I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me review: A quirky film with much to appreciate

I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me follows Juan Pablo, a literature student who travels from Mexico to Barcelona for his PhD but gets caught up in a criminal conspiracy and writes a novel about it. The film is streaming on Netflix.

Story

Juan Pablo is thrilled to move to Barcelona from Mexico after earning a scholarship for his PhD, but his joy is short-lived when his cousin Lorenzo’s poor decisions come back to haunt him.

Lorenzo got involved with some very dangerous and well-connected people and unfortunately lost a lot of money for them so Juan Pablo is entrusted to fix the issue in his stead.

He moves to Barcelona and receives orders from someone called The Lawyer, at the cost of his relationship with his girlfriend, Valentina, and his mental sanity after he is forced to carry out stressful actions.

He decides to document his experiences in the form of a novel, but the closer he gets to the end, the more he worries that his novel will not see the light of day.

Performances

Darío Yazbek fits the role of the protagonist quite easily in this film. He captures the timidness and general incompetence of the character after being thrown into a ridiculous situation.

Natalia Solián supports him well and gets to show off her talents during her own journey in the film. Valentina’s emotional attachment to Juan Pablo is portrayed wonderfully by Solián.

Positives

The cinematography of the film adds so much character to it. The techniques employed are eye-catching and deserve a lot of credit for making so many captivating scenes.

The dynamic perspectives, the framing of different sequences, capturing of an entire conversation through the reflection of a surface are all methods that keep the film interesting.

The comedic tone of the film is also maintained brilliantly throughout, and it makes the more shocking developments all the more unexpected.

Negatives

The story does move at a slumberous pace and audiences might find it slightly difficult to retain focus on multiple occasions.

While it is a deliberate decision to keep The Lawyer’s project vague, it doesn’t exactly help the narrative too much. There are also small time jumps that make the story a little incoherent at times.

Verdict

I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me is a fun film that turns an interesting novel into an admirable on-screen adventure. While it can be accused of moving slowly, the overall story is still humorous and refreshing enough for it to be considered a good film.

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Also Read: I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me summary and ending explained