A Common Crime

A truly daring, atmospheric thriller from Argentina probes collective guilt with minimalistic finesse.

Elisa Carricajo

The Argentinian filmmaker Francisco Márquez was born in 1981 and this is the second feature film that he has made with actors - it also follows on from a documentary and two shorts. A Common Crime, a work that he co-scripted with Tomás Downey, comes across as a truly daring work for the simple reason that it sees Márquez creating a film that refuses to play down to meet audience expectations and thus become more commercial. The result is a small, intimate piece boasting a great performance by its leading actress Elisa Carricajo but made in a style which, while it won't please everyone, yet bears Márquez's personal signature.

I have read reviews of A Common Crime that not only reveal too many details when describing its plot but also give what I regard as a false impression of the kind of film this is. When it comes to specifics, I think that all that needs to be said is that Carricajo is very much the centre of the piece playing a teacher named Cecilia. She lives in Buenos Aires, has economics and sociology as her subjects and lives with her young son, Juan (Ciro Coien Pardo). She is separated from her husband but has a friendly housekeeper, Nebe (Mecha Martínez), and the bond between them is revealing of Cecilia's character since Nebe comes from a tough and poor neighbourhood but is treated warmly.

Those reviews that say too much not only mention a dramatic incident that is crucial to what follows but go on to suggest that in its later stages A Common Crime becomes a ghost story. Such a description seems to promise a more dramatic and conventional work and viewers expecting that and perhaps hoping for a touch of supernatural horror will in all probability be disappointed by a film which is distinctly minimalistic in its approach. Furthermore, it is much more concerned with atmosphere and mood than it is with big dramas (all the more reason therefore not to reveal the event that triggers so much even if it does occur relatively early on).

As I see it, the aim of A Common Crime is to study the situation of a humane, civilised woman living a comfortable life but doing so in a country where the authorities all too readily resort to violence and put down protesters. Normally such events would happen at a distance from Cecilia but one case occurs so close to home that she starts to blame herself for having contributed to it however incidentally. It is in consequence of this that she becomes unnerved and even somewhat unhinged, but any haunting is very largely in her imagination. Nevertheless, we see how what has happened gradually induces a sense of guilt and raises questions in her mind about the kind of life to which she has committed herself. Can a person of intelligence remain at a remove from politics when living in a society like this one?

The unhurried approach adopted by Márquez brings out the details of everyday life and allows Carricajo to give a remarkably subtle and rounded portrait of Cecilia. As the housekeeper, Mecha Martínez matches her in communicating their bond so precisely and so instantly. Particularly when it comes to films that touch on politics in Argentina, bigger and noisier movies have certainly been made, but A Common Crime quietly makes its own mark and keeps to its own register. Some viewers may find it slow and boring, but I emphatically did not. I would call it an uncommon piece and Elisa Carricajo is quite wonderful in it.

Original title: Un crimen común.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast: Elisa Carricajo, Mecha Martínez, Ciro Coien Pardo, Cecilia Rainero, Eliot Otazo, Mariano Saborido, Julieta Novelli, José María Marcos, Juan Ríos, Lautaro Marua, Ashly Alvarado.

Dir Francisco Márquez, Pro Luciana Piantanida and Andrea Testa, Screenplay Francisco Márquez and Tomás Downey, Ph Federico Lastra, Art Dir Mariela Rípodas, Ed Lorena Moriconi, Music Orlando Scarpa Neto, Costumes Jam Monti.

Bord Cadre Films/Multiverso Produções/Pensar con las Manos-Sovereign Film Distribution.
96 mins. Argentina. 2020. Rel: 9 April 2021. Available on BFI Player. Cert. 12.