Graceland is available in the US on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD from Drafthouse Films.
A terrifying mixup occurs when kidnappers target the offspring of a rich and powerful mogul for ransom, but accidentally take his chauffeur’s child instead. On paper, it’s the familiar plot of Akira Kurosawa’s High And Low, but it’s also the primary conflict that sets into motion Ron Morales’ Filipino thriller Graceland. However, this is no remake. The similarities end at the setup, and what we have here is a much nastier and more sordid tale. Where High And Low presents us with a rich man’s journey into self-sacrifice, Graceland is more interested in the lowly chauffeur: a desperate man with no money, no dignity, and no options — and in this tale, both men are far from heroes.
Marlon Villar is a family man, trying to support his hospitalized wife and function essentially as a single dad to his daughter Elvie. To that end, he chauffeurs in the service of Changho, a corrupt politician with a taste for prepubescent girls. Marlon disapproves of his employer’s vile habits, but keeps his mouth shut and looks the other way in order to stay employed.
While driving with Elvie and daughter Sophia, Marlon and the girls are waylaid by an assailant. He mistakes the identities of the girls, shoots Sophia dead, knocks Marlon out, and takes off with Elvie. Here’s where it get pretty twisted. For the rest of the film, Marlon doesn’t tell Changho that Sophia is already dead, and instead manipulates Changho’s desperate false hopes and deep pocketbook to get his own Elvie back.
Marlon, despite his nobler qualities, is not above getting his hands dirty. In fact, I don’t think it’s merely incidental that every major character has some degree of darkness. Changho is a corrupt pedophile. The kidnappers, though operating under delusions of vigilantism, murder a young girl. The police working the case readily take bribes. Even the two young girls, clearly victims, are shown shoplifting in an earlier scene. Morales is deliberately showing us a world where no one is without sin, but many stones are cast.
Psychologically, the film doesn’t just go to dark places. It goes to the darkest places: sex trade, organ trafficking, murder and corruption. Likewise, the camera eye takes us there through the of Manila. Except when displaying Changho’s wealthy lifestyle, the settings are filthy real-life locations including a trash-strewn river, a landfill, dilapidated apartment buildings, and in the film’s most harrowingly uncomfortable scene, a whorehouse that caters to pedophiles.
Relentlessly scripted and deeply disturbing, Graceland is recommended for anyone who enjoys gritty, psychologically complex thrillers. Others may want to think twice before taking in the ugliness.
A/V Out.