Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Non Negotiable’ on Netflix, a Mexican Satire About a Hostage Negotiator With Marital Problems

Mexican comedy-thriller Non Negotiable (now on Netflix) tries to thread a needle by making hostage negotiations funny. Tricky subject matter? For sure, and even though the film puts itself in a hole by naming its hostage negotiator lead character Binder – get it? He gets people out of binds? – it digs itself out by tweaking the formula, making the hostage-taker a political activist with a point, and the hostage a politician with his hand in the people’s pocketbook. Moral compromises all around then, maybe? Sure, with a little satire thrown in, too.

NON NEGOTIABLE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Alan Binder (Mauricio Ochmann) promised Victoria (Tato Alexander) he’d quit his constantly-on-call job as a hostage negotiator when their daughter was born. Welp, Juana (Isabella Arroyo) is eight now, and Binder just ditched his fam to stop a nut from putting a bullet in his mother-in-law. What a selfish creep! Of course, ditching them had a cascading effect on Victoria, who had to drag Juana to work with her, and it became a big thing, and now Binder is sleeping on the couch and raising an eyebrow at Victoria’s personal trainer, because it sure looks like they’re out in the backyard there flirting with each other. His job is an important job, but whaddaya gonna do? Binder’s in a bind.

And so Binder and Victoria end up on the marriage counselor’s couch. Meanwhile, Mexican president Araiza (Enoc Leano) fibs to his wife that he’s tied up at work so he can have a covert meeting of the kind that requires him to pop one of those boner pills on the way. We know what’s going to happen to the prez because we’ve already seen scenes in which Vicente (Leonardo Ortizgris) implements a plan in which a security guard is drugged and tossed in a trunk, and other such deviousness. And as soon as Araiza arrives for a commingling with a fellow politician who – gasp! – happens to be a member of the opposing party, he’s trapped, and the president’s been ’napped.

Sure enough, smack in the middle of the couples therapy session, Binder’s phone starts exploding like the third act of a Michael Bay movie. He hears the code word “porco” – you non-Spanish speakers probably don’t need a translation for that – and jets out the door. Does Victoria believe him when he says it’s a matter of national security? Moot question, because soon enough, she’s scooped up and deposited in the high-rise apartment next to Araiza, who has a bomb strapped to his chest and an electro-zapper on his thigh. Vicente has an agenda, since he forces Araiza to watch a video of himself making all kinds of campaign promises, and zap himself for every one he’s broken, which is basically all of them. It seems as if being a corrupt politician can be hazardous to your health. Same goes for being the wife of a hostage negotiator, it seems. 

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Non Negotiable is sorta like Inside Man (underrated Spike Lee hostage-negotiator movie!) crossed with a slightly broader version of a marriage-problems comedy like You Hurt My Feelings. 

Performance Worth Watching: This somewhat smart screenplay has, somewhat oddly, installed some charisma inhibitors, so this is a tough one. There’s no scene-stealer or scenery-chewer. But Ochmann is an amiable lead, Alexander expresses exasperation well and Ortizgris finds the sweet spot between disgruntled antagonist and sympathetic antihero.

Memorable Dialogue: During their counseling session, Victoria accuses Binder of using his negotiation tactics in their marriage, to which he replies, “I don’t lie, I twist reality to save lives.”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: Non Negotiable moves quickly, is quippy-of-dialogue and, at 86 minutes, doesn’t overstay its welcome. Director Juan Taratuto – working with a script by Ochmann, Alexander and Geraldine Zinat – manages to not take the serious task of hostage negotiation too seriously, while at the same time ramping up enough third-act tension to make you feel invested in what happens. The political satire greases the engine nicely, creating a caricature of a piggish pol and indulging fantasies of just punishment (an almost-subtle running implication about Araiza’s pharmaceutically-assisted erection is admittedly pretty damn funny). 

That said, the film doesn’t have much to say beyond the text itself, unless those living in Mexico can glean greater contextual references from the story (which is broad enough – bland enough? – to tap into universal disgust for shitty politicians, which, of course, aren’t at all limited to the confines of any one country). The backstory, presented in sketchy flashbacks, doesn’t work particularly well, and the characters’ potential for greater comedic and dramatic impact goes untapped. But as far as amusing, watch-once-and-destroy Netflix entertainment goes, Non Negotiable is good enough.

Our Call: STREAM IT. It’s hard to dislike Non Negotiable – it boasts a strong premise, and even though it strands a few too many baserunners, it still ekes out a win.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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