Dhruv Sharma
Netflix’s first Argentine original ‘La Corazonada’ begins with a striking murder investigation which eventually has little to no significance in context with its overarching plot. Even so, for the uninitiated, it very well establishes what it’s all about. I wouldn’t say that this initial non-consequential “hook” of the movie works effectively, but it does pique your interest in some ways. Unfortunately, what follows is far more disappointing than you initially expect it to be.
‘La Corazonada’ is another by-the-numbers crime thriller that adopts nothing more than a very generic “cause and effect” style narrative. Now I’m not saying that there’s something wrong with that. Time and again, almost all of us enjoy well thought out quintessential murder mysteries. However, no matter how archetypal a crime drama may be, as long as it is able to structure a convincing line of clues for the characters and the viewer, it proves to be quite rewarding. But that’s exactly where ‘La Corazonada’ goes wrong. Instead of creating an interactive experience for a viewer, it completely loses its narrative momentum just for the sake of building maximum suspense through too many narratives. This, in turn, also reflects on its lack of detail.
Intuition Plot Summary
Manuela Paleri, better known as Pipa, is a newly appointed police officer who is determined to prove herself as a police officer. Luckily for her, when a 19-year-old girl is mysteriously murdered, she gets to hop on the investigation along with an infamous cop named Francisco Juanez, who uses some unconventional methods to solve crimes. Moreover, he also has a history of violence which was covered up by his fellow officers.
While the investigation surrounding the girl unfolds, another teenage boy in the same town gets killed in a hit and run. Turns out that the same boy had previously killed Francisco’s wife, which makes Francisco a prime suspect of this case. Pipa is asked to keep a close eye on Francisco by one of her senior officers who believes that Francisco is responsible for the murder of the boy. With this, Pipa not only sets out to solve one but two cases to eventually learn a truth that she had never anticipated.
Intuition Review
Most typical crime dramas adopt a two-fold storyline where a primary conflict drives its narrative while a secondary conflict develops its characters. As one can figure out from its plot, ‘La Corazonada’ does the same but it fails to draw any connective threads between its two underlying conflicts and almost treats them as two very different movies. This itself makes it pretty evident that ‘La Corazonada’ does not even try to be any different from most other aimlessly floating films of the genre.
As a result of its lack of creativity and an extremely formulaic approach, it also ends up compromising the development of its characters who clearly did have a lot of potential. The female leads, especially Luisana Lopilato, manage to make the most of their respective roles but their stellar performances make the film’s futile premise a lot more evident. Another major issue with the film is its unsatisfying conclusion. While one of the mysteries is solved midway through its runtime, the other one drags all the way to its ending only to present a “big reveal” that relies more on coincidence than evidence. What I can appreciate though is the fact that the film never really leaves any loose ends despite how convoluted its plot is.
Despite all of its flaws and clichés, I’m pretty sure that some viewers will still enjoy it because, if nothing else, it at least keeps you entertained with its timely twists and turns. Still, “crime thriller” is a popular movie genre with far better chronicles of sleuths. All in all, if you’ve already watched ‘Perdida’, which is apparently a sequel of ‘La Corazonada’, you’ll be able to get something out of this one. But if you haven’t, you might want to skip this paint-by-numbers thriller.
Rating: 2/5
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