What follows is not a standard "kidnap and escape" thriller. Laura does not become a gun-toting avenger. Instead, she becomes a pawn. The cartel leader, Lino (Noé Hernández), forces her to drive cars, launder money, and eventually, compete in the beauty pageant under his control. She is trapped between the terrifying violence of the cartel and the impotent corruption of the authorities. There is no escape route, no white knight. There is only the endless, spiraling tunnel of her victimization.
However, the film was not without controversy. Some Mexican critics accused Naranjo of creating an exploitative, grimdark tourism of suffering—a "poverty porn" of cartel violence. Others hailed it as the most honest depiction of the drug war ever committed to film. Deciding which side you agree with is part of the viewing experience. miss bala -2011-
The success of the film rests entirely on the shoulders of Stephanie Sigman, in her feature film debut. It is a performance of remarkable restraint. Laura speaks relatively little; her narrative is carried by her eyes—eyes that dart from fear to exhaustion to a hollowed-out numbness. What follows is not a standard "kidnap and escape" thriller