Suddenly, the comic-dramatic road movie about two young Argentinean lesbians who kidnap a withdrawn young woman one of them happens to be infatuated with, is an easygoing and moderately charming film that never becomes fully engaging, though it certainly has its sweet spots.

Marcia (Tatiana Saphir) is a shy, overweight and withdrawn young woman working in a Buenos Aires lingerie shop. Recently deserted by her boyfriend, she's obviously unhappy with her physique and station in life, and spends most of her time feeling dreary, pining for true love to arrive. On a lunchtime stroll, she catches the attention of a feisty lesbian couple nicknamed Mao (Carla Crespo) and Lenin (Veronica Hassan), who corner her on the street as Mao proclaims her true love at first sight.

The intimidating duo kidnap a half-curious Marcia at knifepoint and set out for the seaside, eventually settling in at the home of Lenin's Aunt Blanca (Beatriz Thibaudin), an uncompromising and offbeat old woman who lives with two bohemian twenty-something borders. The core of the film charts the shifting relationships between the inhabitants of the house, including Mao's seduction and abandonment of Marcia, Lenin's rediscovery of her grand old dame aunt, and the friendships formed with the others.

Working with a gorgeous black and white palette, director and co-writer Diego Lerman seems certainly confident in the dynamics of the lesbian seduction and its ambivalent aftermath. And he manages some genuine emotion in one late scene involving a melancholy boat ride and its aftermath.

And to the film's credit, and reminiscent of the delightful Real Women Have Curves, Marcia is a real-looking woman that Lerman isn't afraid to show as a fully formed, heavy, sexual and emotional presence at the center of a film.

Overall, the cast is appealing and feels authentically in touch with their low-key characters. But the real problem here is that Mao, as written by Lerman and played by Crespo, is an extremely unlikable and at times repellant character, and that's quite possibly the point. She serves as an important catalyst in Marcia's process. Maybe that's realistic, but it's not engaging in any way. Carrying a significant amount of screen time, Crespo rarely cracks a smile in the entire film (I counted once), and comes across as brash and unappealingly abrasive, filled with "tough-guy" if looks could kill temperament. It's a turn off and weighs substantially on this little film.

There is one cast member who creates an elegant and indelible character, projecting a world-wise depth and enigmatic flamboyance that's infectious to the other characters and the audience. In the critical role of the feisty septuagenarian Blanca, Beatriz Thibaudin vibrates with life and with warmth in each of her scenes - and I found myself wishing the film were more about her life and less about the young lesbian love triangle.

Suddenly is a well-made little film with some richness of character and at least one terrific performance. But the characters themselves just don't come alive with passion.