Maria full of Grace follows Maria, an innocent flower girl, as she steps into a dangerous world of drug trafficking. Before you conjure up blood soaked gun throttling mafia gang buster – no, it has none of that, what it has is a simple story of a strong willed girl surviving some of her darkest moments. The script is full of rich 3 dimensional characters, wonderful acting and some taut editing. Writer/Director Joshua Marston has scripted Maria’s character so well that we feel her anguish, feel her apprehensions and share her little joys.
Story: Maria is a small town girl, who supports her family single handedly. After a minor tuff with her boss, she storms out of her job only to find her family unsupportive of her decision. With pressures mounting on her from all sides (her unexpected pregnancy) – she does something dramatic – she agrees to smuggle heroine into United States as a drug mule. The rest of the story will keep you guessing.
Catalina Sandino Moreno is exceptional as Maria Alwarez in her debut feature. It is not surprising that she was nominated for the Oscars (The Oscar eventually went to Hillary Swank for Million Dollar Baby). Technically speaking – Camera is mostly handheld, and doesn’t do any gimmicks. Music is obviously South American and the background score is perfect. Debutant Writer/Director Joshua has taken time to flesh out the characters fully before jumping on to the rollercoaster of the main story. It works very well till the climax which turn out to be the weakest link of this otherwise wonderful picture.
**** (4/5)
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