well handled. The reaction of the store clerk to being robbed at gun point is something that, for once, feels like a realistic reaction to this situation. When the crowd gathers outside the shop, you begin to wonder what direction the social commentary will take, but you also start to wonder whether the entire movie is going to be a hostage situation, since it obviously can't sustain that to feature film length.
Then, the movie abruptly changes gears, and it becomes a sort of comedy-drama. The hostages come to like the two men who should have just given them PTSD. I don't know if it's fair to say they develop Stockholm syndrome, since they're not really hostages anymore. A large crowd has already gathered outside, including politicians as well as police.
It's funny: I was glad that the whole movie wasn't spent in the hostage situation, but what we ended up with wasn't that much better. I lost interest during these scenes.
In trying to make a broad comedy, de la Iglesia also apparently limited his usual shocking material; there is very little violence in this one, and perhaps one sexual scene, but no sex and very little nudity.
