Released: 16th September 2020
Length: 98 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Carles Torras
Starring: Celso Bugallo, Mario Casas and Déborah François
The grounded tale of a person transforming into a monster has been covered many times in the thriller genre. By showing the psychological breakdown, perhaps from a sudden, life-changing event, the audience bears witness to a grimly slow deterioration. The Paramedic (Known as El Practicante in its native Spain) is another entry in the sub-genre. It’s competent at what it does, but won’t be making a memorable impression.
We follow Ángel Hernández (Mario Casas), the titular health worker who falls victim to an ambulance crash that breaks his legs. Embittered and frustrated by his inability to walk, Ángel develops an obsession with his girlfriend Vanesa François (Déborah François) and concocts a plan to control her every move. For the most part the film takes place from his perspective; slowly, his life grows more tedious and difficult, especially with undergoing physiotherapy.
Once the protagonist imprisons Vanesa in his home, it’s very much like 1990’s Misery in this regard, the tale of a psychotic individual who imprisons a horrified person in their home. This time, it’s all about the titular character using his medical knowledge and anaesthesia to immobilise his victim. From the get-go, the dark tone is established through a downbeat musical, the nasty injuries Hernández tends to and a foreboding set of lighting and shadow techniques. With its contained nature established, the film mostly makes good use of its setting to create a sense of claustrophobia. However, there are also several moments that feel a little implausible with the main character in a wheelchair, thus dampening its impact.
The reduced cast of The Paramedic makes for a more closely knit tale, though the script doesn’t always create enough material for the actors to work with. Mario Casas does a reasonable job of capturing the arrogance of his character. What’s missing is that sense of psychological breakdown that could have unfolded more gradually; effectively he turns into a jealous and spiteful individual very quickly without going through many emotions beforehand. Déborah François is easily the best performer here, capturing the endless fear of Vanesa’s predicament effortlessly. The other characters are kept off to the side, maintaining a realistic tone before they enter Ángel’s apartment. It’s unfortunate that the film doesn’t do anything inventive with them to switch up the pacing; some predictability does rear its head in the narrative.
Much like the Stephen King novel it takes heavy inspiration from, The Paramedic has some makings of a solid thriller, but it has trouble deepening its characters and their motives to generate a compelling narrative. It needed to go beneath the surface more to convey how the protagonist becomes a monster, which would have made it more engaging.
Rating: 3/5 Stars (Fair)
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