from The Post-Standard / by Joan E. Vadebonceur

“Maria Full of Grace” is memorable on two counts.

One is the introduction of a radiant actress, Catalina Sandino Moreno, who promises to be an international star.

The other is not as pleasant to report. In several sequences, Moreno’s Maria participates in revolting actions necessitated by her desire to escape her humdrum life in Colombia. She must ingest heroin-filled pellets and then vacate them, so they can be retrieved by drug traffickers.

The 17-year-old loses her menial job as a dethorner of roses when her boss fails to realize she is sick - pregnant actually. This makes a hardship on the family dependent on her for money to feed grandma, mother and older sister, who has an ailing baby.

Although writer-director Joshua Marston does not depict the teen as a rebel or a daredevil or her living conditions as unbearable, she agrees to be a smuggler. Apparently, her pregnancy by uncaring boyfriend Juan (handsome Wilson Guerrero) sets her in motion.

Of course, it proves more dangerous than explained by her Colombia contact, a genial, grandfatherly looking Javier (Jaime Osorio). Customs officials challenge her entry into the United States. She separates from her best friend, the feisty Blanca (Yenny Paola Vega), and a new friend, Lucy (Guilied Lopez), becomes seriously ill.

Marston is not without his gaffes as a writer or director. On the former count, he has Maria seeking an address from Lucy, who has only her sister’s, when Blanca has the hotel where they were due to stay, and Blanca had not departed at that point.

As a director, he permits Moreno to appear guilty in her confrontations with authorities. Further, by making her 17, he annoys, since the actress clearly is older. It’s his script, so why does he not place Maria in her early 20s?

That said, the film is consistently arresting. And, when Moreno makes her final decision, her expressive face goes from fear and dread to hope and some confidence in the space of a minute, proving this is an actress who bears watching.