Director Alfonso Cuarón proves he is capable of panning a camera and creating encompassing soundscapes in his slightly disappointing hit film, Roma.

There's a lot to like about the film. For one it's beautifully shot. (Although even there, the first 20 minutes are the same pan shot). The lighting of each room is wide, breathtaking and shot in rich contrasting black and white. The characters are impactful and well acted.

Ultimately, the climatic moments are not earned. From nowhere a battle erupts and at its most heightened moment Fermin shows up. Cleo's water breaks; she has a stillborn. WTF. The director has earned this how? By giving the audience little context of the characters and by throwing a smoke-show of emotion in attempts to suck you in.

Plainly, I don't understand the praise. Roma is trying so hard to be excellent, but it feels more like the director is scrapping for ideas to impress critics, rather than emoting some truth. Roma is vacuous of actual feeling. 3 stars