FILM: Roma (2018, Alfonso Cuarón)

Mexican drama film Roma is distributed by Netflix, following its premiere at the 2018 Venice International Film Festival. Set in Mexico City in the early 1970s, the film follows Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a housekeeper to a middle-class family. She becomes pregnant to her first boyfriend (Jorge Antonio Guerrero), but he flees after she tells him. Cleo decides to try to track him down, hoping that she will have a change of heart. However, the family that she works for is breaking apart and Cleo must come to realise with just how important she truly is to the family.

PROS

• Inspired by his own upbringing, Alfonso Cuarón’s screenplay is a heartfelt dedication to the women who played such a big role in his childhood – a sensitive, emotional exploration of how lives can be changed by unforeseen circumstances, but also of how family is not just defined by genetics, but also by the importance of their roles in your life.
• Alfonso Cuarón’s heartfelt passion for Roma is further conveyed in his nuanced, well-realised direction, which makes the final product feel reflective and intimate, thanks not least to his slow-burn approach to Cleo’s emotional journey.
• Alfonso Cuarón proves himself to be an outstanding cinematographer as well (boy, what can he not do!?!), proving just as adept with long shots as he is with close-ups. He also uses long takes that work to perfection for the narrative, but best of all every shot feels meticulously planned, and countless shots feel like beautiful paintings, a feat made more impressive by the fact that Roma is shot in black-and-white.
• Non-professional Yalitza Aparicio proves to be an incredible talent, giving a truly natural, sensitive performance that makes Cleo’s emotional journey wholly engrossing. The supporting cast are outstanding, particularly the intense Jorge Antonio Guerrero, the authoritative Marina de Tavira, and the four child actors, all of whom give natural performances and have great chemistry with Aparicio.
• Handsome production design for the large house that Cleo works in, the house itself looking like a wonderful space to raise a large family in, while the props within it which make it a home convey well that, despite being home to academics, it is ultimately a family home that bears the signs of young occupants.

NITPICKS

• A couple of events and character arcs that (while ultimately not that important in the long run) do not get the full closure that comes from loose ends being well and truly tied.

VERDICT: 10/10