When 17-year-old Maria Alvarez (Moreno) finds herself unemployed in a small town in Columbia her search for a new job and a better life leads her in a direction few will take. Lured in by large financial rewards she is offered a job working as a “mule” swallowing upwards of 60 thumb-sized rubber pellets full of heroin and transporting them from Columbia to the streets of New York. If one of these pellets breaks open it means almost certain death, but the promise of $5,000 for the trip is enough for her to risk the dangers she poses on herself and her unborn baby.
First time screenwriter/director Joshua Marston heard the story of drug-“mules” living in his Brooklyn neighborhood, and based on the stories he heard he brings to life the fictional story of a girl living a very real problem in our world today where the promise of money and a better life is more important than their own health.
Maria Full of Grace is, at times, gut wrenching as you watch Maria swallow 62 pellets filled with heroin, to a horribly tragic scene where the consequences of the young girl’s decisions become all-to-real.
Oscar has certainly found their first nom for Best Actress as Catalina Sandino Moreno turns in a gritty performance as a girl desperate to change her life’s path, while willing to suffer the most drastic of situations.
Throughout the film you find yourself rooting for her, hoping she will come out unscathed on the other side of the dark path she has chosen, and that the pressure of having to grow up quickly in an unfamiliar world will not destroy her.
Last year Keisha Castle-Hughes found herself Tinseltown’s darling with her Best Actress nomination for Whale Rider and this year Moreno will find herself in the same position as the Oscar race starts with Maria Full of Grace.
