Excellent Acting in "A Better Life"

Unless you’ve been watching movies from south of the border, the name Demián Bichir may be foreign to you. Being nominated for Best Actor this year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will hopefully give Bichir, not only more name recognition, but more acting roles in the future.

“A Better Life” tells the struggles of Carlos (Bichir), a gardener in Southern California who is raising a teenage son on his own. Luis (José Julián) is being confronted by what most high school students seem to experience; a bully that wants lunch money, a friend who pressures to join a gang, and a father who insists that he go to school to improve himself.

In spite of being hardworking and earnest, Carlos encounters “Murphy’s Law” - whatever can go wrong will.

If your only connection to the immigration struggles in this country is clips of newsreel footage or your own gardener coming by weekly to mow the lawn or plant flowers, “A Better Life” will put a face – a family – to the forefront.

Chris Weitz previously directed the much lighter fair, “About a Boy” starring Hugh Grant. Eric Eason wrote the adaptation and his depth of his storytelling is demonstrated in “A Better Life” where the script sheds light on a much maligned and misunderstood situation. Bichir and Julián, as father and son, are exceptional.

Carlos wants to give his son a chance to succeed. Isn’t that what every parent wants for his child? A better life?