All the lead actors are pretty good and well-enough directed by Perego. But there’s a grim, hopeless flatness about the script’s tragedy-flecked momentum, timely enough these days but not exactly moving the conversation along.

The wonderful Zoe Saldaña plays Esmee, a Mexican migrant desperately trying to escape the tentacles of human and drug trafficking on both sides of the border.

A strong calling card for Perego.

First-time director and co-writer Marco Perego—Saldaña's real-life husband—pivots back and forth between political thriller and morality tale without ever settling on a tone to give the narrative much-needed clarity.