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Cassandro Movie Review

Cassandro is a 2023 biographical drama film directed by Roger Ross Williams and starring Gael Garcia Bernal. It is a very conventional, far from engaging biopic.

Saúl Armendáriz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso, Texas, rises to international stardom when he creates the character Cassandro, the “Liberace of Lucha Libre”. He upends not just the macho wrestling world, but also his own life. This film was based on a true story, but there is no doubt in my mind that the real story was much more interesting than the pale imitation that we got here.

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This is another example of a conventional biopic formula derailing what otherwise could have been a very interesting and fun movie. For such larger than life character, the film itself needs to also be over-the-top and exciting, but the end product is anything but that. The pacing is slow, the structure is basic and the film’s dramatic beats take too much time away from the more comedic moments.

Thematically speaking, the exploration of two different personas and how they co-exist in these sorts of celebrities was interesting. This was the only intriguing element in this otherwise rote and boring movie that lacked excitement or memorable plot developments. There is also a solidly developed relationship between the protagonist and his closeted boyfriend played by the always great Raul Castillo. But even that dynamic was somewhat rushed and not as potently explored as it should have been.

Cassandro is poorly directed by Roger Ross Williams as he failed to imbue the film with energy or memorable visual flourishes. The cinematography is fine and some moments are tender while others are colorful, but still this was a far from cinematic movie. The score, though, was eclectic and quite good. Gael Garcia Bernal was pretty good in the main role, but he was also not particularly exciting, and a more over-the-top performance was needed in this instance.

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