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Raising Victor Vargas 2002 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Peter Sollett
R, 88 min. (strong language) |
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Starring: Victor Rasuk, Judy Marte, Melonie Diaz, Altagracia Guzman, Silvestre Rasuk, Krystal Rodriguez, Kevin Rivera, Wilfree Vasquez
Producers: S. Macaulay, R. O'Hara, P. Sollett, Alain de la Mata
Screenplay: Peter Sollett
Cinematography: Tim Orr
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Released: 3.28.03 (Limited) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
Raising Victor Vargas is much like another involving film dealing with the travails of a teenager's first love, All the Real Girls,
but the emotional investment the viewer makes into the characters here is even more pronounced, elevating the film to
rarified air that few motion pictures reach. That director Peter Sollet's evenly directed film is one of the best films of
the year is no surprise by the time its gratifying conclusion comes around because we know that he won't end the story
with histrionics or an unrealistic catharsis. Sollet gains our trust and doesn't spoil it with out of step melodrama or manipulation
for effect. His film is too smart for that, and, judging by his work here, he's yet another up-and-coming young director whose
future looks bright.
Sollet sets his story in New York's Lower East Side, where his characters are poor but not inactive. Victor (Victor Rasuk)
is the suave kid with an image to uphold, but when it's tarnished by rumors of his relations with a local fat girl named Donna,
he attempts to repair it by pursuing the highly unattainable "Juicy Judy" (Judy Marte), who has contempt for pretty much
any boy who pines for her affections. But the story isn't that narrow. We also follow the relationship between Victor's
best friend, Harold (Kevin Rivera), and Judy's best friend, Melonie (Melonie Diaz). Moreover, we visit Victor's household,
where his apathetic sister, Vicki (Krystal Rodriguez), idolizing brother, Nino (Silvestre Rasuk), and aging grandmother (Altagracia Guzman)
cope with each other as controversy infiltrates the small apartment they share.
There are really two main storylines here - Victor's slow wooing of Judy and Victor's crumbling relationship with his family.
While he makes progress with Judy his grandmother sees his growing influence over his siblings as destructive and immoral.
Sollet goes to great lengths to emphasize the importance of both stories and the spill-over effect that each has on the other.
Just as things with Judy are finally coming to fruition, Victor's grandmother has decided to throw him out of the apartment by
asking the local social worker to relocate him. Although he escapes that fate, the impact on his life is considerable and his
relationships with others begin to transform his actions into more selfless acts that emphasize the other's needs. This is an
especially difficult feat to pull off effectively, but Sollet is up to the challenge.
Although Victor's crisis at home takes up considerable film time, it's his burgeoning relationship with Judy that hooks the
viewer into the growing pains of his life. The film, which is also written by Sollet, depicts a refreshing honesty and insightful
view of Victor and Judy's building trust and friendship. Judy is a virgin and wisely untrusting of boys her age, so when Victor
comes along she decides to use him as a male repellent in the form of labeling him "her man." Yet when Victor's true
nature rises above his surface bravado, she begins to realize that he is indeed a viable candidate for her first experience with
love. Sollet shows us Victor's inner turmoil and frustrating level build with each mild rebuke from Judy, who is still unsure of
his intentions. Victor makes mistakes and apologizes for them, and Judy slowly understands that not all boys are rotten to
the core. Sollet also convinces us that Victor is a good boy despite his early depiction as a potential womanizer who cares
only for his own lustful desires. And when Victor has won Judy's affections at last, the film masterfully remains even-keeled
when they share their first intimate experience - an innocent kiss. It's ironic that Judy must make the advances toward a boy
who seemed like the type that would push himself onto most other girls. To top it off, Sollet captures a rare moment of insightful
commentary on first love as they share an embrace that imparts their complete trust in each other. When I see scenes like
this I'm reminded of the depths to which Hollywood has fallen since its golden age of filmmaking - you'd never see anything
like this at the local cineplex.
But maybe Sollet's greatest achievement is in his peripheral characters, which proves his attention to detail and his desire
to portray life as it really is - not just as a bubble around the main character. Considerable time is budgeted for Vicki's
relationship with a boy she despises but eventually accepts, and Nino's delicate growing pains as a brother who needs
direction from his older brother as he also begins to investigate the opposite sex. Also, consider the scene where Harold
convinces Melonie that she is indeed beautiful ("You look like Julia Roberts") - as they both take off their glasses at the same
time and Melonie lets her hair down, you can almost sense their defense mechanisms fade as they begin to trust each other.
Finally, Victor's grandmother is portrayed as a woman who can't understand the younger generation entrusted to her and
her struggle to come to terms with her responsibility for them despite her preconceived notions that they are sliding into a moral
abyss.
In many ways, Raising Victor Vargas is not a conventional film by independent film standards, which can at times also fall
prey to clichés that have been propagated so many times in mainstream cinema that audiences won't believe anything to
the contrary to be true. Here, although Victor and his family and friends are poor, there aren't bullets and crack/cocaine
splashed in every scene for effect; instead there is love and relative security in these homes, which struggle more with
moral dilemmas than who's been shot this week. Sollet's cinematographer is Tim Orr, who also worked on the aforementioned
All the Real Girls, and he lends a golden hue to the proceedings that emphasizes the almost surreal nature of Sollet's natural
characters. Sollet has proven his talent as a director with this film, combining a
real-world feel with interesting characters that challenge stereotypes by simply being themselves.
© 2003 Jonathan Cornwell
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 |
 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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