Three Steps Above Heaven

Wow! What a knockout of a movie. If one was to say that this is aimed at the female Twilight audience, one would only be partially correct. There is enough of a hard edge to the story and the characters to appeal to any red-blooded male in the audience. The story of a girl from a rich family who falls in hate/love with a smartass illegal motor cycle racing street hood kicks this up into a testosterone story about a thug trying to come to terms with his uncontrollable angers and find love amidst his own brutality. Taken from an Italian novel by Federico Moccia, this was originally filmed (in Italian) in 2004 then remade in Spanish in 2010. This movie cries out for an American remake!!! One only prays that if that day ever comes that the studio committees won't screw it up as they have done waaaay too often with foreign remakes.

Whatever the budget was for this movie, every penny is up there on the screen. Fantastic direction, fantastic cinematography. Great acting from the young leads. A great soundtrack and constant surprises that increase the romantic aspect under threat of constant danger. If this movie was to be remade scene for scene for the American market it would be a sensation and make major stars of its young leads. Fernando Gonzales Molina, the director of this movie, should have been hired YESTERDAY to shoot an English-language version of this movie. One only hopes that the hero (or anti-hero) would be drawn from the ranks of America's melting pot rather than the androgynous white-bread actors currently in vogue, more suited to supporting roles in fresh-scented tampon commercials.

The story, of a motor cycle street racer from a good family (gone bad in rebellion against the hypocrisy of his family) who invades the remote comfort zone of the rich high school girl who despises everything about him, yet is irresistibly drawn towards him, could be trite -- but never is in this fast-moving tale. The supporting characters in the related subplots provide tragic elements that time and again remind one of Romeo and Juliet in a high-speed modern setting.

The most interesting thing about the lead characters is the way in which they change and mature. This is not a lovey-dovey romance that hits all the predictable points, but rather a tale of two people drawn towards one another in a relationship that cannot hope to succeed. This is one movie that will have every female in the audience blubbering into her handkerchief at the ending. Did I say it was romantic? Did I say that it absolutely kills with its constant juxtaposition of hard-partying action and quiet, romantic moments? The stars of this Spanish version, Mario Casas and Maria Valverde appear destined for long and successful careers based on their performances here.

Have I raved enough about this movie? No, I haven't. If you have one romantic spark in your soul then see this movie. And PRAY that Hollywood doesn't screw it up in a dumb el-cheapo remake!