'Maria' full of mediocrity

Rarely will a film critic claim a movie is too short for its own good, but that is precisely the problem with "Maria Full of Grace," an intrepid but rather ordinary independent film from first-time director and recent New York Film Academy graduate Joshua Marston.\nMaria (the distressingly-beautiful and exceptionally-talented newcomer Catalina Sandino Moreno, a name we should all remember) is a 17-year-old malcontent in destitute Colombia, de-thorning roses in a deadend job and recently impregnated by a boyfriend who doesn't love her and whom she doesn't love either.\nTo change the direction of her life, she embarks into the world of narco-trafficking and becomes a human mule -- a courier for illegal drugs -- transporting latex pellets in her stomach from Bogotá to New York. \nIt's risky; in addition to its illegality, if a pellet bursts while in your digestive system, the overdose is lethal. This is the unfortunate fate of Lucy (Guilied López), who has worked as a mule before and serves as Maria's mentor in an unforgettable scene of preparation, and fearing for her own life, Maria escapes in search of Lucy's sister, who lives in Queens, and in search of a new life.\nAt least that's what it feels like and where the film could use some further maturation. No doubt this is a gritty, emotional, tense film and serves duly as a solid debut (it won the Audience Award at Sundance this year), and any up-and-coming independent director would be more than happy to have it on his résumé. But for every brilliant item or shot or scene in "Maria," there's something else holding it back. \nIts ordinariness is only surpassed by its star. An ordinary movie can seem extraordinary with the right person in the lead -- Al Pacino, for example, can seal any deal as far as I'm concerned -- but it only seems as such. With "Maria Full of Grace," Marston bets everything he has on Moreno, and because she delivers so forcefully and with such finesse, it's a technical win for the director and his actress. (She tied with "Monster's" Charlize Theron for best actress at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival.)\nBut the film generates so many opportunities to flesh out the story, and it hardly acts on any of them. It's the frustration of an audience which is enraptured enough to believe in your film, but also the frustration of an audience who leaves wanting more.