A Better Life is the type of film that will stay with you and prompts reflection. Although not perfect, it is a film that provides interesting insights into some complex issues. The film is well made and engaging and warrants your attention.
A Better Life is a story about the American Dream. Carlos (Demián Bichir) came to the United States seeking a better life. He is a single father trying to provide his son Luis (José Julián) the opportunities that he never had. To this end, he purchases a truck and yard service from his former boss in an attempt to bring more security to his family. When truck is stolen, it imperils his ability to bring the needed stability to his life and instead threatens to expose his undocumented status and lead to his deportation.
One of the most remarkable elements of the film is that none of the characters are painted in sharp contrast. There are no purely good or contemptuously evil characters. Each person introduced has some element of good and bad in them.
Carlos, for example, may care deeply for his son and want more for him, but his hard work makes him absent from his son’s life.
This is precisely what makes the film compelling. These characters feel less like caricatures and more like people. By humanizing them director Chris Weitz and writers Eric Eason and Roger L. Simon tell a story that is not preachy and thus relatable.
The subject of unauthorized immigration in this country is certainly a volatile topic to take on, but by making the characters genuine and flawed the audience is able to connect to them in a way that would be squandered in a good versus bad storyline.
We are exposed to gang bangers and day laborers, those who speak English and those who do not. The film does not attempt to hide or candy coat any of the realities of its subject. It succeeds precisely because it does not shy away from what might be unsavory.
The story also plays on universally accessible elements: the willingness to sacrifice anything for the benefit of your children, the desire to make a better life for yourself and those you love, and a belief that hard work will be rewarded. In the end Carlos is fighting for something we all long for: the American Dream.
The film also cleverly explores Los Angeles. A city that is at its heart a series of unique neighborhoods all bound up together. As we navigate its streets we see the changes in race, ethnicity, religion, and wealth. Without ever discussing these issues, we are given a glimpse at the landscape of the cities deeply complex social and cultural web.
The film also examines the tensions between a foreign-born father and his American-born son. Luis is exposed to parts of Mexican culture for the first time and asks questions as curiously as anyone who was never exposed to Mexican culture before. Carlos and Luis also clash in their attitudes about how to handle people on their journey to retrieve Carlos’s truck further revealing the cultural and generational rift between the two.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the subtle and effective performance of Demián Bichir. He is effortless in the role.
There are elements of the story that are a little underdeveloped, such as Luis’s relationship with a girl whose uncles are gang members. The relationship and the gang member subplot felt at times dismissed with little explanation. I also think there are moments that linger a little too long. Snappy transitions may have made the pace of the film a little better. I will not spoil the ending but to say I wish the film did not include the last two scenes. They added nothing that had not already been said.
But overall, this is a really engaging film that effectively expresses a point of view. It is an evocative and tender story. I was certainly gripped.
PARSI VERDICT: A tender and well made look at the struggle for a better life.