rambling life story still very fascinating

Rating: 7/10 (27 October 2014)

George Jung grew up in a poor struggling family in Massachusetts. He vows to never live that way. As a young man, he and his friend Tuna (Ethan Suplee) want to sell marijuana. Stewardess Barbara (Franka Potente) introduces them to a real dealer Derek Foreal (Paul Reubens). They grow their business with Barbara transporting for them. They even go down to Mexico to buy from the source. He gets arrested and Barbara dies from cancer. The group scatters. While serving time in Danbury, his cellmate Diego Delgado (Jordi Molla) connects him to the Medellín cocaine cartel. He starts smuggling cocaine and reconnects with Derek. He becomes the middle man between Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis) and cocaine dealing of Derek. At Diego's wedding, he meets his future wife Mirtha (Penélope Cruz). Eventually Diego discovers Derek's identity and double-crosses George.
The movie is covering a lot of a big life. At times, it feels like the movie only scratches the surface. It's a lot of highlights or lowlights of a person. It would probably be more effective to narrow the focus to start from meeting Diego. The movie needs a partner or a foil for Johnny Depp to play against. Diego seems to be the natural choice and needs to be in the movie from beginning to end. Johnny Depp gives a compelling performance. It would be great if another character would loom just as large.