Swift, confident, and exceptionally nasty, this Argentine film bears roughly the same relationship to the Martin Scorsese of “Goodfellas” that Brian De Palma does to, well, all of Hitchcock. Restless tracking shots and upbeat pop songs underpin the real-life tale of the Puccios, an Argentine family that took advantage of military rule in the early ’80s to build a lucrative trade in kidnapping, collecting ransoms and then murdering the victims. The dual focus is on clan leader Arquímedes (Guillermo Francella) and his son Alejandro (Peter Lanzani), a rugby star torn between paternal loyalty and the fact that Daddy is a terrifying psychopath. They are good actors, and the story makes for a gripping thriller, but the comparison with Scorsese doesn’t do director Pablo Trapero many favors. Unlike “GoodFellas,” these real-life ironies feel facile.
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