The Girl (2012)

Rosa: "My mom's not here because of you."

By David Riker
With Abbie Cornish, Will Patton and Maritza Santiago Hernandez

I came across The Girl by accident. I wasn't sure I'd be interested in seeing it at first, but the poster was really beautiful and it featured the talented Australian actress Abbie Cornish, whose performance in Candy (2006) left me wanting to see more of her work.

The film starts with Ashley, who works at a supermarket, asking for a raise from her boss. She complains that the boss gives all the Mexican girls raises but not her. Settled in Texas, Ashley lives in a trailer and she claims her son was taken away from her because she has no money, though the film suggests she may also have alcohol problems.

Her father, who is a truck driver living across the border in Mexico, asks her to join him and she agrees having nothing better to do. On the way back she hears banging in the truck and realizes her father is bringing illegal immigrants to the USA. At first shocked, but in dire need of money, she goes back to Mexico and improvises herself as a passer. She finds eight people who are willing to pay 500 dollars to get to the USA. The river is low, and Ashley drops them off and tells them she'll meet them on the other side and bring them to Austin. However, when she arrives on the other side at the rendezvous point there are only two men and one girl. A helicopter spots them and in panic one of the men saves the girl but there is no news from her mother.

The two men realize Ashley is an amateur and run off leaving her alone with the girl. Despite Ashley's reluctance to take care of others' issues and the young girl's grief against Ashley for separating her from her mother, they will both have to work together...

The film started slowly but I began liking it a lot more when the situation with the girl happened. I think it was a good parallel to see a mother whose child has been taken away find herself with a girl whose mother is missing. There are also a number of good questions raised: for example, when Ashley asks why the Mexicans want to go to Texas, the girl says that it's because everyone there is rich and has a swimming pool, a statement in total contrast with the state in which Ashley finds herself in.

I also think bilingual movies tend to bring in an interesting duality to what is said and what people understand--as often the difference between the two can be quite vast. However, it seemed that Ashley's Spanish was good enough to not have any of these situations came up, which in a way worked well and drove us away from the cliché of Americans expecting everyone to understand them. I can't speak for her skills at Spanish but Abbie Cornish was really good in her role and gave a convincing performance. The same goes for the young girl who displayed a wide range of emotions often without words.

The movie falls a little short in terms of mystery or the quality of its dialogue, but the story line made it an enjoyable watch for me, and an emotional one at that. The theme of illegal immigration is not exactly original but it always involves a lot of lives and issues.

I liked: The two main characters and the evolution of their relationship. Stays away from the Mexican/American clichés.

I disliked: Hard to draw conclusions from. Grief and guilt fade away as the story needs to go further.

64/100
A good story carried beautifully by Abbie Cornish and the young Maritza Santiago Hernandez.