I am not a great fan of Almodovar, especially so of his first period of films. But this film knocked me out!. It took him a long time to arrive at this stage (coming from "Broken Embrace" and "Volver"), and rendering a great but unlike mix of sci-fi, melodrama, thriller and horror movie. His icon star Antonio Banderas is impeccable and with a very strong performance in this film. The script (loosely based on Thierry Jonquet's short novel "Mygale" (entitled "Tarántula" in Spanish), is brilliant, since it includes an also brilliant twist that is not in the novel. The music, though stereotyped, is very well written and played and is eventually very effective. Actress Elena Anaya is superb, and delivers a great emotional performance as required, including a lot of her body exposure. The overall cinematography is excellent and the use of on-screen notes on dates (due to several flashbacks and forward, as well as some characters in the film resembles 50s horror/amazing stories movies. This is a shocking film but, hopefully, to be enjoyed and remembered.
Review of The Skin I Live In
The Skin I Live In
(2011)
An unlikely great mix of sci-fi, melodrama, thriller and horror
24 December 2011