This
2009 film is a great one that I happened to stumble upon one evening
while I was browsing Netflix. It was one of my recommendations
offered by the site based on my previous viewing history. Prior to
finding it there, I had been completely unaware of it. My interest
was piqued by the synopsis provided, so I figured I would take a
chance and check it out. I was just about to add it to my queue when
I saw that it was available on Netflix streaming service. Perfect! I
didn't have to wait to see it! Instead, I just hit the play button
and watched it right there on my PC!
As
the title implies, La Mission is set in the Mission district of San Fransisco. Benjamin Bratt stars as Che Rivera, a recovering
alcoholic and ex-con with a typically macho view of the world. When
Che discovers that his son, Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez), is gay, all
hell breaks loose. He makes this discovery when he comes home one
evening to find Jesse asleep in his room, and happens to notice a
pile of snapshots of Jesse kissing his boyfriend on the bedside
table. When confronted the next day Jesse admits the truth, and his
father flies into a rage! Refusing to accept the news, Che angrily
proclaims that Jesse is now dead to him! Their fight
turns physical, and Che orders Jesse out of his house!
During
their estrangement, Che develops a friendship with an upstairs
neighbor by the name of Lena (Erika Alexander). The friendship gets
off to a rather rocky start, but the two are finally able to get past
their differences. As the friendship progresses, and the bond between
them grows stronger, Lena helps Che to realize that he can't just
abandon his son, who needs him more than ever at a time like this. So
Jesse eventually comes back home, but things don't really improve
much. Che still can't accept his gay son. The two of them do make
attempts to communicate, but always end up walking away from the
conversation. They basically spend their time walking on eggshells
and tolerating one another more than anything else.
Things
pretty much continue on this path until tragedy strikes. Jesse lands
in intensive care after a run-in with a couple of thugs who had been
harassing him since discovering his sexuality. As Jesse slowly
recovers, Che maintains a constant vigil at his bedside, as does
Jesse's boyfriend, Jordan...at least until he is angrily confronted
and threatened by Che. When Jesse recovers fully and learns of the
confrontation between them, he again leaves home. With his son no
longer in his life, Che slips to his old ways and begins drinking
again. Jesse, meanwhile, goes off to attend college at UCLA, not
knowing that his dad is sinking deeper and deeper into despair.
While
I did enjoy this film, I have to say that I was rather dissatisfied
with the ending. I can't really tell you why without giving it away,
so you'll have to watch for yourself as far as that is concerned. Aside from that, it was great. The performance of all the main actors
here is entirely authentic, brimming with a heart and soul that truly
brings these characters to life. Although, the story here will
certainly not win any points for its originality, the movie is
well-written and moving. Some of the confrontational scenes between
Jesse and his dad can be difficult to watch for some, but they do
accurately reflect the struggles that often take place between gay
teens and their parents. The pace gets a little slow in spots, but
the quality of the acting lends enough reality to the characters that
you really end up caring about them and want to know what happens to
them. All things considered, this is a great film that I would highly
recommend!
No comments:
Post a Comment