American movies seldom draw the line between haves and have-nots as sharply as in Ron Morales’ “Graceland,” a nerve-shredding Philippines-set thriller made with such skill that its low budget barely registers.
Marlon (Arnold Reyes) is a chauffeur to Chango, a Manila congressman (Menggie Cobarrubias) who has a sleazy penchant for underage girls. Marlon’s daughter Elvie (Ella Guevara) is good friends with his boss’ daughter Sophia (Patricia Gayod). That leads to terrible consequences when thugs attempt to kidnap Sophia and take Elvie instead. The ransom demanded is2 million Philippine pesos — about $48,000 — a world of money to Marlon, whose wife is deathly ill. To rescue Elvie, Marlon must work his way around not only the kidnappers, but also his contemptible boss.
Chango and his wife are as removed from, and indifferent to, the privation surrounding them as aristocrats in pre-revolutionary France. Morales films Manila under overcast skies with the same penetrating eye that he brings to the movie’s twisted, deeply compromised characters.
The main subplot of “Graceland,” about sexual exploitation, veers perilously close to exploitation itself in two brief shots of naked adolescent girls. There’s also one plot twist too many. Yet the actors are uniformly marvelous, Reyes most of all, a beaten-down and heartsick man played with the matter-of-factness that characterizes the entire film. Morales’ spin on the old ransom plot is fresher and more gripping than most big-budget Hollywood products.