Movies like “Son-in-Law” force the viewer to ponder the difference between “confused” and “confusing” narratives.

Critics use “confusing” when we’re willing to give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt about tangled and unconventional plotting. “Confused” puts the blame squarely on whoever cooked up this muddled, meandering mess.

“Son-in-Law” is the tale of the rise and fall of a Mexican American — born in San Diego, sent to Mexico to live with an aged uncle for the “discipline” the old man might pass on — who thinks big, marries money and entangles himself in the corruption often associated with Mexico’s narco-politics.

“El Yerno,” as it is titled in Spanish speaking countries, begins in the fictive present, when it all comes bloodily crashing down on Attorney General José Sánchez (Adrien Vazquez). Then it bounces back to 2019, when things started to go wrong, then back to 1985 when the eager-to-fit-in kid took his first chance at impressing a girl by bringing drugs to her birthday party, and then we jump to “20 Years Later.”

This all happens in the first seven or eight minutes. We barely have time to get used to an actor of one age before another leaps into the role, and making heads of tails out of any of it announces itself as the problem that smothers this picture in the cradle.

“Ten years later” and “three years after that” are to come as we see a young man with a passion for transportation — he drops out of law school to drive his uncle’s ancient VW taxi — who sleeps with the sister of his best friend, the senator’s son.

When José gets Lucia (Verónica Bravo) pregnant, Jose finds himself the voiceless “executive vice president” of the family’s bus transit company, the poor stepchild to their shipping empire. He spies the corruption, cozies up to a cartel kingpin, El Lobo (Jero Medina) and finds his way to power by flattering and bucking up his all-powerful in-laws’ political enemy (Rodrigo Virago), literally driving him to power.

The movie, in Spanish and English, struggles to juggle its dispirate elements, losing track of the central anti-“hero’s journey” from working class cabbie to Transporation Minister of the fictional state of Albacruz all the way to Attorney General and perhaps beyond.

He gets that last title because he’s the only one “stupid enough to take the job” in a state run by three warring cartels. José is cynical enough to play the game as corrupt “peace maker,” and the implication is that he’ll cheat, lie, steal and fake assassination attempts when it suits his purposes.

Maybe the best reason for the faked attempt is getting his wife and daughter out of the country by convincing them of “the danger.”

We see the story from José’s point of view, but we never know where we or the movie stand with him. He’s in prison, cooperating with (American) authorities, turning the tables on his in-laws, manipulating his wife, conning assorted cartels and getting things done due to native cunning.

But his daughter’s quinceanara? That’s another matter altogether.

The most famous credited screenwriter here is James Schamus, who has made a mint out of scripting “Eat, Drink, Man, Woman” and “The Wedding Banquet,” and then presiding over remakes of these Ang Lee classics for other cultures and other audiences. He also wrote Marvel’s first crack at “Hulk,” and even though the Mexican co-writers have credits like “This is Not a Comedy” and “Technoboys,” let’s assume this was largely a mess of Schamus’s making.

Not fair, probably. He’s not working with Ang Lee this time and even though director Gerardo Naranjo’s best credit, “Miss Bala,” was 15 years ago, Schamus took the money and kept his name on the credits.

Whoever is primarily to blame, “Son-in-Law” starts out confused and stays confusing almost to the can’t-come-soon-enough closing credits.

Rating: TV-MA, bloody violence, sex, profanity

Cast: Adrien Vazquez, Jero Medina,
Verónica Bravo, David Gaitán and Rodrigo Virago

Credits: Directed by Gerardo Naranjo, scripted by James Schamus, Gabriel Nuncio and Aleandro Aljete. A Netflix release.

Running time: 1:43