Plan B ***½ (2009, Manuel Vignau, Lucas Ferraro, Mercedes Quinteros) – Classic Movie Review 12,402

Manuel Vignau stars in the provocative 2009 Argentine comedy-drama film Plan B as Bruno, whose girlfriend Laura dumps him for Pablo (Lucas Ferraro), so he plots to seduce him to get her back, but then he falls for him for real

Writer-director Marco Berger’s inventive, engaging and provocative 2009 Argentine comedy-drama film Plan B stars Manuel Vignau as Bruno, whose girlfriend Laura (Mercedes Quinteros) dumps him for another man, and is now happily together with her new boyfriend named Pablo (Lucas Ferraro).

Bruno is smouldering with jealousy, and starts plotting to come between the new lovers and win Laura back. His bold plan is to seduce Pablo and thus get him to break up with Laura. His plan involves a bit of friendly ingratiating to start with, but the two men start to bond easily, and Bruno gradually succeeds in getting Pablo to fall for him. But then he falls for Pablo for real, and then Pablo discovers Bruno’s plan.

The film is fresh and original, and heartfelt, though the plotting and motives are at times slightly confusing, maybe deliberately so. The contradictory feelings of the characters and their swift changes of mind are hard to convey but Marco Berger manages it. The film takes its time to get there, lingers meaningfully at key moments in the story, and has plenty of room for exploratory talk and local atmosphere.

Both men are supposedly more or less straight, and taken by surprise by their unexpected feelings, but it helps that Laura is so unpleasant and unfaithful that she does not deserve either Bruno or Pablo, though she could have either of them. Their rejection by her is the spark that ignites their flame. However, that flame is merely flickering. It really looks as though everybody is going to live unhappily ever after. Or are they?

The intense performances Manuel Vignau of Lucas Ferraro are very seductive, making you care about their characters’ fate. Ferraro even manages to cry on camera!

The cast are Manuel Vignau as Bruno, Lucas Ferraro as Pablo, Mercedes Quinteros as Laura, Damián Canduci as Victor, Ana Lucia Antony as Ana, Carolina Stegmayer as Verónica, Antonia De Michelis as Madre Victor, Ariel Nuñez Di Croce as Javier, and Khaled El nabawy as Adel Abdelaziz.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,402

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