The Passenger also makes the most of its run time. It takes a good thirty minutes to establish the characters and their backstories. Each of them shares some common and uncommon traits that see their purpose for the trip somewhat aligned. And then, to top that, there is a flair for humor in the script and frank discussions of gender stratification, trauma, and relationships. The movie emphasizes these topics to allow the audience to perceive and understand these characters.
Blasco is the link between the rest of the group, though his misogynist and anti-feminist remarks make him unlikeable. However, Blas’s astonishing performance makes the character seem genuine and interesting. Wisely, the character’s misogyny is challenged by the alien threat, which parasitically possesses women, but still rips off men’s heads. At a point, Blasco remarks how his biased mentality will make him more of a target, gradually creating a progressive arc for the character. Blas represents this arc and growth into a more likable person believably.
But the best find her is Gallego’s Marta. She takes center stage of The Passenger by giving an intriguing performance, her rebellious nature throwing the characters into a life-threatening mess, further escalating her emotional breakdown. Through all this, Gallego expertly traverses various expressions and moods that increase the viewers’ curiosity about her fate and the unpredictable end of this dangerous road trip.
“…a finely crafted visual aesthetic.”
Sánchez-Polack deserves commendable applause as he imbues the scary story with aggressive satirical remarks that are core to the characters. Furthermore, Cerezo and Gómez have added to the clever screenplay by aptly choreographing the violence and bloodshed along with the conversational spats between characters. The gruesome effects, the anarchic exteriors, and the contained vessel wherein the narrative majorly takes place come together to bring us a finely crafted visual aesthetic.
Ignacio Aguilar contributes the final leg towards the successful execution of The Passenger through his creative decisions with the cinematography. The camera moves in and out of the van while also offering gazes through the windshield. This maintains the road trip atmosphere on-screen. From deep focus to point-of-view shots, Aguilar’s camera moves your attention to little details that keep you hooked. His work is way beyond basic measures for a cinematographer making his debut. And so goes the same for other production departments involved.
The only problem here is that this is not a new story. The concept has been well explored in several other projects, both indie and big-budget. The Passenger, therefore, takes at least half an hour to get the audience to stay through the rest of it. However, although the idea isn’t fresh, the performances and visuals make up for the been there, seen that story at play. The non-Spanish speakers might not understand the cultural references, but once the creatures take the stage, the film morphs into a humorous horror-thriller that should go on your must-watch list.
"…should go on your must-watch list."
