I've never seen a Pedro Almodovar film before. I had been wanting to see this ever since I saw its premise. Very interesting, but it still surpassed my expectations.
The film is unpredictable in it's pace. You never know what to expect next. It is hugely intriguing because of this. You can sense deeper and darker secrets are at the core of it all, but you don't know what. It becomes even more mysterious once it jumps back six years in time. There was a shot that convinced me what was really going on. It was a shot that mirrored two characters... well, that's all I am going to say. But when I saw that shot, I was convinced of what was going on underneath, and I was right. That doesn't mean it was predictable... not at all. Despite being sure of what was the twist, the film was still able to surprise me again and again.
I want to take note that this really wouldn't be an easy film to pull off. In fact, on the surface, it's quite soapy, and on the hands of someone else, could have easily turned into a full-blown melodrama. It didn't and I am very glad of that. The icy cinematography and direction brilliantly keep us enthralled in a world in which anything is possible. It feels like science-fiction and horror blended with real grounded drama. I also want to take note of the performances. Being Mexican and having been raised of full-Mexican parents, I knew who Banderas was, but I never knew he could act this well. He never makes his character easy to figure out, and there's always a sense of empathy that we have with him, but should we? Who is the victim here? Elena Anaya is the star though. She has incredibly expressive and emotional eyes, and from the start we sense something underneath her. This is an incredible performance, one of the best supporting performances of the year. The ending was sort of abrupt though.
All in all, I loved this film. Completely intriguing, hugely entertaining, very mysterious and gleefully thrilling without becoming a melodrama and feels very mature. Oh, and did I mention that the music score is fantastic!
The film is unpredictable in it's pace. You never know what to expect next. It is hugely intriguing because of this. You can sense deeper and darker secrets are at the core of it all, but you don't know what. It becomes even more mysterious once it jumps back six years in time. There was a shot that convinced me what was really going on. It was a shot that mirrored two characters... well, that's all I am going to say. But when I saw that shot, I was convinced of what was going on underneath, and I was right. That doesn't mean it was predictable... not at all. Despite being sure of what was the twist, the film was still able to surprise me again and again.
I want to take note that this really wouldn't be an easy film to pull off. In fact, on the surface, it's quite soapy, and on the hands of someone else, could have easily turned into a full-blown melodrama. It didn't and I am very glad of that. The icy cinematography and direction brilliantly keep us enthralled in a world in which anything is possible. It feels like science-fiction and horror blended with real grounded drama. I also want to take note of the performances. Being Mexican and having been raised of full-Mexican parents, I knew who Banderas was, but I never knew he could act this well. He never makes his character easy to figure out, and there's always a sense of empathy that we have with him, but should we? Who is the victim here? Elena Anaya is the star though. She has incredibly expressive and emotional eyes, and from the start we sense something underneath her. This is an incredible performance, one of the best supporting performances of the year. The ending was sort of abrupt though.
All in all, I loved this film. Completely intriguing, hugely entertaining, very mysterious and gleefully thrilling without becoming a melodrama and feels very mature. Oh, and did I mention that the music score is fantastic!