Crossing the concrete landscape of Los Angeles on public transport with precious cargo, Raquel (Sofia Yepes), a queer Latina aspiring to become a major music producer, is also carrying plenty of personal baggage wherever she goes. Her main occupation is working for a drug dealer, which comes with dangerous liabilities. Add to that her turbulent, unresolved past in the military, and the result is a ticking time bomb of pent-up rage. 

When Raquel runs into Veronica (Sidney Flanigan), a frazzled, but charming young woman who also claims to have creative dreams, she sees an opportunity for a fresh start. Best known for her lead role in the acclaimed indie Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Flanigan plays the part with believable fragility, while slowly revealing a more complex personality underneath the defenseless façade. Their serendipitous encounter is the foundation of the sleekly shot moody crime thriller The Low End Theory from writer-director Francisco Ordonez. Their instant connection spells trouble for Raquel, who willingly takes major risks both on the romantic and professional front in order to pursue this incandescent fling. 

From their first time the two women meet inside Raquel’s car, cinematographer Gemma Doll-Grossman’s camera becomes attached to their faces. The dance of intensely tight closeups playing with colorful lighting is how we come to understand the fiery spontaneity of what Veronica and Raquel feel for each other—whether at the club or during a moment of sexual intimacy. The camera can’t get any closer, and that’s an effective choice on Ordonez and Doll-Grossman’s part to communicate the raging emotions at play. 

But Raquel has a partner, Giselle (Ser Anzoategui), who happens to be the sister of her boss Uly (Eddie Martinez), a drug lord with a conscience. Then there’s the menacing presence of Efraim (Rene Rosado), her co-worker and the person with whom she creates music. All of these relationships, as well as Uly’s ill-obtained cash become entangled in a series of lies and terrible consequences that Raquel sets in motion in order to protect Veronica, who owes money to other nefarious parties that threaten to hurt if she doesn’t pay it back. 

For as much as The Low End Theory surrenders to well traveled paths when it comes to urban stories with a protagonist involved in illicit activities, the central relationship between Raquel and Veronica rings refreshing even when the screenplay leans into expected tropes. 

Yet, it’s Yepes’ convincingly layered performance as someone guided by a belief in a higher power, namely karmic forces, that keeps one invested in the narrative. Yepes remarkably conveys a cocktail of conflicted sentiments, particularly because of the clash between the positive light in which others see Raquel, and the dark, violent thoughts that plague her mind. There admittedly too many facets of Raquel’s world on display for any of them to truly take precedence. Thankfully Yepes remains consistently compelling through it all. 

Though far from entirely unique, The Low End Theory packs enough visual panache and the kinetic flourishes of Ordonez’s direction to result in an engaging neo-noir effort with characters who rarely get to be at the center of a story like this and where even the supporting parts benefit from above-average acting.

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by Bel Hernandez

Landing a regular role on a TV series is the dream job all actors work towards. For Eddie Martinez his work in film and television, which started with a small role in Unsolved Mysteries back in 2002, has finally landed him in the pool of “Series Regulars”. Martinez can currently be seen in The Sinner on the USA Network airing Thursday nights at 9/8c.  

Martinez plays the level-headed Vic Soto, a former Marine and a rising star detective who works alongside Detective Harry Ambrose (Bill Pullman) at the Dorchester Police Department. 

The Sinner was conceived as a “close-ended series” and in its third installment follows Detective Harry Ambrose (Pullman) along with Detective Vic Soto as they begin a routine investigation of a tragic car accident on the outskirts of Dorchester, in upstate New York. Ambrose uncovers a hidden crime that pulls him into the most dangerous and disturbing case of his career. Martinez is grateful to be working with such noted actors like Pullman and Matt Bomer (The Magnificent Seven), but the best part about his gig is character he plays.

“The best part about my role as Vic is that I’m not a drug dealer. I have played the gang bangers for years,” Martinez explains.  “And it is hard to get out of that cycle. But luckily, the roles are shifting for me as I get older, now I play more of the good guys.” 

Martinez has built his career incrementally, beginning with appearances in Amazon’s Bosch, Showtime’s Weeds, and Hulu’s East Los High.  Soon he began landing guest starring roles in shows like  Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black and Narcos: Mexico and CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, and NCIS Los Angeles — all stepping stones to the next level — series regular.

His impressive list of credits also includes films like the critically acclaimed A Better Life directed by Chris Weitz, the SXSW award-winning film The Abduction of Eden, and The Night Stalker in which he worked alongside Lou Diamond Phillips.  A couple of years ago he had the pleasure of working with veteran actor Pepe Serna in the indie film Flavor Of Life;  and in Bel Canto with Julianne Moore and Ken Watanabe. More recently, Eddie starred in two noted feature films the Kill Chain with Nicholas Cage and the 2019 Sundance Film Festival award-winning film The Infiltrators directed by Alex Rivera. 

A family man who now makes his home in Long Beach, Martinez has learned that when you get out of your way and focus on the work rather than the process of navigating the career, you allow yourself to move forward. “You have to have an understanding of the full story. When I shifted my focus to my work my acting career started shifting,” Martinez explained.  “I wasn’t that desperate actor thinking ‘I need this job’. You also need to realize that what you bring to the table, should not be the ‘what can you do for me’ attitude, because they feel it too”.

Looking towards the future, Martinez sees himself producing.  “I want to tell my own stories. My intention is to produce…I want to tell Latin American Stories with better Latino roles,” Martinez explained.

“I do Brazilian Capoeira,” Martinez was excited to explain. “This is a martial arts form created in Brazil that has African origins with over a century of rich history,” he said.  “I would develop a show about this beautiful esthetic.”  We are sure he will do just that and add one more title to his name.

The Sinner is executive produced by Derek Simonds who is also the showrunner, Jessica Biel and Michelle Purple. 

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