The plot isn't much. At its best, the story of Cleo and her pseudo-godmother relationship with the family that employs her is an excuse for some hypnotically intricate panoramas of moments both minute and vast. At its worst, the film's decision to highlight a single character distracts from Cuarón's hyper-focused understanding of what he wants to show here. Arguably, the plot's greatest sin is that it feels compelled to be a plot at all. What good is a final dilemma broadcast ahead of time by the film's dialogue (underscored, necessarily, by the subtitles) when you've got not-handsome Javiar Bardem (José Manuel Guerrero Mendoza) laconically singing Jaliscan punk rock in period appropriate boy shorts?

And that's just an image that doesn't spoil anything. Perhaps the most paradoxical thing about this movie's plot problem is that without its big reveal, we don't get some of the film's most clever shots nor any of the reminders that this movie isn't just directed by a confident man but Alfonso-fucking-Cuarón. I understand why some might become bored by his repetitive use of the pan shot, but I found its prominence the pathway into what's best about this movie. When it feels more like a deeply felt memory of a place, when its characters feel small - just a part of the hundreds of extras and dense, vibrant set design rather than our main focus - Roma becomes this much bigger, intense thing. The culmination of the film's two most emotional plot points are both defined by the camera's understanding of those moments rather than the characters' reactions to them and Cuarón manages to make that feel correct rather than masturbatory.

My favorite bit in this movie is definitely the number of micro-oners that showcase the control Cuarón exhibits over his productions, previously best exemplified by the two scenes everyone still points to Children of Men for. I'd argue Atonement stole Cuaron's nothing-and-everything crown, but Roma is an aggressive grasp at the trophy that doesn't offer one single shot but rather a compilation of wonderfully natural shots of people being in spaces. Whether its a hospital or a run down town on the verge of revolution, Cuarón's camera lingers in such a way that one almost feels like they've set the controller down on an open world video game and are simply observing the programmers' creativities play out.

So, yes, when the script plays things a bit safe it's easy to let yourself feel disappointed. Particularly for non-Spanish speaking viewers, having the subtitles telegraph certain elements of the screenplay that might otherwise feel more organic were the script left offscreen is an unavoidable trouble. But looking at the bigger picture, I think these distractions are just a thing one always needs to accept going into foreign films, particularly Mexican dramas, and that once you allow Cuarón his tropes you'll be appropriately open to his camera, Roma's true leading actor. Is it the best movie of 2018? I'm not sure. The best picture(s)? I have little doubt.


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"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
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