A tale of two women, both separated further apart from one another by their circumstances, Streetwalker is a film I would call a classic morality play, but for the fact that the fate of one character feels unnecessary and thrown in for extra melodrama in a finale that didn’t need it.
Miroslava plays Elena, a woman who has made her way from a hard life to a much easier one, married to the rich Don Faustino Irigoyan (Miguel Ángel Ferriz). That doesn’t stop her from being attracted to, and excited by, the charming and conniving Rodolfo (Ernesto Alonso). Rodolfo also looms large in the life of Maria (Elda Peralta), a woman who is currently working as a prostitute, and someone who knows that Elena was once working right alongside her.
There you have it, a tale of two women who are connected by one dubious man, as well as a shared history that one of them wants to forget. This is labelled as a drama/crime movie in various places, but it felt very much like a classic noir to me. Which made me schedule my viewing of it in Noirvember.
Written by José Aguila and director Matilde Landeta, developing an idea from Luis Spota, Streetwalker is a brilliant blend of dark content and naive optimism, with the latter helping to guide viewers through the third act like a sputtering candle flame that eventually dies out altogether, leaving everyone in a dark and lonely place.
Landeta is celebrated as one of the first female directors from Mexico, and this film shows me that I need to explore more of her filmography. She has an excellent way of handling the material, allowing characters to show a fluid morality that depends on their circumstances and who they have to placate at any one time. There’s some judgement here, but it isn’t the view that you might expect. Indeed, the one character who arguably matches the title of the film most is the one character who seems to be the best of the lot.
Miroslava is very good in her role, a woman ready to plot and scheme her way to another new phase in her life, having tired of the place she has been resting for a while now. Peralta is equally good, and does well in a role that showcases how her character isn’t at all defined by her current employment situation. Alonso is enjoyably slippery and selfish, easy to spot as bad news from his earliest scenes, and Ferriz has a good time portraying someone who seems blissfully ignorant of the plan being set in motion around him. Enedina Díaz de León is also worth mentioning, her character showing the perils of the life that both of our leading ladies want to leave far behind them.
I admit that I was in two minds when I saw this title while debating my next streaming movie choice, but I am glad I went for it. Streetwalker is well worth your time, and I hope to see more movies from everyone involved at some point. Whether I remember the names or not is a different matter, but the good intention is there. And that good intention was created by this film, which I highly recommend to others who have yet to check it out.
8/10
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