Review: Toro

Sleek, stylish and possessed of a bold confidence, Kike Maíllo's latest feature Toro is a satisfying crime thriller anchored by excellent performances from its lead trio. Nodding to everything from Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, Jonathan Glazer's Sexy Beast, Luc Besson's The Professional, and Nicolas Wending Refn's Only God Forgives, the film may have its implausibilities but it never fails to engross during its 105-minute running time.

The prologue introduces us to the title character (Mario Casas), who tells crime boss and father figure Romero (Jose Sacristan) that this latest job with his two brothers will be his last. Naturally, the job goes horribly awry, ending with one brother dead, another abandoned, and Toro arrested and incarcerated. Cut to five years later - Toro is on day release, working as a cab driver, in a happy relationship with schoolteacher Estrella (Ingrid Garcia Jonsson), and two months away from completing his sentence. Yet his happy ending is soon endangered when his brother Lopez (Luis Tosar) resurfaces in his life.

Lopez is still in Romero's employ, though has been foolishly stealing money from the extremely dangerous Romero, who does not hesitate to deploy main henchman Gines (Jose Manuel Poga) to crush Lopez's hand and kidnap his daughter Diana (Claudia Canal Merino). When Lopez reaches out to Toro for help, the initially reluctant Toro is eventually swayed - Lopez may be a screw-up of the highest order, but he and Diana are family. Romero, however, refuses to grant Toro's appeal and, when Toro turns the tables and manages to rescue Diana, is even more hellbent on seeking revenge on the man he loved as a son. Toro has some avenging of his own to do, putting himself in even more peril when Lopez convinces him to steal money from the safe in Romero's heavily guarded apartment.

Maíllo certainly has a keen aesthetic eye, making remarkable use of the film's Spanish coastal locations as well as its geometric and often gaudy architecture. Interior scenes are equally eye-catching - the final act, in particular, boasts a set piece resembling the inside of the Guggenheim Museum as well as an apartment abounding in religious iconography. Action scenes unfold at an unrelenting pace, and quieter scenes convey the right amount of human emotion and connection.

The actors more than lend to the film's power. Sacristan's Romero makes the blood run cold precisely because he seems reluctant and weary to have to order and carry out killings, and yet he will always do what needs to be done. Tosar manages to make Lopez both a repulsive and endearing figure. Casas delivers one of his best performances to date, reluctant to veer from the straight and narrow yet, as one of his many tattoos expresses, his character is his prison and a bull will always attack when provoked.

Toro

Directed by: Kike Maíllo

Written by: Rafael Cobos, Fernando Navarro

Starring: Mario Casas, Luis Tosar, José Sacristán, Claudia Canal, Jose Manuel Poga, Ingrid García Jonsson, Luichi Macías, Alberto López