Disturbing. It is impossible to sit through Maria Full of Grace and not be affected by the circumstances of the characters. For that, the credit must go to Marston and his actors.

Unfolds with a simplicity that's as breathtaking as its inevitability is harrowing.

Timely, pointed messages about oppression and opportunity come poignantly through in strongly dramatic terms.

The movie is thrillingly subjective, teeming with the fullness of everyday proletarian life that one finds in the work of the directors who most influenced Marston in the making of this movie: Hector Babenco and the Brazilian realists, Ken Loach and Mike Leigh.

Gracefully acted, and the story packs a powerful punch straight to the gut.