By Romey Norton - November 12, 2024
Set in the Latinx and LGBTQ+ world of Los Angeles, The Low End Theory follows an aspiring beats producer Racquel (Sofia Yepes) torn between the woman she loves and the crime boss she betrayed. The film follows themes of love, lust, loyalty, and lies.
This indie crime thriller is directed by Franciso Ordonez, and stars Eddie Martinez, Rene Rosado, Ricky Russert, Scotty Tovar, Ser Anzoategui, Sidney Flanigan, and Sofia Yepes.
To fund her dreams Racquel starts laundering money and despite being pretty successful, and in a relationship, she then steals from her dangerous drug dealer boss to pay off debts owed by her beautiful, yet troubled, love interest, Veronica (Sidney Flanigan).
These actions have dire consequences, filling their world with betrayal and violence. As Racquel and Veronica prepare to run, the repercussions begin to multiply and Racquel is paralyzed with guilt. The gang of criminals like Raquel and trust her, making her betrayal even more difficult to cope with.
The film’s storyline is easy to follow but sometimes feels a little slow. I was ready for the action to build and the conflicts to happen and it did after about an hour. The acting is substantial - some very strong parts - but the leads lack chemistry which made me question Raquel's choices. I never really warmed up to her character, and I think this is because she’s pulled in so many directions, from music producing, to love, to laundering, to being an ex-vet who's in counselling, that they’re all never fully explored. I understand they want to make her character complex, but I found it difficult to build a rapport.
The best acting is the intense scenes between Raquel and the drug lord. This scene is compelling as it builds tension and drives the plot along. It’s short but impactful.
The cinematography is dark throughout, giving a mysterious and unnerving vibe to the film. Sometimes it’s a little too dark - where you can’t truly see what’s happening so I had to turn up the brightness. There are some lovely shots with dramatic use of colour that make the scenes pop. I enjoyed the mix of shots and the editing style. However, the sound mixing is awkward, ironically, and lets the film down a little.
Towards the end is the most intense and dramatic part of the film and I was hooked. There’s a few twists I wasn’t expecting, which made my jaw drop.
At an hour and thirty-five minutes long, The Low End Theory is an eventful LGBT drama, with a shocking end worth watching for. The messages you can take away from the film are, don’t bite the hand that feeds you, and don’t cover someone else's debt, and in a weird way, to follow your dreams.
The Low End Theory is coming soon
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