La Piel Que Habito

There's no joy in reporting that to his dazzling aviary Almodóvar adds a turkey. I saw La Piel Que Habito at a multiplex in Nice and, alas, the highlight was that the emergency alarm went off and all seven theaters had to be evacuated. Milling around with the mixed-French/Italian crowd was more entertaining than returning for the final act of this leaden misfire. In the past, absurd plots have heightened the fun, but here the ridiculousness has no helium and the heavy story unfolds with maybe two laughs. Costars Antonio Banderas as a deranged plastic surgeon and Elena Anaya as the unwilling patient imprisoned in his mansion for six years vie to see who can deliver the more vacant performance, while wonderful Marisa Paredes overcompensates in an underwritten role. The very few powerful images are mainly repeats from earlier films and the new elements push the whole thing toward parody: the rapist with uncontrollable animal urges arrives in a tiger suit with a stuffed crotch. After the second-rate Broken Embraces, The Skin I Live In confirms that Almodóvar needs to leave the hollow rich to other directors and get back to the deeply textured working or middle class characters he does so well. You'll see the zest is gone from the very beginning -- no exuberant Juan Guatti title sequences (but, yes, a close-up of an Alice Munro paperback!); veteran Alberto Iglesias's lively score almost compensates. Only for die-hard fans who enjoy being disappointed.

Comments

[Sandy]

I still long to see it. I find that I enjoy even third-rate Almodovar films better than just about anything else that's out there. Your evacuation of the multiplex reminds me of the bomb scare that cleared the federal building during my draft physical many years ago...on the morning after the Oscars! No wonder my heartbeat was racing, allowing me to be declared unfit for service, alas.