Movie Reviews

[Tribeca ’23] ‘One Night with Adela’ review: Tribeca award winner is one long episode of ‘Black Mirror’

The ending will shock you.

June 18, 2023

In the latter moments of One Night with Adela the title character references an infamous episode of Black Mirror. While it directly relates to recent events, it is also an excellent way to sum up the entire film. Adela (Laura Galan, Piggy) is an angry street sweeper who is going to enact her plan for revenge. Over the course of a night filled with sex, drugs, and music she prepares for her ultimate vengeance.

The early minutes give an idea of the haphazard tone that is to come. Much of the time is spent watching Adela walk down a street. When a group of men begin to follow her in their car and harass her, it seems like the film has found its central theme – especially considering the end result.

As it turns out, it is all just a tease that plays out over the course of the entire runtime. There are moments of hedonism and ugliness followed by even longer scenes of Adela walking or driving around Madrid. Allowing audiences time to cool down after a high powered scene is not an uncommon tactic in film. The problem in One Night with Adela is it often feels like it is just wasting time between the next crazy moment. There is some interaction between Adela and a radio psychiatrist (real life Spanish radio personality Gemma Nierga) and Galán does a magnificent job of getting over how angry her character is, but the drastic shifts in tone are off-putting.

That being said, One Night with Adela manages to build and maintain an oppressive tone. Even in its less effective scenes there is a sense of brutality and danger. The single take aesthetic keeps the tension high. This is only exacerbated by Adela’s constant discussion about her plans for vengeance. There is a good reason writer-director Hugo Ruiz won the award for Best New Narrative Director.

[Tribeca '23] 'One Night with Adela' review: Tribeca award winner is one long episode of 'Black Mirror'

Everything culminates in a collision of sex and drugs. The third act builds to a shocking moment that sees the culmination of Adela’s plan. It is a stunning revelation that showcases the sadism, shame, and sadness that has been Adela’s life. There is not doubting it is a powerful moment, but for many the question will be was it worth the wait?