‘Cronicas’ starts off strong, falls off quickly
The first 15 minutes of newcomer Sebastián Cordero’s psychological thriller are so gripping, it’s easy to understand why power players Alfonso Cuaron (director of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Y Tu Mama Tambien”) and Guillermo del Toro (“Hellboy”) threw their weight behind the project as producers. Alas, there’s a conspicuous drop off in intensity near the end of the first act, and Cordero never manages to really rev things up again. “Cronicas” is an interesting film, to be sure, but it came so tantalizingly close to being a great one that in the end audiences are likely to feel slightly cheated.
The movie opens on an amiable traveling salesman, Vinicio (Damián Alcázar), bathing in a tranquil watering hole outside the remote Ecuadorian village of Babahoyo, which has been targeted by a serial killer. Moments later, in the best scene of the movie, Vinicio is being beaten senseless by a mob of townsfolk after accidentally running over a child. That’s when opportunistic tabloid TV reporter Manolo Bonilla (John Leguizamo) — on hand covering the hunt for the “Monster of Babahoyo” — intervenes, with his cameras rolling, and saves the man’s life. Vinicio offers to give Manolo information about the whereabouts of the Monster in exchange for favorable TV coverage that might help secure his release from jail, where he is being held on vehicular homicide charges. When Vinicio reveals details that only the killer himself could know, Manolo must choose between involving the police or using the inside information to further his career. Cordero effectively uses this set-up to posit some intriguing ideas about the role of modern news organizations in swaying public opinion, and how the lure of big ratings and the bounty that comes with them might incite journalists and the like to manipulate rather than simply cover the news. (Rated R for violence, a scene of sexuality, and language. Running time: 108 minutes)
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 8, 2005. Read the original PDF.