The Councelor (2013)

The plot of The Councelor: A councelor, who drives a Bentley, is a friend of a drug dealer, Reiner, who also is a night club owner who drives a Ferrari. He has become involved in financing a drug smuggling operation in which a sewage collection truck is filled with drums of cocaine, the top rewelded and the tank filled with crap. He proposes to his girlfriend and gives her a diamond ring. Meanwhile he interviews a woman who is on trial for murder, and agrees to furnish the bail for her son, who is in another prison. The councelor meets with the third investor, Westray who tells him that he might think again about becoming involved, because the cartels are merciless. Meanwhile Malkina, Reiner’s girlfriend, is involved in a plot to take over the drugs. Malkina employs a man to kill the truck driver, who is on his way to pick up the truck, and they take over the operation. But the man and his sidekick are killed by fake policemen who take over the truck. All these activities seem to make the investors liable for the loss. Westray advises the councelor to run, saying he is going to, but the cartel capture the councelor’s fiancée, Laura. How will it all end?

Content: There is sex, but it is non revelatory, except for the weird event when Malkina says she will have sex with Reiner’s Ferrari, and sort of does. There is a lot of discussion and some foreshadowing. Westray tells the councelor about the cartel’s tendency to make snuff films, where people are beheaded. Reiner tells the councelor about a device which will kill the target if it is put round someone’s neck. The truck driver, who is speeding on a motor bike, is beheaded by the wireman. A shootout in the desert results in several deaths, including that of an innocent bystander. We see Laura’s body rolling down a slope in the rubbish tip, and Westray being killed with the neck cutting device.

A View: The critics were divided on how this film went, many thinking it was too wordy. There is an awful lot of talking which seemed to detract from the drama, and honestly I could not see why certain things happened. Just a couple. Would it not be suspicious that a crap wagon was moving from Mexico into Texas. When Westray goes on the run, he hands over his bank details to a woman who seduces him. And why was it necessary for him to be killed anyway. The whole film had an atmosphere straight out of Breaking Bad, and it even had Dean Norris in it. Apart from anything else it is an unpleasant film, so give it a miss.

Fun Fact: Parts of 440 films have been shot in El Paso, including The Councelor.