The Skin I Live In
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Blanca Suarez, Elena Anaya
Details: Spain / 117mins (16).
Dr. Ledgard (Banderas) was once a brilliant plastic surgeon who turned his back on his profession for research when his wife was horribly burned in a car crash. He's determined that this won't happen again and sets about creating a type of synthetic skin that can withstand the harshest of accidents. His guinea pig is the passive and beautiful Vera (Anaya) who Ledgard has locked up in his secluded mansion…
There. That's it. That's all I can give you. It's hard to get a grasp on anything here, as who the characters really are and what they're up to is revealed as the movie comes to a close: not only is this review light on plot, character motivation is entwined to the story to such an extent that not a lot can be given away there either. What I can tell you that the characters are always up to something interesting. Ledgard's a kind man but unhinged, broken yet strong. Vera moves from sexually alluring to dangerous and back again. Everything is up in the air. And what's going to happen. And why is this happening now? So many questions.
But this is all deliberate. Almódovar flashes back and forward at will, piles silly twists onto ridiculous turns and introduces characters who look like they'll have a say in how this is going to turn out before the director suddenly gets rid. All this creates confusion, and to some this will be heady fun. To others, it's a mess of a movie filled with characters that you couldn't care less about and is too unfocussed to keep interest levels high.
I'm stuck in the middle. The Skin I Live In exists in peaks and troughs, starts and stops, hits and misses but when it peaks, starts and hits it's a bizarre delight and quite unlike anything you'll see this year. A horror without screams or frights The Skin I Live may be, but it is a disturbing and unsettling two hours of sexual identity exploration. When it troughs, stops and misses, the same old Almódovar comes out to play: soap opera dialogue where characters give their entire bio for no reason but pure exposition, bizarre character motivations and a plot that seems to be weird for weird's sake.
With so much going on, The Skin I Live In will reveal more with repeated viewing but there won't be a stampede to watch this again.
Review by Gavin Burke
Your Comments
FilmBuff76
It's weird allright... but it's pure Almodovar. If you know and enjoy his films, then you're in for a real treat. He rarely disappoints. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and recommend it to both his fans and curious filmgoers looking for something thought-provoking amid the usual crash-and-bang of summer blockbusters.
Posted 24/08/2011 20:56:14
vinnievega
Saw this movie last week, and can't really describe it - its messed up. Like the reviewer said you can't describe what the movie is about to your friends without saying too much. I would agree that you won't see another movie like this in the cinema this year, I'd recommend seeing it - interesting to hear what others think about the movie..
Posted 02/09/2011 11:53:37
noel
Agreed your not going to anything like this, that said rushed ending does not pay off very well and the plot twist is obvious from the get go, best thing Banderas has done in years, and sadly like all Almodovar he loves his beautiful imagery over his story. Well worth a look just for the art of film making alone.
Posted 03/09/2011 02:44:15
ClaireMRyan
I wasn't too interested in this by the trailer but the review actually sounds really interesting. Think I'll give it a go over the weekend.
Posted 09/09/2011 17:22:18
egallag2
Pretty poor review. Okay so the reviewer doesn't want to give much away but not to comment on the acting or visuals in a film like this is a joke. In my opinion, this film deserves at least 4 stars but I'd understand why someone would give it 1 or 2 as if you don't love it, you'll probably hate it. 3 stars is a cop out. There's no way you're "stuck in the middle", as you put it. You're just afraid to make a call on a clearly divisive film.
Posted 12/09/2011 01:12:00
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