We’re getting to the point in border crossing films; if you have seen one, you have seen them all. The suspense/thriller sub-genre typically has a checklist of themes: violent scenes, ethical dilemmas, and ethereal desert shots. The Absence of Eden is, unfortunately, derivative of stereotypes. Writer/director Marco Perego’s vision amalgamates narrative and visual styles. In the film’s only flashback, his style erratically morphs into Terrence Malick’s. The segment of the film that follows ICE agents gives off Sicario vibes. At the same time, women and children captured by cartels are about as formulaic as you can get. These films attract first-time directors like Perego because of their relevancy and political and social urgency, and they are usually relatively cheap to produce.
A lap dance gone wrong forces the beautiful and clever Esmee (Zoe Saldana) to flee her home in Mexico and cross the dangerous United States border. Trading one nightmare for another, she encounters only bad options. Eventually, landing in a border town and was forced to work as a drug trafficking maid. Many of the children she crosses with are taken for a worse fate. In the same village, Shipp (Garrett Hedlund) has completed his training as an ICE officer and is paired with the aggressive, macho; violence is-the-answer guy. In this one bar town, Shipp meets the woman of his dreams, who, unbeknownst to him, is in the same situation as Esmee. Their paths will eventually cross as the hotel operation is about to get blown wide open.
"Eden isn’t the only thing missing; so is a new take on the border film, creative casting, and narrative cohesion."
With only one scene together for Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Hedlund (Mudbound, Dirt Music), the majority of The Absence of Eden feels like two incomplete films. It is not Saldana’s finest work; it’s half the script, not giving her enough to build a performance on, and occasionally overacting. Certain scenes attempt to validate the thin character development with silent screams or poetic speeches. Hedlund’s association with movies lately has, unfortunately, become a bellwether for forgettable films. His brooding Shipp is another slice of the same characters he has played repeatedly. Perego’s direction and especially Javier Julia’s cinematography are the film’s most vital elements.
Minus the love story and the dancing, The Absence of Eden is a lackluster Carmen. The 2022 film, starring Paul Mescal and Melissa Barrera, boldly delivered new ideas and visions to the border crossing genre. Perego’s first film can’t overcome the narrative and structural problems embedded in the framework. This leaves the audience’s mind wandering due to the lack of engagement in the story. The film’s conclusion doesn’t make things any better; those sticking around until the end might even let out a groan or two when the end credits flash.
Final Thought
Eden isn’t the only thing missing; so is a new take on the border film, creative casting, and narrative cohesion.