Roma - Review

Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón

Screenwriter: Alfonso Cuarón

Starring: Yalitza Aparici, Marina de Tavira

Even before I was of an age to be aware of what set apart some films from one another in terms of directing style and even the overall quality of a film, Alfonso Cuarón's direction of Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Askaban was a film that immediately stood out to me when I first saw it at a very young age and to this day has remained my favorite in the series. It is of no doubt that Cuarón is a master of his craft in every single way, this was certified for me with Children Of Men, and with Roma he continues to astound.

Following the story of a maid of a middle class family in 1970s Mexico, we are taken through a year in her life. As always I think it best that you do not know much about the films narrative as this is all I knew going in. Cleo is played by Yalitza Aparici, who shockingly has never acted before in her life is so great that I still cannot believe she was a newcomer. I cannot claim to be an expert in judging the acting of a foreign language film but to me all of the acting, even the children, felt so real and natural.

Beauty has to be the word that comes to mind the minute the film starts, and throughout the film that feeling will never leave you. Taking on the role of Cinematographer, Alfonso Cuarón manages to make every single shot is impeccable, being shot in black and white does wonders for the look of the film. The world of the film feels alive at all times, the more I watched the more I felt myself being completely involved in the setting. Although, it only makes me more disappointed that I was unable to see the film on the big screen as I cannot imagine the difference it would make compared to my home viewing set up.

I suspect that the sound mixing has to be a top contender for the Oscar, with the complete lack of any non-diagetic sounds the film has to ensure that the sounds captured in the story are spot on. You get a real feeling of 3D audio as the sound has such a depth to it. Again though, this was slightly hampered by my viewing on Netflix which is of no fault to the film it self.

The film sometimes does have some pacing issues, the starting moments for me felt a tad to slow with no real narrative strings that I could find myself able to grasp onto until a good while into the film. Despite this, Roma is clearly a deeply personal passion project for Cuarón, and I am very happy to see Netflix releasing work that is not just aiming to go viral on twitter. The more I think about it the more I love it and I do not see that changing for a long time.

Rating - 4.5/5 Stars