4x4 (2019 film)

4x4 is an Argentine-Spanish thriller crime film based on actual events by Mariano Cohn from a screenplay he co-wrote with Gastón Duprat. Produced by the latter, the film stars Peter Lanzani as Ciro, a criminal that breaks-in a 4x4 pickup truck owned by the obstetrician medic Enrique Ferrari (Dady Brieva) in order to steal a car stereo. The truck had a security mechanism that cuts the energy power, becoming encaged in the process.

Plot
Ciro (Peter Lanzani) is walking in a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires when he sees a truck that gets his interest. Breaks-in into the car and takes the car stereo. When he tries to get out, he finds out that he can't open any of the doors. The owner of the car calls and when Ciro picks up the call, the owner of the car (Dady Brieva) tells him that the security system that cuts the electric power within the car got triggered and that the car is completely blindated, soundproof and polarized; so no one will hear or see him crying for help and has no water nor food.

Cast

 * Peter Lanzani as Ciro, a low class thug that breaks in into a 4x4 truck
 * Dady Brieva as Enrique Ferrari, a high-class terminally ill obstretician who was the victim of several criminal acts and owner of the truck Ciro breaks in
 * Luis Brandoni as a police mediator
 * Dady Brieva as Enrique Ferrari
 * Noelia Castaño
 * Gustavo Rodríguez

Production
The development of the film began when Cohn was watching TV and found a news about a thief that got trapped in a car he tried to steal in Brazil, and later in Córdoba, Argentina to Roberto Desumvila. The producer and the director looked forward to spark debate about insecurity and its victims and criminals. Cohn and Lanzani deliberately aimed to avoid depicting Ciro as a stereotypical pibe chorro. As per usual in their filmography, Duprat and Cohn readed the script with people they know alien to the film industry for output.

The film was shot in 22 days in a single set at Pol-ka's Estudios Baires. While both Brandoni and Lanzani agreed with the vision the director had,  Brieva thought more of the film as the depiction of the alienation both seniors and the lower class citizens suffer in the system and society. The film features a self-reference in the background, in the form of a film poster for a hypotetical The Man Next Door 2: The Neighbour is Back. It was meant to be a simple joke, but when Cohn called Daniel Aráoz to tell him about it, Aráoz asked why not doing it for real and so the screenwriting for the sequel began. Peter Lanzani used Colin Farell and Ryan Reynolds' performances in Phone Booth and Buried as acting reference. During the film, Ciro wears a pink jearsey of Boca Juniors. This particular jearsey was picked by Cohn for several reasons; to create color contrast with the upholstered of the car, because it is the most controversial jersey of the club and to spark controversy. The film was dedicated to Alejandro Cohn, Mariano's brother that died in 2015.

Release
The movie premiered in 4 April 2019 on 285 screens under distribution of Buena Vista International.

Box office
4x4 sold 10,605 tickets on its opening day in Argentina, ranking fourth. During its opening weekend 4x4 ranked 4th at the Argentine box office, selling 83,242 tickets, the best opening weekend for an Argentine film in the year. On its second weekend ranked 3th, selling 56,909 tickets. On its third weekend ranked 5th, selling 50,932 tickets. On its fourth weekend ranked 4th, selling 21,535 tickets. On its fifth weekend ranked 6th, selling 12,290 tickets. On its sixth weekend ranked 10th, selling 5,327 tickets.

Critical response
On Argentine review aggregator Todas Las Críticas, 4x4 holds an approval rating of 61% based on 41 reviews with an average rating of 59/100.

Remakes
The film inspired a Brazilian remake and, according to Duprat, there are plans for an American remake produced by David Lancaster.