La Soga (Movie Review)

The Dominican Republic boasts many achievements in addition to its natural beauty, but film arguably is not one of them. That’s why La Soga (The Noose), a 2009 effort by helmer Josh Crook, comes as such a welcome surprise. In the Spanish-speaking world, one tends to think instead of Spain, Argentina, and Mexico as hotbeds of cinema.

This La Soga movie review finds a tightly wrought thriller in both Spanish and English with appropriate subtitles. Its 102 minutes virtually fly by, resulting in zero seat squirming. The action takes place largely in the Dominican Republic and in Washington Heights, New York.

A Script Forged in Real Vengeance

The scary aspect of La Soga is that the screenplay by Manny Perez relies on true events. The plot unfolds in flashbacks within a flashback, a tricky bit of storytelling. Kudos must go to Perez and Crook, who also gets an editor credit.

The narrative remains straightforward, but the film’s flashback device aids in building suspense. Writer Manny Perez is Luisito, the son of a hardworking butcher played by Nelson Baez. Luisito would rather play with the livestock than slaughter them.

As a child, Luisito is played by Fantino Fernandez. He has a childhood crush on Jenny (Leslie Cepeda as the child). She is played later as an adult by the stunning ex-Miss Universe, Puerto Rican Denise Quiñones.

Eventually, Luisito gets his nerve up and asks his dad to teach him to slaughter a pig. It is not a scene for the faint of heart, animal lovers, or even Luisito. The elder Luisito is actually a vegetarian.

That little twist aids in character development seamlessly. It also adds one of the picture’s rare touches of comic relief.

The Butcher’s Dilemma

Luisito’s dad is killed in an argument with two drug lords driving a pristine Mercedes 560 SL. They run down his goat, serving as the picture’s pivotal moment. Luisito never forgets who they are.

Now, the boy acts as the family breadwinner holding a grudge. When he sees one of the killers outside the butcher shop, he takes an ice pick used to slaughter pigs. He goes for the guy’s heart, and it works.

Arrested, he is sought out in jail by the head of the Dominican secret police (Juan Fernández), known as General Colon. The latter has big plans for Luisito. Any child who can kill in cold blood like that possesses utility.

The general trains the boy to become a government assassin. Thanks to the flashback structure, we don’t find this out until about halfway through the picture. Dribbling out backstory is an old trick that goes back long before cinema.

A Government Hitman in Crisis

Fast forward to the present. Luisito is “La Soga,” a government agent known only by that name. He and a partner (Tavo, played by Hemky Madera) cruise the Dominican Republic killing bad guys for the secret police.

These are summary executions. Many of the targets are deported from the US strictly to meet that fate. It’s a dirty war not much different from Northern Ireland in the 1980s.

Exposition is cleverly handled by Joseph Lyle Taylor as America’s bag man, Simon Burr, and Margo Martindale as Flannigan, his handler. The General gets paid by the US to take care of guys the courts cannot convict. He is also on the take from some Dominican criminals.

Some of these creeps end up on the hit list. One of them, a predator played by Cruzmonty, meets a gruesome end despite paying his bribe to the General. It’s the crimes against children that angered Luisito.

But Luisito’s real motivation to remain “La Soga” is the overwhelming desire to nail Rafa (Paul Calderon). Rafa is the leader of the pair who killed his dad. While actors like Michelle Rodriguez film in the Dominican Republic often, few capture this level of grit.

Romance Amidst the Carnage

Meanwhile, Luisito has rekindled his childhood romance with Jenny using a device virtually lifted from The Sopranos. Anyone remember the episode where Dr. Melfi’s Jaguar needs repair? At first, all goes well.

But as she gets drawn further into Luisito’s new reality, she recoils. Luisito wants to retire as a government assassin although Rafa remains in his sights. Dialogue makes it clear that Luisito has stuck it out as long as he has only to nail Rafa.

The General objects. It’s a tad like retiring from the Mob. Only a few people have done it and lived to tell about it. What ensues is a Mexican standoff within a Mexican standoff.

The picture offers almost a double payoff. Crook could have ended it before the final reel. As your critic has written, stretching a picture beyond its “natural end” is a tricky job.

Most of the time it doesn’t work. But Crook’s path to the ending is ingenious, taking full advantage of modern media publicity. Much like the tension found in other Dominican film festival entries, the stakes feel real.

La Soga is unrated. Tech credits are adequate. Subtitles get the point across for both speakers of English and Spanish. Animal lovers, children, and folks with weak stomachs would do well to avoid it. The rest can consider the ticket price money well spent on a gripping thriller.