In
2009, Virginia Vallejo was a columnist for the Venezuelan opposition newspaper 6to Poder, before Hugo Chavez had it
shuttered and threw her boss in prison. It is an important story, but it will
have to wait for a different movie. This one focuses solely on her affair with
notorious cartel boss
Pablo Escobar and his fall from power. Unfortunately, Vallejo is nearly dragged
down with him in Fernando León de Aranoa’s Loving
Pablo (trailer
here),
which opens this Friday in New York.
This
film is adapted from Vallejo’s memoir Loving
Pablo, Hating Escobar, so even though the story is credited to documentarians
Jeff & Michael Zimbalist (who made The Two Escobars), the film never really asks the obvious question: “what the
Hell was Vallejo thinking?” We see her falling for Escobar’s Lord Bountiful act
in the Medellin slums and then suddenly she is the drug lord’s mistress and
also an advisor to his successful congressional campaign. Seriously, what
happened to journalistic distance? Of course, it will not be long before Vallejo
rues the day she met Escobar.
According
to the film’s account, Vallejo was already a celebrity “journalist” when Escobar
paid her (and several others) to lend star power to one of his many lavish parties.
Generally, those with high social standing were happy to accept his hospitality,
but they never mingled with their “nouveau riche” hosts. That was a euphemism
for drug dealers. Vallejo would be an exception. Escobar started his charm
offensive at the party, but he sealed the deal when Vallejo produced a story
about his supposed philanthropic projects.
Despite
the double-speak, Vallejo knew well enough just exactly what Escobar was. In
fact, she was present as arm candy at several milestone meetings of the allied
cartels (Medellin, Cali, etc.). For a while, she manages to keep kidding
herself, but when Escobar’s political opponents are gunned down in broad
daylight, she finally snaps out of her denial. As the heat turns up on Escobar,
she also starts receiving threatening phone calls from the friends and family
of his victims.
Granted,
Loving Pablo can get a little cheesy
at times. Vallejo does not actually accuse Escobar of stealing her youth, but a
line like that would not sound out of place in this film. Nevertheless, it offers
a somewhat unusual vantage point on the gangster-rise-and-fall narrative, from
the perspective of the disillusioned mistress and media consultant.
You
also have to give Javier Bardem credit for all the De Niro pounds he packed on
to play Escobar. He looks so bad, viewers will fear for his health. In
contrast, Penélope Cruz looks fabulous as Vallejo. When you see them together
in Loving Pablo, it is dashed hard to
believe they are still married in real life. In terms of actual acting, Bardem
growls and chews the scenery with abandon, but his portrayal pales compared to
heavy, career defining work in Biutiful and
To the Wonder. Arguably, Cruz fares
better doubling-down on glamour and old school oh-if-I-had-but-known
melodramatic chops as Vallejo. Peter Sarsgaard also helps keep things lively as
the corner-cutting but still somewhat principled DEA agent, Shepard.
