Babygirl (Macdara Vallely, 2012): Ireland, USA

Reviewed by Mitchell Schena. Viewed at Metropolitan 4, Santa Barbara

Director Macdara Vallely created this fiction film which followed a 16 year old Latin American girl named Lena through the Bronx as she deals with her male-obssessed mother ‘s new boyfriend whom just happens to be chasing her instead of her mom. Lena, who is played by Yainis Ynoa, is a strong independent female who takes care of her little brother because her mother is off chasing men or at work. Riding the bus on a casual day with her mother, Lena notices an older male wink at her and gives no feed back. The older male continues to flirt with the mom after being denied by Lena and eventually smooth talks his way into Lena’s home as her mothers new boyfriend.

It’s no secret that Ynoa is the talent in this film, really having an outstanding performance portraying a young lady with such challenges that she faces alone. Post screening with a Q&A with director, we learned that Yainis Ynoa actually was the second to last audition in a open casting before they gave up hope.Vallely really hit the jack pot by having Ynoa being able to share her talent in this film, also the musicians who composed most of the songs happen to be his friends in the Bronx (where Vallely resides). Vallely stated that the script only took 3 weeks to write, and even less to film it which took around 16 days. This is no surprise due to the fact the plot is somewhat basic and easy to predict. The acting by Ynoa as well as the soundtrack during the film is what really keeps us entertained. Lena’s mother, played by Rosa Arredondo, is a man seeker who constantly lets her feeling of loneliness interfere with being a good parent to both her children. Arredondo under delivers most of her scenes through out the film, however when searching for her daughter you can tell the pain and worry her character possesses.

Lena is a true example of what happens when a young female grows up in life with no positive male to be there, thus causing Lena to distrust majority of men that she encounters. Vallely really had a vision for this film and was able to capture it. Some of the camera angles he uses to express different emotions of the scene impressed me and made me see the situation in a different way. For having a screen time of only 77 minutes Babygirl really captures an amazing story that I recommend everyone to experience.