Sofía Vergara Is Viciously Good in Latest Netflix Biopic ‘Griselda’

“The only man I was ever afraid of was a woman named Griselda Blanco.”

Pablo Escobar

Before we even meet Griselda Blanco, we’re introduced to her reputation through the quote above, made by Pablo Escobar. This introduction, before witnessing anything else, sets the stage for the events that will unfold. Yet, even with this prelude, you’re unsure of what to expect in Netflix’s latest biopic series, Griselda. 

We meet Griselda (Sofía Vergara; ‘Modern Family’) as she frantically rushes into her Medellin home to nurse a pretty nasty wound. After calling her friend Carmen (Paulina Dávila), she packs a bag and gathers her sons, Ozzy (Martín Fajardo), Uber (Jose Velazquez), and Dixon (Orlando Pineda). Once they get on the road, Griselda tells her boys that she’s divorcing their stepfather and that they’re moving to Miami. Something served as the catalyst for this decision and the wound we saw earlier, but the full story won’t be revealed until later.

It’s 1978 when Griselda and her sons first arrive in Miami. Carmen allows them to stay with her, but one room for Griselda and all three of her sons is far from ideal. Carmen offers Griselda a job at her travel agency but wants assurance that Griselda has left her drug-related past behind. Griselda assures Carmen that she’s done, largely due to the undisclosed act committed by her husband. However, before she completes a full day at the travel agency, Griselda is already plotting to sell a kilo of cocaine she smuggled into the country.

Courtesy of Netflix

Griselda isn’t interested in a regular job; she’s experienced the allure of a more dangerous life and now has grander ambitions. She tries to blend into the Miami scene to offload the cocaine. After giving a local dealer a sample of her Colombian pure, she faces misogyny and intimidation: the dealer threatens her at gunpoint and steals her cocaine. While such a setback might have deterred many, Griselda is not one to let such an affront go unpunished.

Known for her comedic chops during her longstanding role as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom Modern Family, Vergara is almost unrecognizable in this biopic. It isn’t her prosthetics or retro styling but her complete immersion into the role of this complex woman, infamously known as The Godmother.

The series starts right off and doesn’t let up until the finale episode. Even with all that’s packed within these six episodes, it’s easy to see that this is a mere fragment of Griselda’s life. One could argue that Griselda’s actions were motivated by survival, but every act was purposed to claim a throne she felt was rightfully hers. The series effectively depicts her slow rise to power. Vergara’s portrayal is akin to a snake, gradually shedding layers; with each episode, she reveals more of Griselda’s true nature, leading up to her peak, right before her downfall. High on her own supply of drugs, money, and power, a now worn and paranoid Griselda emerges, and we see a formidable figure who resembles the person Escobar, as mentioned in the series’ opening quote, regarded with fear. 

Courtesy of Netflix

While Vergara is responsible for much of the heavy lifting, the series is truly a team effort. The ensemble cast is excellent, particularly Martín Rodríguez, who plays sultry hitman Jorge “Rivi” Ayala-Rivera. From the moment Rodríguez arrives on screen, his presence overrides everyone else. He flows throughout the series, oozing a type of sensuality that is both comforting and menacing simultaneously. In scenes with Vergara, he seductively draws the viewer’s attention, sometimes even overshadowing Vergara herself. 

Although this is a fictionalized dramatization of Griselda Blanco’s life, it suggests that she managed to operate under the radar for as long as she did because law enforcement was reluctant to believe a woman could achieve such notoriety in the drug world. This is a key theme that the series aims to highlight. 

Griselda succeeds as both a crime biopic and a revenge drama. Vergara is at the top of her game in her portrayal of Griselda, a woman fueled by the desire to prove she is just as smart and savage as any man in the drug trade industry. It offers a succinct snapshot of a specific period in Griselda’s life, but it isn’t everything. Nonetheless, audiences will be entertained. While you may not necessarily root for Griselda, a part of you can identify with the desire to prove to those around you that you’re worthy of the crown. And that’s precisely what she did. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars