Gringo is
one movie that doesn’t have the necessary ratings to draw in a big audience.
This dark comedy will fly under the radar for many, but I can safely say it
shouldn’t fly under yours.
The movie is a dark comedy with some overly silly characters and some overly
wicked ones. Its take on a blackmail scheme gone wrong is extremely interesting
to watch. The ending is simple, without too much complexity, and for me, this
is how movies should always end—simple, no need for the guy to get the girl or
anything like that.
So, what
is Gringo about?
First, the movie has many metaphors about animals that can be really
annoying—which was the point, as our lead, Harold/Harry (David Oyelowo), seems
to always be on the receiving end of them until he finally gets fed up.
Harry is the regular guy who does his work and tries to do the right thing but
constantly gets run over. The whole movie is about how Harry manages to survive
all of this.
Harry works for
a company that produces medical marijuana, but they’ve devised a way to turn it
into pills while still delivering the same effect. This innovation has made the
company rich and ripe for a takeover by bigger pharmaceutical companies.
Now, a lot of shady things are happening in the company, especially at its
factory in Mexico, which Harry, the operations guy, oversees. A big company has
shown interest in merging with Harry’s company, and the owners—Harry’s bosses,
Richard (Joel Edgerton) and Elaine (Charlize Theron)—decide to go to Mexico to
straighten things out.
Harry is a
friend of Richard’s, and Richard hired him because he needed someone who
wouldn’t ask too many questions and would look the other way while questionable
things went down. Harry was the man for the job, as he looked wherever Richard
pointed and never asked any questions—until he found out about the merger
through his accountant, who also warned him about his mounting financial
problems at home. Harry’s wife was draining his bank account, and he’s now in
debt.
Shocked by both
revelations, Harry decides to confront Richard and ask about the merger rumors
and what will happen to him if it goes through. Richard lies to him, denying
any merger plans while secretly continuing them.
When they’re in Mexico, where Richard and Elaine are trying to clean up the
shady dealings at the factory, Harry finds out that the merger is indeed
happening—and also discovers that his wife is leaving him. Now unhappy and
unsure what to do, Harry decides to stage his own kidnapping and demand a
ransom from his company.
That idea doesn’t go well, because unknown to Harry, the illegal partners his
company has been dealing with in Mexico are aware that he runs operations for
the company. Since Richard and Elaine want to cut ties with them, they’ve sent
men to kidnap Harry.
Now, Harry has
kidnapped himself, some men are trying to kidnap him for real, and his company
has decided not to pay the ransom he demanded. Instead, Richard hires a
mercenary to either save Harry or maybe just kill him.
You have to see
this movie because so many things keep happening that will make you wonder how
everything will make sense in the end—but somehow, the writers manage to tie up
most of the loose ends (well, not all).
David Oyelowo’s acting was great, and so was Charlize Theron’s.
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