If the words “whimsical” or “quirky” in a review serve as a red flag to you, consider yourself warned, Problemista is probably not for you. If you believe that Tilda Swinton is incapable of delivering a sub-par performance, it turns out that there are exceptions to most rules, including this one.
Swinton plays Elizabeth, a strident, monstrously self-absorbed and explosively difficult New York art world figure who is the last resort of Alejandro (Julio Torres, who also wrote and directs the film). A painfully gauche aspiring toy designer from El Salvador whose work visa is about to run out, Alejandro is forced to put up with Elizabeth’s tantrums and bullying. But against all expectations, an odd-couple friendship develops. Or so this needy, Kaufmanesque indie would have us believe. In practice, however, Swinton is massively overblown and Torres too wispy and diffident to balance things out.
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