''Cocaine Godmother'' is a 2017 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

crime drama film In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

directed by Guillermo Navarro and written by David McKenna. The film stars

Catherine Zeta-Jones Catherine Zeta-Jones (; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Known for her versatility, she is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed ...

Griselda Blanco Griselda Blanco Restrepo (February 15, 1943 – September 3, 2012), known as ''the Black Widow'', was a Colombian drug lord of the Medellín Cartel, and in the Miami-based cocaine drug trade and underworld, during the 1970s through the e ...

, who was known as the Cocaine Godmother. It premiered at the 2017

Camerimage The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage () is a festival dedicated to the celebration of cinematography and recognition of its creators, cinematographers. The first seven events (1993–1999) were held in Toruń, ...

in Poland and showed on Lifetime channel on January 20, 2018.

Plot

Griselda Blanco grows up in poverty in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...

, and commits her first murder after being forced into childhood prostitution. She eventually comes to live in the US with her first husband and three sons Dixon, Uber, and Osvaldo. She earns money by creating fake passports for

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

, and moves into the smuggling trade herself when she realizes that using beautiful women as mules will lower the chances of them being caught. Griselda, fed up with her abusive marriage, leaves her husband and takes her children. She meets Carolina, an American woman with whom she begins a romance. Griselda soon gets remarried to a man named Alberto Bravo, but keeps Carolina as a companion for years. After moving to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, Griselda's drug empire quickly grows. She comes up with the idea to put assassins on motorcycles as they will be able to move around the city faster than with cars. She does business with

Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist who was the founder and sole leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed "the king of cocaine", Escobar is the wealthiest criminal i ...

back in Colombia, and becomes the queen of the cocaine trade. As a result, Miami sees a steep rise in crime. Griselda and her family are pushed to the edge by the stress of their illegal business. Her three eldest sons have all become dangerous gangsters. Her marriage falls apart and Carolina dies of a

drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

. Her fourth son Michael, fathered by her most recent boyfriend Darío Sepúlveda, is kidnapped and it takes weeks to get him back home. Griselda, herself, develops an addiction to smoking cocaine that makes her increasingly irrational and unreliable. The DEA have been watching her operation for years. She moves to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

to lie low, but is eventually found and arrested along with her three sons while Michael is sent to live with a relative in Miami. Griselda serves limited jail time thanks to the loyalty she commands among her minions. After doing her time, she is deported back to Colombia where she lives a lonely existence after two of her sons were killed by assailants and the other one commits suicide before he can be killed. She dies an old woman when a motorcycle assassin shoots her on the street. The narrator concludes that Griselda "is now free."

Cast

** Isabella Sierra as young Griselda Blanco *

Raúl Méndez Raúl Méndez Martínez (born April 11, 1975 in Laguna, Torreón, Mexico) is a Mexican actor of film, theater and television. Biography He studied acting at the Center for Arts Education Monterrey and La Casa del Teatro with Luis de Ta ...

as Darío Sepúlveda * Juan Pablo Espinosa as Alberto Bravo *

Warren Christie Hans Warren Christie (born 4 November 1975) is a British-Canadian television and film actor known for his roles as Ray Cataldo on the ABC drama '' October Road'' and as Aidan "Greggy" Stiviletto on the ABC series '' Happy Town''. More recent ...

as Jimmy (DEA) * Matteo Stefan as Dixon Trujillo Blanco ** Matthew Hooper as Toddler Dixon Trujillo Blanco ** Jonah Stark as Young Dixon Trujillo Blanco * Spencer Borgeson as Osvaldo Trujillo Blanco ** Jaden Rain as Young Oswaldo * José Julián as Uber Trujillo Blanco ** Stefan Djuric as Toddler Uber * Jenny Pellicer as Carolina *

Alejandro Edda Alejandro Edda (born May 17, 1984) is a Mexican–American actor, best known for his roles as Marco Rodriguez in the AMC television series '' Fear the Walking Dead'' (2016) and Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in the Netflix original series '' Narcos ...

as Rodolfo (Rudi) * Dagan Nish as Michael Corleone Blanco (uncredited) ** Evan Hugh Ocean Conn as Baby Michael Blanco (uncredited) ** Lauren Guci as Young Michael Corleone Blanco

Reception

Writing for

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

, Hanh Nguyen criticized the decision to cast Zeta-Jones in the part of a Latina woman, adding that "she's not just unconvincing; she's outlandish". Similarly, Ciara LaVelle of the ''

Miami New Times The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami-Dade County, Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District. Overview It was acquir ...

'' called the movie "campy" and "sexist"; and felt that Zeta-Jones "struggles to embody the role of a 17-year-old Colombian immigrant, and though her portrayal solidifies as the story progresses, her accent remains cringeworthy throughout. (At least in her later, allegedly cocaine-addicted years, you can blame it on the drugs.)"

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, cocaine_godmother 2010s biographical films 2017 crime drama films 2017 films American biographical films American crime drama films Biographical films about criminals Biographical films about drug traffickers Biographical films about gangsters Crime films based on actual events Cultural depictions of Griselda Blanco Films about cocaine Films about Colombian drug cartels Films about criminals Films about organized crime in the United States Films set in the 1970s Films set in the 1980s Films shot in Puerto Rico Films shot in Vancouver Lifetime (TV network) films American drama television films 2010s American films