Even more psycho-sexual-horrific than Black Swan, Almodóvar's 18th feature is a heartstopper. It has a massive twist and if anyone tries to tell you just put your fingers in your ears and repeat, "Oh no, you won't!" Antonio Banderas is intense as the mad plastic surgeon, though the director apparently told him to tone it down, Elena Anaya is breathtakingly beautiful as his captive Vera (she does yoga to calm herself), and Marisa Peredes (an Almodóvar regular) is deep as the surgeon's housekeeper and accomplice. I've seen half of Almodóvar's (he has pretty much given up his first name of Pedro; I last wrote about him in Broken Embraces) features, and liked them all (the Academy has liked quite a few as well) and Banderas was wonderful in his Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1990), as well as The Mambo Kings (1992), The House of the Spirits (1993), Miami Rhapsody (1995), Frida (2002), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), and many more, including a small but pivotal part in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. I have seen a few of Anaya's previous movies, but didn't remember her. Now I will.
The director adapted Thierry Jonquet's novel Mygale (it was in French, then published in English as Tarantula) into this multi-layered script. The rich music is by Alberto Iglesias, who in addition to collaborating with Almodóvar on all of the above, was Oscar-nominated for The Constant Gardener (2005) and The Kite Runner (2007). Here's a medley, or go from this page to iTunes and click Preview All for minute and a half samples from this soundtrack. The sets and locations are fabulous, with production design by Antxón Gómez and cinematography by José Luis Alcaine, both frequent Almodóvar collaborators, shooting in Tolédo (not Ohio) and Santiago de Compostela (the goal of The Way), Spain.
Now that I've warned you about spoilers, read this spoiler-laden summary ONLY AFTER seeing the movie. Even if the movie leaves you feeling unhappy or violated, you will laugh out loud. But please, save it for later. Mary Ellen put her hands in front of her face more than once, but she liked it a lot, as did Dan, Jack, and I. Yes, you can read the subtitles. It won't kill you.
Speaking of reading, this compulsive proofreader has been bothered for a long time by the title ending with a preposition (there's a line about it in my post on I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With). I realized months after first posting this that the correct Spanish translation would be The Skin I Inhabit, but apparently no one thinks we English speakers will understand that.
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