by Alireza Hatamvand
Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Destiny Checo, Juan Collado, Nathaly Navarro
Intro:
… a confident and quietly powerful debut …
There’s a quote attributed to Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Synecdoche, New York) that says: “Everything I’ve written is personal – it’s the only way I know how to write.”
Joel Alfonso Vargas seems to have embraced that same belief in his first feature film, Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo). Born and raised in the Bronx, Vargas — both the writer and director — takes us on a long and painful journey with Ricardo, a young man of Dominican descent from that same neighbourhood.
The film, an expanded version of Vargas’s earlier short, follows Rico, who lives with his mother and sister in the Bronx. His life is upended when his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Destiny, becomes pregnant. Despite his mother’s and sister’s objections, Rico brings her — estranged from her own family — to live with them. Yet he lacks both the financial stability and emotional readiness for fatherhood. The film’s full title perfectly reflects the twin struggles Rico must face to keep his relationship and future intact.
Though the screenplay is understated and low on dramatic turns, it still fits within the shape of a transformation story. Rico must change — and he does — but his growth is mostly internal, a shift in will and perspective rather than circumstance. In the closing sequence, during the gender-reveal party where everyone else is celebrating, Rico and Destiny hold hands, caught between hope and unease. That subdued sense of uncertainty quietly seeps through the screen, refusing the audience easy answers and leaving them with questions that echo beyond the final frame.
Some may see Rico as a well-worn type — someone we’ve already encountered in dozens of films and series. Even in his more spontaneous moments, he rarely startles, and he’s unlikely to stay long in the audience’s mind.
Yet Vargas’s direction remains quietly remarkable. His precise use of framing and colour brings life to the film’s stillness. By avoiding close-ups almost entirely, he lets the environment take over — turning every space into a silent participant in the story. The result beautifully reflects the film’s theme: the subtle dominance of place over person.
The performances, too, are natural and deeply felt. It seems like every actor truly lives within the story — their joy, anger, and defeat all ring true and unforced. That kind of emotional authenticity doesn’t come easy, not even in films with million-dollar casts.
And while Mad Bills to Pay isn’t flawless, it stands as a confident and quietly powerful debut for Joel Alfonso Vargas. His future work will show us more clearly who he is as a filmmaker, but with this film alone, he’s already proven that he has something real to say — and a voice worth listening to — in the world of social drama.
