In the 90s US cinema belabored the dirty, little gangster film subgenre to death. Recently the weird and shady figures are mostly seen in Scandinavian cinema. GRINGO is definitely part of this tradition with its own twists. This is the second film of Australian Nash Edgerton, the brother of Joel who is in front of the camera along with South African Charlize Theron and Sharlto Copley as well as British actor David Oyelowo. The setting is mostly outside of US soil. Middle manager and punching bag of destiny Harold (David Oyelowo) goes to Mexico with his boss, the horrible Eliane, and sleazy Richard. A big deal is supposed to take place there and Harold doesn‘t know much about it, but the more he sees there the intrigues behind the scenes of the pharma cooperation, the less he has to lose. It isn‘t clear what the American couple – small-time drug dealer Miles and clueless Sunny – have to do with it or why cartel boss “Black Panther“ is after Harold or what the DEA has to say about all this and all of that remains thrilling till the end. GRINGO takes many twists and turns with a large dose of black humor and solid action sequences but its best asset is the ensemble: Joel Edgerton, recently seen in RED SPARROW, is a complete asshole but is outdone by Charlize Theron who has absolutely no scruples. David Oyelowo proves he‘s a comedic talent as a plaything of chance. GRINGO is an entertaining pleasure, has a good pace and is constantly surpising.

Lars Tunçay (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy