Gracious! The things they can do with CGI these days. In this Mexican film about the drug wars, one man gets his — never mind. Let’s just say you’ll be grateful for “Heli”’s color-leached palette.
Heli (Armando Espitia) is a factory worker with a wife and baby. He also has a preteen sister with a bad-news boyfriend, who gets them involved with a drug deal.
Director Amat Escalante’s domestic scenes have some feeling, despite wan non-pro actors.
But he’s clearly more interested in the violence, like the aforementioned torture scene. The torture is supposed to be unflinching and bold, but it’s just deadening.
The real unflinching truth is that an average newspaper reporter can do a more artful, compassionate job with a drug-war story than this movie does.