Broken Embraces

Viewer Rating:Janet McKennedy has rated Broken Embraces rating: 2 Star

I'm a huge fan of Pedro Almodóvar and so I expected far too much from this film. There is a lot of good things here but the film lacks intensity. It's an intricate story of a beautiful woman, Lena (Penélope Cruz) who marries Ernesto Martel, an old rich man for his money. She then meets and falls in love with the film maker, Harry Caine (Lluís Homar). Ernesto is obsessed with his wife and does not want to let her go at any cost. Add to the mix, Ernesto's bitter gay son, Ray X (Rubén Ochandiano) who follows the thwarted lovers and records their every move on his cam corder. I had no empathy with any of the stories here. The love affair was not passionate enough for me to really care when it all went wrong. The obsessed husband was not crazy enough. The gay son was bitter enough but this was not a strong story line and maybe if it had been it would have been a better film. Still there is a lot to like here. Rubén Ochandiano is superb as the greasy, creepy, dysfunctional gay son. Blanca Portillo has a small part which plays excellently and Penelopé Cruz is good enough too (although not a patch on her Volver performance). It's beautifully shot and the set design is perfect.

Review published on the 25 September 2009 20:14