Lower City

Dimly-lit Latin noir Lower City advertises itself as hotter than Y Tu Mama Tambien. It’s not, mostly because the sex doesn’t evolve out of the plot; instead, the plot strings together the murky sex scenes. The lack of a story hurts, but the characters are interesting, and the acting is top-notch. Principals Lázaro Ramos, Wagner Moura and Alice Braga are three young people in the classic boy-loves-hooker, hooker-loves-boy, other-boy-loves-hooker, hooker-loves-other-boy, two-boys-love-each-other triangle. Drifting through a South American underworld of sex, drugs, petty theft, boxing and cock fighting, the three try to negotiate their somewhat conflicting desires for each other. Lots of individual scenes are excellent, but the whole doesn’t quite hang together.