Better Life, A (2011)
*** (out of 4)
Tender story of a Mexican illegal immigrant (Demian Bichir) living in Los Angeles and working as a gardener in hopes of giving his 15-year-old son (Jose Julian) a better life. The father thinks he's on the right track when he buys his partners truck and tools but they end up getting stolen so he goes out with his son to try and track them down. There's no question that this film was influenced by Vittorio de Sica's THE Bicycle THIEF as both features familiar plots but while this movie isn't nearly in the same league, the two lead performances and the tender story make it worth watching. I guess it should go without saying but there's nothing too original here. Not only is this film influenced by the Italian classic but we've also seen countless movies where a young man is faced with doing what's right and making a good living or going down the wrong path and joining a gang. This subplot with the son hanging out with the wrong group and them wanting to get him into a gang really doesn't add too much to the movie as we've simply seen it too many times. To be fair, we've also seen the hard-working father trying to teach his son a lesson but it's told very beautifully here by director Chris Weitz. The director manages to make several of the scenes quite memorable and I'm not going to spoil the biggest one but it comes towards the end and really wraps the story up nicely. Of course, the biggest benefit the film has going is the performance by Bichir as the father. The movie and performance got very good reviews when it was originally released but most people, including myself, missed it until Bichir was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar. Most people didn't recognize the name or film but once you do watch this you're going to understand why he got so much praise. Just look at Bichir's eyes to see how much passion he gives the character and this is especially true in the scenes where he's thinking over his future and what he wants to see for his son. The performance is extremely tender and the actor makes the role his own. Julian is also very good as his son and manages to turn in a strong performance even when his character doesn't get the best moments. A BETTER LIFE is certainly far from flawless but the movie has some terrific drama and there's no question that it makes you feel for the father and care what happens to him.
