A Better Life

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This article is about the American film directed by Chris Weitz. For the 2011 French film directed by Cédric Kahn, see Une vie meilleure.

A Better Life
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChris Weitz
Screenplay byEric Eason
Story byRoger L. Simon
Produced byPaul Junger Witt
Christian McLaughlin
Chris Weitz
Jami Gertz
StarringDemian Bichir
José Julián
CinematographyJavier Aguirresarobe
Edited byPeter Lambert
Music byAlexandre Desplat
Production
company
Lime Orchard Productions
Distributed bySummit Entertainment
Release date
  • June 24, 2011 (2011-06-24)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Spanish
Budget$10 million[1]
Box office$1,759,252[1]

A Better Life is a 2011 American drama film directed by Chris Weitz. The screenplay, originally known as The Gardener, was written by Eric Eason based on a story by Roger L. Simon. Demián Bichir was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Plot

Carlos Galindo works as one of the gardeners in Los Angeles. His friend, Blasco Martinez, wants to return to Mexico and attempts to persuade him and buy the job from him, including the rent-to-own truck and garden tools. Carlos' son, Luis, studies at high school with his friend Ruthie Valdez, the niece of a local gang leader. Luis visits her at the house, where the gang members congregate. Though Luis does not follow his footstep, he has a hard time committing himself for education. However, his relationship with Ruthie and the friendship with Facundo pushes him toward becoming a gang member.

Carlos' sister, Anita, lends $12,000 from the family's emergency fund for Carlos to buy Blasco's truck. It is later stolen by Santiago, whom Carlos hired. The next day, Carlos and Luis head to the South Central apartment complex, where it is used as lodgings for undocumented immigrant workers. One man, whom Santiago sold Carlos’ mobile phone, tells them that Santiago works as a nightclub dishwasher. Carlos and Luis head to the restaurant, which would open during the night. At the rodeo, Luis mentions to Carlos about his mother abandoning them. He dislikes Mexican music and culture. After finding Santiago at the nightclub, Carlos and Luis interrogate with him. They learn that Santiago has sold the truck to the garage and sent the money to his family back home to El Salvador. Luis becomes upset at Carlos for defending the man and leaves the restaurant. The next day, Carlos goes to Facundo's house and convinces Luis to have a second chance. After Carlos and Luis successfully retrieve the truck, they are caught by the police. Carlos is arrested and incarcerated as an illegal American immigrant. In prison, Carlos apologizes to Luis and forgives him. When they promise each other that he will return, Carlos boards the deportation bus.

The family watches Luis playing the game of soccer, while Carlos and other undocumented immigrants head through the desert.

Cast

Background

The film is uncommon among Hollywood productions set in a Hispanic community and it features an almost entirely Hispanic cast.[2] Weitz used the film to explore the culture and geography of Los Angeles. Father Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries, run by former gang members, helped Weitz and his crew with finding locations and making their film as authentic as possible. The language of the script was modified to reflect the actual slang used in Los Angeles, even reflecting linguistic differences from street-to-street.[2]

Release

The film was released on June 24, 2011.

Critical reception

Critical response to A Better Life has been positive. The film has garnered an 86% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes.[3] The critical aggregator Metacritic awarded the film a score of 64 out of 100, signifying "generally positive reviews".[4] Demián Bichir was nominated for an Academy Award as lead actor on Jan. 24, 2012. Manola Dargis, film critic for The New York Times, called the film "Touching and startling."[5] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "a haunting movie that gets under your skin."[6] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Dave Karger called A Better Life an "unfussy, yet quite powerful drama with a terrific central performance by Demián Bichir." Karger called the film an "awards contender" and wrote, "With the right reviews and commercial reception, it could go even further."[7]

Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote that "the performances are pitch perfect" and he gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4.[8] The New Yorker critic Richard Brody wrote: "The story unfolds without hagiography, pity, or trumped-up heroism, as the filmmaker approaches the lives of everyday people with modest compassion and imaginative sympathy.[9] Amy Biancolli, writing in the Houston Chronicle, said "It's straight, true and heartbreaking, a masterstroke of raw emotional minimalism".[10]

Awards

Award Category Recipient(s) Result
Academy Award Best Actor in a Leading Role Demián Bichir Nominated
Independent Spirit Award Best Male Lead Demián Bichir Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Demián Bichir Nominated
Young Artist Award[11] Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor José Julián Nominated

Telenovela version

Telemundo produced a telenovela based on the film called Bajo el mismo cielo, starring Gabriel Porras and María Elisa Camargo.[12][13] The telenovela aired from July 28, 2015 – January 25, 2016 on Telemundo weeknights at 9pm/8pm central.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b A Better Life at Box Office Mojo
  2. ^ a b Cieply, Michael (June 1, 2010). "Another Los Angeles in 'Gardener'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 5, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ A Better Life at Rotten Tomatoes
  4. ^ A Better Life at Metacritic
  5. ^ Dargis, Manola (June 23, 2011). "A Better Life". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Travers, Peter (June 23, 2011). "A Better Life". Rolling Stone Magazine.
  7. ^ Dave Karger (March 13, 2011). "'A Better Life': 2011's first awards movie?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 13, 2011.
  8. ^ Ebert, Roger. ""A Better Life" Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  9. ^ Brody, Richard. "A Better Life Film Review". New Yorker Magazine. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  10. ^ Biancolli, Amy. "A Better Life Film Review". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  11. ^ "33rd Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Telemundo. "Carlos Martínez" (in Spanish). Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  13. ^ Gabriel Porras. "Gracias cómplices por el gran apoyo a este humilde jardinero!!! Va con todo para ustedes!!!!!" (in Spanish). Twitter. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  14. ^ ""Bajo el mismo cielo", la nueva novela de Telemundo" (in Spanish). Telemunco.com. March 25, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A_Better_Life&oldid=814911705"