The title “Untamed Royals” (Original title: Delincuentes) appropriately describes the untamed protagonists in Humberto Hinojosa Ozcariz’s film. The film stars Juan Pablo Fuentes Acevedo, Fernando Cattori, Alfonso Herrera, Ximena Lamadrid, and Renata Manterola. It revolves around a group of young teens who commit crimes, thinking their influence and connections will prevent them from being punished.
Although this film moves at a snail’s pace, it captures the spirit of its title. As the film nears its conclusion, we are met with a devastating conclusion that gets the better of us. We can’t help but question the motivations of these youths, but ultimately, it comes down to one word: because they can. It is a luxury to be unconcerned by the plight of the regular people; therefore, they choose to ignore their issues. The filmmaker spares no detail in his efforts to convey the heinousness of the situation without going overboard, particularly with the sexual elements.
Untamed Royals (Delincuentes, 2024) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
Who is Xavi?
The movie introduces us to Xavi, a young guy in his early twenties who’s been living life on Easy Street since day one. Born into a very wealthy family, Xavi’s been handed everything on a silver platter: a flashy car, a rare white horse that looks straight out of a fairy tale, or a high-end watch that costs more than most people’s yearly salary. His house is also like a palace, teeming with staff who jump at his every command.
Xavi doesn’t just live a high life but also has a dark side. He’s used to getting away with anything, even crime, because he knows his parents’ money and connections can always bail him out. At the film’s start, Xavi stages a robbery at his mansion with Gerardo to steal some cash and sell off a few pricey items. To make the whole thing look real, he even tells his criminal friend to shoot him.
Xavi isn’t the only one living large and has friends who are just as bad as him. They all believe that you’re untouchable as long as you’ve got cash. Take his girlfriend Renata, for example. She’s a social media influencer who faults her fake generosity with pride. We often see her handing out cash to her staff on camera to show off how “generous” she is and stretch up her Instagram followers.
Entangled deceptions: unraveling the web of lies
Since Xavi’s dad is a very connected man, the cops are all over this case, promising the family they’ll catch the “culprit” in record time. The cops first zero in on Polo, Xavi’s ex-driver, thinking he has something to do with the robbery as a day before, Santiago fired him. Santiago suspected Polo of stealing from the household stash, so naturally, the cops raided his place. But Polo is nowhere to be found.
As they dig deeper, Rodrigo discovers about Gerardo, Xavi’s best friend. Gerardo’s has a handful of issues. He’s an insecure man who pays the staff to let him beat them up just to feel powerful. Gerardo is also tangled up with Pilar, Xavi’s neighbor, and blows most of his stolen cash on her. At the same time, he’s secretly hooking up with Marianna, Xavi’s sister.
How far will betrayal and greed take Xavi and Gerardo?
Xavi doesn’t stop at robbing his own family. He also extorts Renata’s mother, a high-rolling doctor at one of the country’s swankiest hospitals. Xavi and Gerardo stage a fake kidnapping, calling Renata’s mom and demanding she cough up two million, or her daughter will die a horrible death. The ransom is paid, but later, we see that Renata was never in danger.
Gerardo also has a brother who spends time behind bars and lives a high life, thanks to the loot Gerardo sneaks in. When they’re not sending contraband, Xavi and Gerardo spend the stolen cash on drugs and throw wild rave parties teeming with sex workers and gangsters. Marianna catches wind of their activities, but Xavi asks her to keep quiet, or else he’ll tell their dad that she stole the watch, not Polo.
Pillar is Gerardo’s sweetheart, and he drops almost all of his stolen goods on her. He begs Pilar to marry him, but she turns him down, claiming she is too happy with her husband’s lavish lifestyle to leave him. This deepens Gerardo’s animosity toward Pilar’s husband.
What happens to Vicente, Renata’s Brother?
Rodrigo reaches out to Gerardo, wanting to have a word about the heist at Santiago’s place. Gerardo knows that time is ticking, and it’s only a matter of time before he’s caught and thrown behind bars. So, he hatches a plan to pull off one last big score and vanish for good. Marianna and Renata jump on board, both tired of their families and hungry for freedom. They are in love and plan to live their life far away from their families, but they know money is their only ticket out.
So they make a plan to kidnap Renata’s six-year-old brother, Vicente, but things take a dark turn when they accidentally overdose on the poor kid, leading to his death. Panic sets in, and everyone starts to freak out except for Gerardo. He remains calm and orders them to dispose of the body near a water channel. When Vicente’s body is discovered, the cops immediately question the house help since she was the last person seen with him.
Untamed Royals (Delincuentes, 2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Why did Rodrigo let Gerardo walk scot-free?
As the film nears its end, it is revealed that Rodrigo isn’t the straight-laced cop he pretended to be all this time. He’s been playing both sides all along. Rodrigo knew from the start that Gerardo and Xavi were behind Vicente’s kidnapping. But instead of arresting them, he cut himself a hefty slice of the ransom pie to keep their name out of his report.
Rodrigo even kills Polo and pins the whole kidnapping and murder on him and his innocent lover to tie up loose ends in the dirtiest way possible. As for Gerardo, Rodrigo lets him walk away scot-free with one condition: from now on, Gerardo will work for him. For every heist and every gambling win, Gerardo will have to give a fat cut to Rodrigo if he wishes to avoid being thrown behind bars.
