A Better Life

In Chris Weitz’s blatant rip-off of The Bicycle Thief, Carlos (Demián Bichir, who recently proved in The Runway that his charm transcends language) is living in LA with his rebellious son Juan (the awkward unknown José Julián). Stuck in the Catch 22 of illegal immigrant life, Carlos must buy a truck to work for citizenship papers. However, until he has his papers, owning the truck is illegal and could result in him being shipped back to Mexico immediately. Either way, he’s incredibly vulnerable, without rights, and dependant on the morality of others to keep his struggling little family safe.

This story of illegal immigrants is one that should be told, but it deserves intricate, understated layers of raw honesty, unflinching realism and believable characters. What Weitz presents us with instead is horribly, clumsily transparent, and unfortunately what is attempting to hide behind montages of The American Dream Realised and sun-lit epiphanies is a serious case of upper-class mostly-white guilt.
With a successful Mexican actress for a grandmother and a Cuban Mexican wife, Weitz is clearly trying to get in touch with his roots. But after blossoming into a Hollywood success story, helped by a large Miracle-Gro dose of his family’s comfortable industry connections, Weitz’s roots are rather far away, and he’s left looking down on them.

Every character in the film is completely one-dimensional, from the saintly patient and moral Carlos to the hardened gang members who want to initiate Juan, to the unsympathetic white policemen. They’re even accompanied by their own tailored soundtrack: rap for the baggy pants-wearing thugs and heart-wrenching tinkling piano for Carlos. There are moments of real tragedy, fear and euphoria here, but the audience is never left to independently realise them. Instead, smiles and tears are dragged by melodramatic speeches about heritage and family, close-ups of Julián struggling to produce tears and a seriously misjudged “inspiring” coda.
Being an immigrant may not make for a better life, but portraying it genuinely would have made for a better film.