Luscious 'skin flick'
Source: Agencies |
October 14, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
LUSCIOUS visuals have long defined Pedro Almodovar's films, and that is also true of his latest, "The Skin I Live In." It's beautifully shot, crisp and vibrant, and features impeccable production design as expected from the detail-oriented Spanish master.
It might almost be too pristine, however, at the expense of real emotional engagement. It might sound easy to remark that a movie about skin feels too superficial, but that is unfortunately the case here.
And oh, what a convoluted narrative it is (Almodovar shares screenwriting credit with Agustin Almodovar, based on a story by Thierry Jonquet). "The Skin I Live In" takes an awfully long time to set up the tortured histories and intertwined relationships that are the basis for a big, shocking climax. By the time that comes, this feels almost like a parody of Almodovar, with its melodramatic tone and themes of gender, identity, sex and revenge.
Antonio Banderas, who made his name in Almodovar films more than two decades ago, reunites with the director as Dr Robert Ledgard, a brilliant and renowned but tormented plastic surgeon. Having lost his wife in a fiery car accident a dozen years ago, he is obsessed with creating a stronger synthetic skin, no matter the cost. Banderas, who can be so sexy and charismatic, dials it down and keeps the pain within. Robert is no mad scientist; his defining personality trait is his quiet drive.
Inside his stately Toledo mansion, he has built a high-tech laboratory. He also has outfitted the place with flat-screen monitors throughout, to make it easier to keep an eye on his guinea pig in this process: the beautiful Vera (Elena Anaya), who is being held captive inside one of the many bedrooms. Marilia (the formidable Marisa Paredes), Robert's longtime housekeeper who also keeps all his secrets (and plenty of her own), looks on disapprovingly.
We get our first glimpse of Vera in voyeuristic fashion as she stretches and twists her lean body into various yoga poses, but she is doing them in a nude-colored, skintight body stocking to protect her from the elements. Flashbacks reveal who she is and how she got there, as well as the troubled story of the doctor's teenage daughter (Blanca Suarez) and the young man she met at a party one fateful night (Jan Cornet). We wouldn't dream of giving anything away, plus it is too complicated to get into.
But how Vera truly feels about her fate, even as she appears to embrace her new life, remains a frustrating mystery. That also is the prevailing sensation you will walk away with after seeing this rare miss from Almodovar.
It might almost be too pristine, however, at the expense of real emotional engagement. It might sound easy to remark that a movie about skin feels too superficial, but that is unfortunately the case here.
And oh, what a convoluted narrative it is (Almodovar shares screenwriting credit with Agustin Almodovar, based on a story by Thierry Jonquet). "The Skin I Live In" takes an awfully long time to set up the tortured histories and intertwined relationships that are the basis for a big, shocking climax. By the time that comes, this feels almost like a parody of Almodovar, with its melodramatic tone and themes of gender, identity, sex and revenge.
Antonio Banderas, who made his name in Almodovar films more than two decades ago, reunites with the director as Dr Robert Ledgard, a brilliant and renowned but tormented plastic surgeon. Having lost his wife in a fiery car accident a dozen years ago, he is obsessed with creating a stronger synthetic skin, no matter the cost. Banderas, who can be so sexy and charismatic, dials it down and keeps the pain within. Robert is no mad scientist; his defining personality trait is his quiet drive.
Inside his stately Toledo mansion, he has built a high-tech laboratory. He also has outfitted the place with flat-screen monitors throughout, to make it easier to keep an eye on his guinea pig in this process: the beautiful Vera (Elena Anaya), who is being held captive inside one of the many bedrooms. Marilia (the formidable Marisa Paredes), Robert's longtime housekeeper who also keeps all his secrets (and plenty of her own), looks on disapprovingly.
We get our first glimpse of Vera in voyeuristic fashion as she stretches and twists her lean body into various yoga poses, but she is doing them in a nude-colored, skintight body stocking to protect her from the elements. Flashbacks reveal who she is and how she got there, as well as the troubled story of the doctor's teenage daughter (Blanca Suarez) and the young man she met at a party one fateful night (Jan Cornet). We wouldn't dream of giving anything away, plus it is too complicated to get into.
But how Vera truly feels about her fate, even as she appears to embrace her new life, remains a frustrating mystery. That also is the prevailing sensation you will walk away with after seeing this rare miss from Almodovar.
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