Movie Review - A Better Life

A Better Life (2011)

Starring Demián Bechir and José Julián

Directed by Chris Weitz

As much as A Better Life tries (and, boy, does it try), it can't change my thoughts on illegal immigration even if the person being deported (as is the case here) is the nicest guy in the world.  Still, I'm able to overlook my personal conservative beliefs on this subject matter (and let's face it, when it comes to Hollywood, I have to overlook my conservative beliefs often in order to enjoy "art"), but I'm unable to look past the fact that the main character here -- a very nice Mexican (illegal) immigrant named Carlos who has been in this country for over 15 years -- is much too noble and saintlike for me to believe his story.  Yes, I know that there are plenty of nice people in the world (I'm one of them), but something here just doesn't ring true.

A Better Life fails at creating intricacies.  People are either good or they are bad and it's obvious from the moment they're introduced into which category they fall.  Carlos (played by Academy Award-nominated actor Demián Bechir) is a hard-working good guy.  He's trying his very best to raise his American-born teenage son Luis (José Julián) to respect others and understand the importance of a good education.  While Luis is tempted daily to join the local gang, Carlos is off earning a living seven days a week as a gardener.  In order to achieve a better life (hence the title), Carlos buys his boss's truck and begins to set up his own gardening business.  However, thanks to a few unfortunate events, things quickly take a turn for the worse for Carlos and he must figure out how to make things right for himself and his son.

Despite decent turns from Demián Bechir and José Julián (although I'm not quite sure why the former got a Best Actor nomination at this year's Oscars...he's good, but I wasn't blown away), the film just feels overly generic, simplistic, and bland.  There's no depth to anyone or any situation and it leads to a rather boring overall tone.

There was much talk that A Better Life was an eye-opening look at the illegal immigration/deportation debate in our country.  To me, I'm hard-pressed to find anything that the film adds to the discussion.  Just because Carlos is a nice guy doesn't (and shouldn't) sway me into thinking that it's okay for our borders to be open and if the liberal landscape wants to think that way it just shows how narrow-minded and shallow they are.

The RyMickey Rating:  C