Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Best Actress 2004: Catalina Sandino Moreno in Maria Full Of Grace








Catalina Sandino Moreno received her 1st Oscar nomination for her performance as Maria, a confused young, pregnant teen who becomes a drug mule in Maria Full Of Grace.

Maria Full Of Grace is a very good, and well made film. It was a lot less gritty and depressing then I expected, but it packed a punch all the same. Parts of it are underdeveloped though: Like the fact that Maria is pregnant, it all seems so random and doesn't really fit in with the story.

Catalina Sandino Moreno gives a very good and natural performance here. She is completely believable as a teenager, despite the fact that she looks nothing like one! She captures Maria's fire and stubborness and her unbreakable spirit. Once she starts getting into drugs is when the performance really starts to take off: She brilliantly shows all the painful changes that Maria has to go through while traveling to N.Y and the internal battle inside her head, wondering if this was the right thing to do. She doesn't have a lot of showy moments, but Morino plays it just right.

She has great chemistry with her costars and I find her to very impressive. But I can't praise the performance much more though. She does a commendable job, and it's very powerful at times, but I can't say I was bowled over or blown away. But overall, it's an excellent performance that Moreno plays with 100% commitment and realism. She gets


2 comments:

Nues20 said...

I really want to see this:)
Great review!

joe burns said...

Thanks! And you should!!

You Go Olivia Colman!!!!