Criminal
is the American retelling of the Argentine film Nine
Queens.
The directorial debut of Steven Soderbergh’s assistant director,
Gregory Jacobs, stars Diego Luna as an aspiring con artist taking
under the wing of a professional, played by John C. Reilly. Luna
said he did not feel any particular ties to the original Latin film.
Diego:
“I felt the responsibility of having
a good script in my hands that, if it doesn’t get to be a good movie
then it’s your fault, definitely,” Luna said.
“[I saw the original] after we
wrapped this one. I bought the DVD a week before we started shooting
and I was going to watch it. In fact, Greg and Steven said to me,
‘You shouldn’t. Think about it’. And it was true. The actor was so
good on that movie that I was going to be thinking about all the
choices he made through the movie. And the approach I had for the
character was my own approach and I thought it felt right for the
movie. Then I watched the Argentine one and I thought it was a great
movie and the actors are great. I’m glad I didn’t watch it [first].”
The thing about
con movies is that the heroes are seedy, conniving characters.
Making them sympathetic is tricky for an actor, but Luna met that
challenge.
Diego:
“I think basically he’s a normal guy, a
real guy. He does bad things and good things and I just think for
him, it’s a family business and it’s about love. But I don’t think
he’s good. I don’t think I would like to have him around.”
Reilly’s character
comments that Luna looks like a nice guy. Luna agreed, jokingly.
Diego:“I think so, yeah. I’ve seen
worse. For Rodrigo, it definitely works. For me, sometimes, if I
want to play the bad guy, it doesn’t work at all.”
Con movies also
toy with the audience and their perceptions of characters’
motivations. Luna had to maintain a balance of what his character is
perceived to want and what he really wants.
Diego:
“My character is risking a lot. It’s
got to work. If you now see the movie again, you realize what he’s
thinking and what he can lose in one second. There are so many
levels to the story and everything means so many things. Basically
both characters are performing the whole time. There are just a few
moments that are totally true and really happening. It’s a movie
that you can watch once and watch it again and learn different
things and understand why things are happening. It was really fun as
an actor because there was so much going on at the same time. One
thing I would say would mean one thing for you and another for
[someone else]. We decided, ‘Okay, this thing is really happening
and this is part of the con’. It was very exciting and very tough
and very complex and Greg was really clear about what he wanted.”
Luna toured the streets
of Los Angeles in preparation for the city-based film. As he and
Reilly wander the streets, pursuing different angles on the con, it
helped Luna to familiarize himself with the geography.
Diego:
“I really got to know L.A.
finally, that L.A. is not just the west side and promotion, hotels
and the big theaters. There’s a city, lots of people and it’s a very
weird city because there are so many races, so many accents, so many
languages in the same place but they don’t share. There are so many
little frontiers inside L.A. It’s weird. You don’t see that in
movies. You see a movie about Mexicans or cholos or about Americans
but this movie is about L.A. and L.A. is another character and I
like that because it’s an honest way of saying that we should
celebrate the differences instead of making frontiers between us.”
Still bouncing forth
between English and Spanish films, the Mexican crime film
Nicotina
just released in the states, Luna finds no difference working in
either language.
Diego:
“It’s not different. At the end, it’s
exactly the same. Once they say ‘action’, it’s not about the money
anymore and not about the business or the industry or anything. We
don’t have an industr,y but when they say ‘action’ it’s just actors
reacting to what is happening and that’s what makes movies unique.
The smallest movie can be the biggest for you. I don’t find anything
different. The only difference here is people live from movies in
this country and in my country people do movies because they love
movies and sometimes you have to pay to do movies. In the end, it’s
the same, you just need a good story.”
Still at home in
Mexico City, Luna refuses to move to Hollywood.
Diego:
“I
like Mexico and it’s a three hour flight, really close. I have lots
of things to do in Mexico and people that I want to work with and my
friends and family. I’m staying there for sure.”
The few times he
gets to work there, such as the upcoming God Only Knows are
dream situations.
Diego:
“It’s the best. That’s where I decided
to be an actor and there’s lots of reasons in that country for me to
go back. Lots of people I love and admire. I wish we had a bigger
industry. Every time I can be there to help and try to make things
happen, I’ll be there. With this movie, we have more producers than
actors. I’m co-producing with so many people. It’s not a business
yet in my country, which is a shame but I still have the chance to
work there. It happens once your career starts to go well outside of
Mexico, it’s easier.”
Ever since the
groundbreaking
and star-making
Y Tu Mama Tambien,
Luna has been a sought after actor, starring in
Dirty
Dancing:
Havana Nights,
Open Range
and
The Terminal.
It has all been a thrilling road for Luna.
Diego:
“I was surprised. I was never expecting
what happened with that movie and since then I’ve been able to just
do movies and theater and be in projects that I want to be in and
that I believe in. I’m traveling with my work and promoting my work.
Yeah, my life is much better. I’m really happy finally doing what I
want to do. I haven’t had to work for money since then. It’s nice.”
As pressures and
expectations rise, Luna tries to keep everything in perspective.
Diego: “I
like when people appreciate what you do. We tell stories forpeople
to hear the stories we want to tell. It’s great to have people
wanting to know what you’re doing. I like the fame when it comes
from your work. When it’s because you did something that people want
to talk about. I hate fame just like FAME, that sounds pathetic and
makes your life very lonely. If you need to be famous to be happy,
it’s stupid. I need to act and tell stories and work and meet people
and make families. That’s what I like about my job and then, if
people want to see that, it’s great. If not, I already had a great
time.”
CRIMINAL
(R: violence, language)
Starring: John C. Reilly, Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal,
Peter Mullan.
Director: Gregory Jacobs.
Running time:
1 hr. 27 min.
In a nutshell: Con artist trains younger grifter on the day
of the biggest scam of their lives in this unbelievably plotted but
emotionally credible remake of the Argentine suspense "Nine Queens."
