Leap Year Review

Michael Rowe’s directorial debut will no doubt stir the moral guardians at the Daily Mail, already labelled ‘shocking’ mainly by those who’ve never experienced the internet. Leap Year charts 29 days in the life of journalist Laura Lopez (Monica del Carmen), a solitary existence interspersed with a series of harrowing and hollow one-night stands to offset her loneliness. The spell is finally broken when she meets the sexually sadistic Arturo (Gustavo Sanchez Parra), who leads her — willingly — into ever murkier, experimental and more violent waters. Both leads are thrilling, but the monotony and sluggish pace — especially in the first third — and the cloying, near-claustrophobic sadness make for a tough and occasionally unwatchable experience.