A Thousand Miles Behind

3 1/2 stars out of 5

If there is a WTF award in the Oscars or Cannes, La Piel Que Habito will win it for this year, hands down. Highly recommended if you like Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. (No spoilers.)

The Good: Where do we begin? Ah, Pedro Almodovar. You are my favorite director to date. You continually please me with the uniqueness of your films. May you live a long and healthy life…. 

La Piel Que Habito, though, is not one of Almodovar’s finest. It’s most likely that he is already comfortable with his legacy that he decided to make his version of a popcorn flick. Gone are the melodrama, the super complex plot and the myriads of twists. Although, I have to admit, the single twist in this story is one of the best that Almodovar has pulled yet. It got me yelling,  ”What the f*ck!” at four in the morning. All this change is most welcome, of course, because we can be assured that Almodovar will be bringing more to the table, just because he can. Notable is that this film is a departure from the dreamy look that most of his films have. Here, everything is slick, modern and almost surgical. Yes, the musical score worked overtime in this one. Glorious. 

The Bad: Antonio Banderas isn’t exactly bad in this film, but I sort of expected more from him since he’s speaking his native Spanish. On a totally unrelated note, it was rumored that Penelope Cruz was supposed to play the heroine of the film. However, that awful Pirates of the Caribbean sequel snatched her away. Too bad, that woman can really act.