A Bad Actor * * * ½

When taking it to the next level isn't always a good idea.

A Bad Actor is a Mexican film which I saw at the Spanish Film Festival.  (They pretty much speak the same language so I guess that's why it  qualified for inclusion.)

It's about an aspiring actor who is on the verge of taking his career to the next level when he makes a monumental mistake.  It's written and directed by Jorge Cucci who presents us with a film that could take him to the next level too, until the final section when A Bad Actor takes a seriously wrong (weird?) turn.

It is set over one day on a film set.  The two lead characters have a good, friendly mutually respectful relationship.  Things have been going well but now they have to do an intimate scene of them in bed together.  Being over confident he takes it too far.  She does not scream or call out.  But the director can immediately see something is wrong. She has fallen out of character.  She's just not in the moment anymore "Cut!"

They clear the set.  "I've just been raped" she says.

From this moment things build magnificently as she is supported by two other women on the set, he retreats to his caravan, the director tries to liaise between the two.  Their respective managers and lawyers are called in.  The executive producer comes on to the set. It becomes a pressure cooker and turns into a powerhouse of a drama.  I'd encourage you to go see A Bad Actor for these first ninety minutes.  

A rash decision is made by someone on the set, and the incident is leaked out on social media - X or Instagram or something.  

Soon the world knows, and this is where the film takes a turn that is almost contrary to the previous ninety minutes. The irony is, Cucci must have spent twice the amount of time and money shooting the final scenes than the rest of the film - and they are the least persuasive. 

It shows a society response that is so extreme it becomes something like the end of The Day of the Locusts or  The Joker.   A situation that was being dealt with in an uncompromising but believable manner has now turned into madness.  Violence and mob mayhem abound.  So much that our sympathy and concern moves from the victim to the accused. 

But perhaps that is the point that Jorge Cucci is making.  It's what happens when you ask people with a cell phone and a Social Media feed to be the judge, jury and executioner.