Gently mesmerizing, though overstated and slightly clunky, The Aura is an original crime drama that feels a little too derivative for it's own good. Immediately we are given a lead with epilepsy, falling to the ground and blacking out in the most unusual of circumstances. Right away the concept feels slightly familiar for anyone who languished over Memento's originality, and you hate to see this gimmicky concept worked into the script. To top it off, it seems like the addition of these epileptic fits are largely superficial and have little baring on the plot's mechanics, dealing in stolen identity and the fantasy of committing crimes. The plot moves along intriguingly enough from one set-piece to the next, although lengthy shots often distract from the tightly wound script in favor of cinematographic excess. The surprising death of relatively young and promising Argentinian film-maker Fabián Bielinsky is a slight blow for Spanish thrillers, but should not lend to overselling the film on the small virtues it carries.
Mainly sinking the film past an excited response, is the dominating lead role played uniformly one-noted by a tired Ricardo Darín. It is evident his bored taxidermist character demands a certain detachment and dissatisfaction with the current lifestyle in order to convincingly sink into the world of organized crime without a second's hesitation, but here Darin substitutes any personality for the soulless take, pushing all but the most ardent viewers away with an uneventful performance.
The Aura does hold enough promise in it's development to keep a mild interest for all fans of more stylistic neo-noir type fare. The unrealistic, though sensitively captured mistaken crime fantasy does have a few finely executed moments, particularly amongst the action's more low-key points-of-view. Still, a strenuous pace, highlighting the apathetic leading character's motivations and personality, will keep most excitement and suspense to a minimum.
Mainly sinking the film past an excited response, is the dominating lead role played uniformly one-noted by a tired Ricardo Darín. It is evident his bored taxidermist character demands a certain detachment and dissatisfaction with the current lifestyle in order to convincingly sink into the world of organized crime without a second's hesitation, but here Darin substitutes any personality for the soulless take, pushing all but the most ardent viewers away with an uneventful performance.
The Aura does hold enough promise in it's development to keep a mild interest for all fans of more stylistic neo-noir type fare. The unrealistic, though sensitively captured mistaken crime fantasy does have a few finely executed moments, particularly amongst the action's more low-key points-of-view. Still, a strenuous pace, highlighting the apathetic leading character's motivations and personality, will keep most excitement and suspense to a minimum.