‘The Absence of Eden’ Review: Zoe Saldaña Stars in a Muted Directorial Debut from Husband Marco Perego
variety.comCarlos Aguilar Two parallel but inevitably intersecting stories make up Italian-born director Marco Perego‘s debut feature “The Absence of Eden,” a strikingly shot and superbly acted immigration drama.
But for all its commendable on-screen elements, it’s the screenplay that Perego co-wrote with Rick Rapoza that falls short, traversing overly familiar and rather sordid tropes related to a divisive political issue.
While the actors — led by Zoe Saldaña, who is also married to the director — give powerful portrayals that challenge the country’s anti-immigrant climate, but there’s little in the way of thematic novelty here.New ICE Agent Shipp (Garrett Hedlund), whose estranged father often leaves voice messages he never hears, has just moved to an unnamed border town.
Though Shipp’s decision to join this line of work doesn’t stem from a strong ideological stance, his partner and friend Dobbins (Chris Coy) tries to instill in him a dehumanizing “us against them” mentality.
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