Close Menu
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    One Piece But Why Tho 5

    Fathers of ‘One Piece’: Powerful Bonds, Legacy, and Found Family

    06/13/2025
    Elena Street Fighter 6 But Why Tho

    Elena Brings Style And Versatility To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    06/06/2025
    Lune and Sciel from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    Lune, Sciel, And The Romance Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Fails To Realize

    06/05/2025
    Ana de Armas as Eve Macarro

    Everything To Know About Eve Macarro In ‘Ballerina’

    06/05/2025
    Marvel Rivals Ultron

    Ultron Brings Aggression To ‘Marvel Rivals’ Support Class

    05/31/2025
  • Star Wars
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘I Don’t Expect Anyone To Believe Me’ Is An Awkward Mess

REVIEW: ‘I Don’t Expect Anyone To Believe Me’ Is An Awkward Mess

Charles HartfordBy Charles Hartford11/24/20234 Mins ReadUpdated:03/28/2024
I Dont Expect Anyone to Believe Me But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Juan Pablo (Dario Yazbek Bernal) was preparing to leave his home in Mexico to get his PhD in Barcelona with his girlfriend Valentina (Natalia Solián). But just as things look like they are unfolding perfectly for the aspiring academic, his cousin gets him pulled into a scheme involving a local drug cartel that is soon running his life under threat of death to his family and girlfriend. Now in Barcelona and struggling to maintain his mental health, Juan stumbles through his days with the sole goal of surviving his ordeal long enough to finish his novel and get his girlfriend out of harm’s way in the film I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me (No voy a pedirle a nadie que me crea).

From this film’s opening scene, which depicts several teenage boys viewing an old VHS porno film for no apparent reason, to its closing moments, there is an ongoing struggle to determine what is the point of I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me. So much is never known about what is happening; what little is revealed feels obtuse and meaningless. It is awkward, frequently uncomfortable, and does far too little with its nearly two-hour runtime to ever be entertaining.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

While there are numerous low-key problems simmering under the surface of this story, one of the most notable hurdles is the omission of several key moments in the narrative that leave the viewer feeling disoriented and unsure of what is happening or even where it is happening. For example, shortly after getting roped into the cartel’s schemes, Juan goes on a horrible tirade towards Valentina, causing her to break up with him before they go to Barcelona, clearly to get her out of dodge of his newfound problems. However, this moment is not shown.

Rather, we learn about it through a phone call when the cartel boss Juan working for is chewing him out for driving her away. She is part of their plan, and he must reconcile with her. The next thing the viewer knows, they are living together again in Barcelona, though no suggestion that travel has occurred is given. They simply are somewhere else, and the viewer is left playing catch up. This larger sense of confusion is also seen in several smaller moments, where the camera cuts and angles make little sense, causing the viewer to be further pulled out of moments.

The middle stretch of I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me is further bogged down by painfully slow sequences of Juan laboring to accomplish vague objectives for his new masters. But without any context, the viewer is once again left in the dark about what it is he is doing. The tasks aren’t even interesting in and of themselves. There is never a feeling of mystery in the deeds being done. There is no causal link that leaves the viewer trying to put the pieces together. It’s just random stuff that presumably has meaning.

Again, the film slows down even further due to its spending time following Valentina as well as Juan. While the secondary protagonist engenders sympathy from the viewer, she is just trying to navigate living in a new city with a cold distant boyfriend and virtually no cash. Not the most eventful secondary plot for an already slow movie to follow.

The one area that the film doesn’t fail is in the acting. Bernal does a great job of presenting Juan’s crumbling mental health, leaning into both the verbal and mannerisms that reinforce how quickly his sanity is coming apart. His anguish over his treatment of Valentina keeps him feeling sympathetic, even as the viewer sees the repercussions of his actions play out on her.

I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me is a mess of a film that has little to say and feels unsure of how to even say it. It’s slow and disorienting, leaving the viewer with little to recommend of its story.

I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me is streaming now on Netflix.

I Don't Expect Anyone to Believe Me
  • 4/10
    Rating - 4/10
4/10

TL; DR

I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me is a mess of a film that has little to say and feels unsure of how to even say it. It’s slow and disorienting, leaving the viewer with little to recommend of its story.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End’ Episode 12 — “A Real Hero”
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Undead Unluck’ Episode 8 — “Victhor”
Charles Hartford
  • X (Twitter)

Lifelong geek who enjoys comics, video games, movies, reading and board games . Over the past year I’ve taken a more active interest in artistic pursuits including digital painting, and now writing. I look forward to growing as a writer and bettering my craft in my time here!

Related Posts

Our Times But Why Tho
3.5

REVIEW: ‘Our Times’ Wastes A Good Premise On A Bad Plot

06/14/2025
Red Blood Cell and White Cell in Cells at Work
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Cells at Work’ Does A Beloved Anime Justice

06/13/2025
Camila Morrone and Willem Dafoe in Gonzo Girl
6.5

REVIEW: ‘Gonzo Girl’ Is A Careful Character Study About Main Characters

06/12/2025
Dakota Johnson in Materialists
8.5

REVIEW: ‘Materialists’ Proves Celine Song Understands Love Better Than Most Of Us

06/11/2025
Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon
5.0

REVIEW: ‘How To Train Your Dragon (2025)’ Is Aggravatingly Dark

06/09/2025
A still from Predator Killer of Killers
8.5

REVIEW: ‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ Finds Humanity In The Hunt

06/06/2025
TRENDING POSTS
Yoo Su-bin, Kim Shin-rok, Go Min-si, and Kang Ha-neul in Tastefully Yours
6.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘Tastefully Yours’ Is A Half-Baked Romantic Venture

By Sarah Musnicky06/11/2025

For all its emphasis on flavor, execution, and satisfying a customer, Tastefully Yours ultimately proves to be underwhelming.

Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night with the Duke Episodes 1-2
8.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 1-2

By Sarah Musnicky06/12/2025

The bar is set pretty high with The First Night With The Duke Episodes 1-2. While exposition-heavy, it is a delightfully silly watch.

Y'shtola in the FFXIV Commander Deck - Magic: The Gathering x Final Fantasy Interviews

Magic Designer Explains The Challenge Of Picking A Face For The FFXIV Commander Deck

By Kate Sánchez06/11/2025Updated:06/11/2025

FFXIV Commander Deck pulls highlights core characters and mechanics, with Y’shtola as its Commander. But building the deck, wasn’t easy.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here