Review: Most Beautiful Island (2017) ★★★½

There’s a pervasive fear of the rich among us, the regular folk. This fear works its way into the horror genre, like The Purge series, in which the ultra-rich hide behind security fences while the unwashed masses kill each other. Or worse, they use their wealth and power to hunt and kill poor people at random. Whether they’re watching “the others” kill each other or participating in the killings themselves, the rich are the bad guys. This is the underlying theme in director Ana Asensio’s dramatic horror film, Most Beautiful Island (2017). 

If you take away the more horrific elements of Most Beautiful Island, it boils down to a gloomy drama about the difficulty of making ends meet as an undocumented immigrant in New York City. It’s the city of endless opportunities, drawing in millions of hopefully immigrants every year. Unfortunately, most of them struggle to get by. Our heroine, Luciana (Ana Asensio), is one of these ill-fated immigrants.

While Luciana’s backstory is never fully realized, we do know that she left her home country after the death of her child. Vague exposition implies that Luciana feels personal guilt for the death, though Luciana provides very little information on the matter. Her mother tries to reassure Luciana that the death was an accident and she should return home. However, Luciana has no desire to go back to a life that continues to haunt her.

Though it seems as if Luciana has no choice but to leave New York City, she stays as an undocumented immigrant. She also struggles to pay rent, doing odd jobs here and there to scrape together a living. During one job in which she hands out flyers for a restaurant, she meets a new friend and fellow immigrant, Olga (Natasha Romanova). When Olga casually brings up an opportunity to make really good money, Luciana is skeptical. As the bills pile up and she faces homelessness, Luciana decides to take Olga up on her offer.

Olga provides Luciana with very little information about the job. Luciana must look nice and show up to an address at a set time. Other than that, she has no clue what to expect. Though Olga reassures Luciana that she doesn’t have to do anything against her will, Luciana has her doubts.

Once she arrives, Luciana discovers that Olga has tricked her. Luciana, Olga, and several other girls have “volunteered” to be pawns in a potentially deadly game. As the night continues, the job puts both Luciana and Olga’s lives at risk.

Most Beautiful Island is not a comfortable film. It is tense from start to finish. Viewers can’t help but sympathize with Luciana’s financial predicament and inability to deal with the pressures of city life. If put in the same situation, most people would likely follow the same path as Luciana. When backed into a corner, we will all do whatever it takes to survive.

The film also ratchets up the tension by playing with some of our worst fears. In one seemingly random scene, Luciana takes a bath to try to take her mind off of her finances. While bathing, she notices a piece of loose plaster on the wall. She picks at it, letting loose a stream of cockroaches. They scramble around, trying to escape the water. Though she shows disgust, she does not jump out or scream. She merely flicks them away, as if they were a small disturbance in her otherwise tranquil bath. 

I have no intention of giving away the ending, though it is predictable in some ways. You can expect the rich to exploit the poor and disenfranchised. How they choose to do so is pretty innovative and helps Most Beautiful Island stand out from other films of its ilk. It also explores interesting themes that make it more than just a by-the-book thriller.

Most Beautiful Island does an excellent job of vilifying capitalism and increasing the sense of financial urgency, much in the same way that Anahí Berneri does in Alanis (2017). However, director Anahí Berneri tells the story of an Argentine mother struggling to make ends meet as an escort, while Ana Asensio takes her story in a much darker direction. Rather than capitalism merely making life impossible from a financial perspective, it also makes life a living nightmare for those at the bottom.

I love the underlying themes of financial disparity and desperation in Most Beautiful Island. That said, the film doesn’t always meet its lofty goals. It is a relatively low-budget indie flick, but you might not know it from the excellent cinematography. We often experience Luciana’s daily routine through closeups and handheld shots, as if we are just casual observers of her misery. Visually, it works well for the sake of the story, the themes, and the genre.

That said, the cracks begin to show as the film moves along. The second half of the film, though tense, feels a little cheap. The performances from some of the ancillary characters struggle to keep up with the somber tone. The story has you on the edge of your seat, only to have a few weak performances take you out of the narrative from time to time.

However, if you’re willing to overlook its minor shortcomings, Most Beautiful Island sends a timely message. Some may find it excessive to portray the rich and powerful as ruthless sociopaths. However, others find the representation true and necessary. I happen to fall into the latter category. That said, I understand that hyperbole doesn’t always have the effect that artists intend. 

Many viewers may dismiss the film outright for its seemingly outlandish plot. However, I genuinely think that it’s not as far-fetched as people would like to believe. Though it doesn’t deal with sex-trafficking directly, one could say that the “job” of the film is sex-trafficking adjacent. Desperate women are forced to look beautiful for powerful men (and women) who see them as disposable objects. Unfortunately, this is not a far-fetched concept for the world in which we live.

As her directorial debut, Most Beautiful Island (2017) shows Ana Asensio’s true potential. She excels as both a leading actress and feature film director. Asensio turns a relatively simple plot into a complex, heart-pounding dive into the darkest elements of human nature. Though it has its faults, Most Beautiful Island offers a great start for what will surely become a long directorial career.

Rating: ★★★½ out of 5

If you’d like to watch Most Beautiful Island (2017), it is currently available to stream on Shudder or Amazon. And if you’d like to read more film reviews like this one, consult the Philosophy in Film Homepage!