Entertainment
There's Few Bright Spots in Towards Darkness
Lindsay Berg |
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 If every three hours someone in Colombia is kidnapped, one would think there would be better material for a suspenseful bilingual thriller.
Towards Darkness clearly tries to be a powerful and gritty story of a brutal kidnapping, but ultimately ends up being a spasmodic and discombobulated film with hardly any well-executed edge-of-your-seat action. Even though writer-director Antonio Negret knows firsthand the torment and hardship of kidnapping and ransom, he is not able to provide a heartfelt, empathetic or even strong story of one family’s tragedy, mostly because the movie tries to be too many things at once.
The hostage in Towards Darkness is college student Jose Gutierrez (Roberto Urbina), who has recently traveled back to Colombia for winter break. His family’s dynamics are neither strong nor troubled, and their lifestyle is neither poor nor extravagantly wealthy. This aspect may perhaps be Negret’s way of conveying the realism of Colombian kidnappings, as they can happen to any middle-class to upper middle-class family. However, the lack of any identifiable characteristics in Jose’s family prevent any real connection with Darkness’ characters. The scenes prior to the kidnapping are few and far between with Jose and his parents, so when the family is struck with the horrifying news of his kidnapping, no really intense emotions are provoked, which probably would have been necessary in order for audiences to become fully engaged.
 The story continues through a disconnected series of flashbacks and character backgrounds, half of which ever seem relevant. Jose’s father, Carlos (Tony Plana), decides to hire an American “Kidnap and Ransom” company instead of the authorities for no clearly distinguishable reason (although at times the film alludes to the country’s corrupt and ineffective government). As the real-time plot of delivering the ransom money and negotiating with the kidnappers is occurring, Darkness roughly thrusts back in time in order to put the current situation into context.
The first and most prevalent of the intertwining stories is of Luiza (America Ferrera) and Jose. Prior to Jose leaving for the United States a few years ago, he and Luiza seemed to have had a romantic relationship, which slowly rekindles on his trip home. Their history together is a bit foggy, which ultimately prevents any real sense of understanding their current relationship. Ferrera seems to fit in comfortably with dramatic roles contrary to her current comedic character on “Ugly Betty;” however, her chemistry with Urbina is less than convincing.
Simultaneously, while the flashbacks are occurring, scenes of the ransom drop are forcefully interjected. The race-against-time car ride (and eventual chase) clearly intends to create high-tension suspense but never quite makes it there. Charlie Bain (David Sutcliffe) is the ex-FBI agent handling the drop, and even though that is basically the extent of his importance, Negret chooses to include a “Lost”-like section of the man’s history with the Kidnap and Ransom company. It’s moments like these where viewers are left waiting for an explanation, but are continually left in the dark (and not in a mysterious or even minimally captivating way).
 Other characters’ backstories are revealed in similar ways, one specifically being the kidnappers. Despite Negret’s personal family history of losing a loved one in a kidnapping, he tries to humanize the men and show their perspective. The problem is, no true empathy is ever effectively established, so it just ends up being a waste of time. It’s fairly interesting to see another viewpoint of the story, but for some inexplicable reason, Darkness attempts to induce forgiveness rather than hatred or even frustration at the kidnappers.
In the end, Negret’s crack at a full-circle, highly shocking culmination is never really successful. Had the characters and relationships been more properly formulated, the climax might have been slightly more emotional. The intentions of a “mind-blowing” ending are undeniably present, but since the rest of the film lacks the proper fluidity, there are still more bridges left under construction prior to the finale. It’s almost as if audiences are supposed to be nervously holding their breath until the very end, when in actuality they never got the chance to start.
Negret, nonetheless, does offer some solid insight into the frustrations of a third-world country and the commonality of kidnapping in Colombia. Even though the characters’ relationships are unrefined and vague, there is a valid attempt to incorporate various perspectives, but Negret’s distinct inexperience, unfortunately, gets the best of him. The camera movements and lighting are more annoying than they are dramatic, the repetitive religious images and figures are barely put into any relevant context and “the ends justify the means” plot is never truly convincing.
 Despite Negret’s apparent intentions, they simply never truly exceed beyond overly ambitious. To say Towards Darkness is rough around the edges would be an understatement. Darkness gives off the impression that it believes it is a better film than it actually is. Successful films in this type of dramatic genre such as Crash and Traffic or even TV shows like “Lost” and “24” have plagued amateur filmmakers into believing dark lighting, gritty film, cross-cutting and multiple story perspectives are the failsafe ways to cinematic acclaim. Although a noteworthy effort, Negret probably should have began with more conventional and comprehendible tactics of storytelling rather than take on the complexities and challenges of a postmodern film.
Towards Darkness is now playing in limited release.
For more information, visit tdmovie.com.
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