I originally gave this an 8 until I reached the final episode. Then I gave it a 9.
What begins as a gaudy frenzy of pressures and activity, slowly loosens into delicate threads of realisations and truth. As the latter are revealed, the threads begin to intertwine until the final episode where they become whole and strong.
The direction is delicately shaped as well. At first it all seems weird. It's a world I don't understand. And it's boxing which I don't like. It's in Spanish, which at first sounds rushed to me, the dialogue often is rapid fire, and it's my first Mexican film. Frenetic. But over time, things slow down, you're nudged along and what is real begins to form. The further along, the more time slows down, and as the characters slow down, the tension keeps building until the end when everything comes together and magic happens.
This series is often hilarious. Diego Luna's Andy is a ridiculous, crass and selfish, often pathetic and overbearing character, the most frenetic and desperate of all, but man, I began to feel for him. There are small quiet scenes along the way that show more vulnerable dimensions. Luna should do more comedy, including the physical. It's clear he loves it and he has the sensibility and physical grace to pull it off. It is finally in this series where I would say he is a great actor because the material has given him something to sink his brilliant teeth into.
I was not familiar with Bernal until this series. His character's Esteban, La Máquina, is the mute centre of everything that is wrong. He is the silent storm. It's fitting that he is the boxer. Bernal is great, his muted, often still self plays fantastically against the ever whirling Andy. He hallucinates things. Or are those hallucinations? In every sense, Bernal portrays him as a normal guy with a lot of pressure on him who has screwed up and is full of lamentation. Over time, like Andy, you begin to know him and feel for him.
Casting a dark shadow over everything is the murderous threat of anonymous fixers who want to control their lives. They are owed. They're everywhere and they mean business. Just when you find some relief, they're back again. This looming sense of dread informs the entire series. And it really matters.
Every actor is wonderful. There are no jarring notes. Everyone seems real and very human. Every one is knowable.
I'm not a cinephile, but I know quality when I see it. It actually touched me deeply which I did not expect. The acting is superb, the chemistry between the two friends Esteban and Andy is the marvellous chemistry of friends in real life, both revealed to me as great actors. I want more, separately or together. It's spoiled me.
La Máquina is a fitting title. By the end, you get it. This is a gem in a world of cinematic pyrite.
I highly recommend this to anyone who has the patience to wait and watch. Now that I've written this I almost want to give it a 10! Instead I'll watch it again. Perfection is boring.
