BY ELLIOT LINES MARCH 26, 2024
Directed by Rodrigo Morena, Argentinian film The Delinquents may be slow going at first, but the story that unfolds across it's 3 hour runtime leads to intrigue set amidst the bustling Buenos Aires and Argentinian countryside.
SYNOPSIS
Bank employee Morán steals enough money to never work again, then offers his colleague a cut if he hides the cash while Morán confesses and does what he calculates will be a short jail sentence. Soon under investigative pressure, accomplice Román meets a woman who transforms him forever.
REVIEW
At just over the 3 hour mark, The Delinquents may feel a little slow in telling this story, but as the film unravels you quickly realise that there is much more than the surface level bank heist the film initially disguises itself to be.
We focus mostly on two men, Morán (Daniel Elías) and Román (Esteban Bigliardi). Morán is seemingly at first just a simple bank clerk, but there is a man trapped inside wanting to get out of this mundane life. Román also feels like a disgruntled employee, which is why Morán choses him as his "accomplice" in the crime he has committed, and taken responsibility for. The Delinquents takes it's time in the early part to set up these characters, which only elevated the latter half, which is where the movie truly gets interesting.
As the film progresses, there is an overlap in these men's lives. You may think just how much more could their lives entangle when they've essentially robbed a bank together, however The Delinquents successfully makes it work. When Román cannot handle the guilt of holding onto the money any longer, he seeks advice from Morán in prison, where he tells him to take the money out to the countryside. This is where the two men cross paths expectantly through a romantic interest.
Running for, at the previously mentioned, 3 hour mark, it's safe to say that there are scenes that feel like a bit of a drag. It spends time in some moments for too long, and does this on multiple occasions throughout. This may of created some extra ambiance in the scene, but the moments didn't feel like they needed it, ultimately making this the length it was.
The Delinquents was a unexpecting enjoyable watch. Throughout the first half I found myself questioning where the film was going, but as it unravelled I found myself increasingly compelled and interested in the story it is trying to tell.
STAR RATING
