While most people will fixate on the emotional and powerful performances by Saldana and Hedlund in this film, I was equally as moved by the nuance of the overarching message being communicated through the characters in this story.
The film intentionally establishes the main characters -- played by Saldana and Hedlund -- as opposite sides of a mirror. Both are good people who get unintentionally caught up in the overwhelming corruption of the worlds around them: Saldana by the Mexican Cartel, and Hedlund by corrupt ICE officers.
With nothing but good intentions, both characters must make one moral concession after another until they are inevitably corrupted by the systems and find themselves doing things they never imagined possible. It's heartbreaking.
I like the interesting choice to follow the main characters separately, only meeting briefly at the end of the film after their unfortunate transformations are complete. It underscores the idea that we've been watching soul-mirrors this whole time: two people caught up in a whirlwind of evil on different "sides of the border."
The Absence of Eden is an emotional watch, and its complex moral message and untraditional storytelling may keep it from resonating for some viewers, but for those who appreciate films that take a shot at breaking stereotypes and telling compelling moral parables in a more experimental way, it will definitely be one that sticks with you long after watching.
The film intentionally establishes the main characters -- played by Saldana and Hedlund -- as opposite sides of a mirror. Both are good people who get unintentionally caught up in the overwhelming corruption of the worlds around them: Saldana by the Mexican Cartel, and Hedlund by corrupt ICE officers.
With nothing but good intentions, both characters must make one moral concession after another until they are inevitably corrupted by the systems and find themselves doing things they never imagined possible. It's heartbreaking.
I like the interesting choice to follow the main characters separately, only meeting briefly at the end of the film after their unfortunate transformations are complete. It underscores the idea that we've been watching soul-mirrors this whole time: two people caught up in a whirlwind of evil on different "sides of the border."
The Absence of Eden is an emotional watch, and its complex moral message and untraditional storytelling may keep it from resonating for some viewers, but for those who appreciate films that take a shot at breaking stereotypes and telling compelling moral parables in a more experimental way, it will definitely be one that sticks with you long after watching.