The Skin I Live In

Dir: Pedro Almodóvar

Judging by the trailer, which I first saw quite some time ago I expected this to be a sort of Hitchcock-type film, but with a Spanish twist. Subsequently I looked forward to seeing it with some eager anticipation. I am familiar with some of the director's previous work, specifically from the 1990's, most of which I enjoyed, but not enough to guarantee this film would automatically be good. And just as well really since such a guarantee would have been worthless for although the film starts well, and kept me on my toes, it ended rather weakly. In fact I felt it ended so weakly as to render the rest of the film rather pointless, which I felt was a great shame as there was scope for something more than I saw.

Banderas was excellent, as he almost always is when he's not being directed in a 'Hollywood film', and though I don't know the other actors, they all played their roles convincingly. Apart from the lame ending, the story was excellent and posed some interesting questions regarding such thorny issues as medical testing, when is a rape actually a rape, and what can justify taking the law into your own hands? I felt everything was possible right up until the last act, but then it all became mundane. Even so, the film was entertaining, in a challenging sort of way, so I won't blow a raspberry.