Bordertown (2007)

I was conflicted about this film. The motivations behind it are clearly important and some of the acting is really good. That's sort of all the positive things I can say. I'm not sure which is responsible, the directing or the editing but its definitely not a polished or accomplished effort. There's no character build up, they make very little use of Michael Sheen, the filming is a little odd and even her hair is weird. She does some sort of visual transformation which just ends up being clunky and distracting. The romantic connection is awkward and unbelievable. Shame really considering the cast and initial idea.

Lauren Adrian (Jennifer Lopez) is a reporter for the Chicago Sentinel. She is forced by her boss (Martin Sheen) to go to Juarez to do a story about a series of mysterious murders of young factory women who are attracted to the new jobs at the maquiladoras. She doesn't speak much Spanish and reconnects with independent reporter Alfonso Diaz (Antonio Banderas). The police is corrupt and trying to cover up the murders. Eva Jimenez (Maya Zapata) is a young woman who was taken by a bus driver to the dump where him and another man raped her and left her for dead. The only person she trust is Diaz. She goes to his newspaper but the police is close behind. Diaz is taken in by the police leaving Eva and Lauren alone together.Writer/director Gregory Nava got a couple of A-list stars to do small roles in this but it's Lopez that's asked to carry this thing on her shoulders. She needs help as an actress to keep this movie moving. Banderas is good but he's not in this enough. The movie keeps separating them which is a mistake in my opinion. The story is ripped from the headlines with some action added in. Nava isn't good at the action scenes. This is generally a weak construction. There isn't much of a mystery since everything is laid out right in front of us. It struggles to be a thriller or a mystery. Nava doesn't have the skills and the tension is very low. Then Lopez goes undercover and all the logic goes out the window. I don't know why she has to work in the factory since they know it's the bus driver. Also I don't know why she doesn't have somebody follow the bus. It's a bus and isn't that hard to follow. But the movie isn't done and it keeps going down the rabbit hole.

"Lauren Adrian" (Jennifer Lopez) is a newspaper reporter who goes to Juarez, Mexico to investigate the murders of hundreds of female factory employees. Upon her arrival she discovers that a young woman by the name of "Eva Jimenez" (Maya Zapata) has survived after being raped and left for dead on the outskirts of the city. Eva wants her story told and Lauren needs more details in order to report it. But she soon finds that she is over her head. So she contacts an old friend named "Alfonzo Diaz" (Antonio Banderas) who works for one of the Juaraz newspapers to help her make sense of it all. But there are people who don't want this story to go to press and they will do anything to keep the truth hidden. Anyway, rather than disclose any more of the film and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a grim movie but it had a story that needs to be told. I really liked the performances of Jennifer Lopez and Maya Zapata. I also thought the director (Gregory Nava) did an excellent job depicting the scenery and flavor of Juarez as well. On the other hand, some of the action was a bit too much and seemed totally unnecessary. But that's Hollywood for you. Be that as it may I liked the movie and I rate it as slightly above average.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Based around the true story of a series (or reportedly over a thousand!) cases of rape and murder of women in the Mexican town of Juarez, this has Jennifer Lopez as Lauren Adrian, an ambitious reporter who is sent to the town to investigate the crimes in exchange for getting a Foreign Correspondents job from her boss (Martin Sheen.) Once there, she runs into an old flame (Antonio Banderas) and learns the police are prohibiting any media discussion on the cases. She also comes into contact with Eva (Maya Zapata) who has survived an attack by the killer and has crawled out of her own grave. The young woman believes the devil himself is committing these crimes. A more cynical Lauren wants a flesh and blood suspect- but a haunting wall of silence is standing in her way.Any film with a political subtext is always going to run into controversy, but Bordertown would appear to have been a bigger victim than any other. It's facing a straight to DVD release in the US and if that happens, I can't see it faring any better over here, to be honest. The reason for the hush up of it's existence, it would appear, is so the US maintains good relations with the government of Mexico, and avoids pointing the finger at it and crying 'corruption.' That's the theory anyway, but if events have played out like they have in Bordertown there's little to prove the film wrong.One thing this impressive but grim film must be noted for is Lopez's performance in the lead role. She's really improved as an actress here, not trying too hard or over emoting anymore, just carrying the film with a natural air and grace that the role requires. She has good support, too, in the shape of Zapata, Sheen and Banderas, all giving their roles their all and making the story more dynamic as a result. Director Gregory Nova adds a tense air of mystery and dread to the tale, with some neat seat edge moments and constant air of danger.As if this disturbing and unsettling story isn't jolting enough, imagine how I felt watching it on my new widescreen Sony TV and thinking: the women in the story may have made that, working and going to/from work in the unfair and unsafe environment they do. Hell, even the laptop I'm writing this on now may have been made by them. As well as providing a thrilling but haunting true life story, Bordertown also opens your eyes to the equivalent of modern slave labour that provides us westerners with every luxury we enjoy and the true cost it comes at. ****