Thursday, February 23, 2017

Review: You're Killing Me Susana (ME ESTÁS MATANDO SUSANA)


The new Mexican comedy You're Killing Me Susana is a film of minor pleasures. Featuring two deeply unlikeable characters at the center of the film seems to both squander the potential humor and romance of the story being told. 

Gael García Bernal, Eligio, and Verónica Echegui, Susana, are the central couple Their committed performances are the film's high points. Trying to find the honesty in two people who seem to think they are in love with each other but only cause each other pain and misery is not an easy task. Both actors feed off each other and create a sense of history together that kept me watching as the movie spins it's wheels.

The film opens with Susana suddenly disappearing. Eligio at first thinks nothing of it as he believes their marriage is great. He begins to question their friends and soon we see that he may be fooling himself about the state of their marriage. Eligio has clearly committed adultery and soon he finds out that Susana has run off for a quick affair.

At this point in the film, there is plenty of potential for the story to reveal something about the complex nature of long-term love. Instead we follow Eligio as he stalks down Susana and they fight, make-up, break-up, and repeat their chronic love-hate relationship. 

In the midst of this, director Roberto Sneider sneaks in some half-baked commentary about US customs officers and masculinity under duress. Neither of these stabs at satire work. The film just churns and churns and while it features some solid acting it rarely feels like anything is at stake. The film is simply uninteresting as it moves forward. 

2.5/5

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