Skins

So last week I went to see Pedro Almodovar's The Skin I live In. I'm a fan of his work, and have seen most of his theatrical movies, although, for some reason, and in spit of having a copy of it, I have not seen his last film, Broken Embraces. I think that, after the muted reaction it got from critics at film festivals, I kind of put off seeing it indefinitely. Add to that the fact that the only place that was showing it in Richmond was an art theater I had never been to, and the fact that I always prefer to see foreign films for the first time on the big screen -- otherwise I tend to concentrate so much on reading the subtitles that I quit paying attention to what's going on onscreen -- and it means that I've been lax in my duties as an Almodovar fan.

This film has actually garnered comparatively lukewarm reviews, as well. At the same time, even from a broad plot outline, I was seeing elements from Vertigo and Eyes Without A Face in there, which appealed to me a great deal, so I have been checking with relative frequency to see if it was playing in the area ever since it was released in the U.S. Plus, an old Antonio Banderas is STILL Antonio Banderas, and I have had a thing ever since seeing Law of Desire. So last week, on my lunch break, I checked online, and suddenly it was playing. I've had bad experiences putting off seeing movies, only to find they're gone by the weekend, so I knew I wanted to see it that night. A quick text message to a friend and suddenly I had my plans for the evening!

The movie itself? Very entertaining, but strange. I can see why critics have complained about its coldness: there is an almost clinical detachment from the proceedings that I suppose would be a bit off-putting, if thematically appropriate. It certainly does not have the warmth that you find in, say, Volver or All About My Mother, my two favorite of his movies. And I will say that, in general, I prefer Almodovar's "women's pictures" to his movies that prominently feature men. Talk To Her, for instance, was a great critical success, but it honestly left me completely cold. It's entirely possible this has more to do with my preferring female protagonists in general, but I also think that there's a demonstrable difference in the way he approaches male and female actors.

But the talk I was hearing about this being Almodovar's horror movie? Completely overblown. It uses some horror movie tropes, certainly, and it definitely does rely a lot on suspense. But it's no more horrific than Volver or Bad Education. The characters' actions may be horrific, but not because they're inhuman monsters, but rather because they're all too human.