If you’re too young to remember the ’60s grape boycott, this biopic will put it in perspective. Chavez is the labor organizer who led California farm workers in their 5-year fight for fair conditions and a living wage. The fact that he was a mild-mannered advocate doesn’t help this film, because it’s lacking in the fervor that would have made it rousing or at least moving. The conditions are never fully explored and even the villains aren’t particularly fleshed out. Michael Peña is fine in the lead, but director Diego Luna never elevates this potentially powerful story above a competent history lesson.
(3 / 5)