A good heist movie is usually something that I can easily enjoy. The Delinquents is a good "heist" movie, and it succeeds by focusing on the consequences of robbery, allowing the job to be the focus of the film without it actually being the focus of the film. Does that make any sense? I hope so, but any confusion you feel now may be on a par with some confusion you could feel at the end of this movie. That's not a bad thing. I'm just highlighting how things play out in the film.
Daniel Elías plays Morán, a bank employee who sees an opportunity to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. He doesn't want to be a millionaire. He just wants to give himself the opportunity of a better life. He's done the maths, and he knows that the money will amount to whatever he would have earned if he stayed working for the bank. His plan is to hide the money and then confess to the crime, to be arrested and serve his time in prison while, hopefully, a good friend, Román (Esteban Bigliardi) helps to keep the money hidden until it will be split between the two men upon Morán's release.
Written and directed by Rodrigo Moreno, The Delinquents is a clever and entertaining exploration of morality, relativity, and the value of friendship. The main character doesn't seem unreasonable, whether you agree with his approach or not, and the central premise is really just a way to show someone attempting to use the system, and society's rules, in an impressively unorthodox way. It's a thought-provoking work, whether you're thinking about Morán's position, Román's position, or the emotions of other characters caught up in the whole mess (including a Norma, Morna, and Ramón).
Elías is very good in one of the main roles, although he's justifiably sidelined once he fully sets his plan in motion. He still gets plenty to do though, whether it's time enjoying his freedom before he hands himself in to the authorities or navigating the new rules and bartering system of prison life. Bigliardi is equally good, and he plays his character with enough subtlety and nuance to make it hard to predict exactly what he will end up doing at any given moment. He may be a very good friend, but he's suddenly been entrusted with a very large amount of money. Margarita Molfino also deserves praise for her performance as Norma, a standout from the selection of supporting characters all given names that are anagrams of our leads, and she provides an important point of a triangle that ultimately turns into itself and expands into something much more complicated and intriguing.
There are issues here, but viewers can decide whether or not they are problematic enough to spoil their viewing experience. The "heist" itself isn't a big deal. It doesn't require a load of planning or specialised skills. It's essentially a snatch job, the real skill being the plan for the aftermath. There's also a lengthy runtime over three hours. It didn't feel overlong to me, but some will definitely have their patience tested. Then there's the ending, one that allows for a variety of interpretations. For as much as I liked the approach to the material, satisfaction is far from guaranteed.
I really liked this, and I'd be very keen to watch it again and see how I might view certain scenes differently. I recommend it heartily to other film fans, but with a fair warning about the runtime and the open-ended structure of the whole thing.
8/10
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