August 25, 2011
With elements of The Human Centipede and Old Boy, Pedro Almodovar's latest offering, The Skin I Live In, is part gruesome horror, part psychological thriller – rich and strange in equal measure. Three equally intriguing storylines run alongside each other in this perverse fairy tale.
Antonio Banderas (reunited with director Almodovar for the first time since Atame!) plays the part of a revered, but deranged plastic surgeon, on the cusp of a breakthrough in the field of skin transplants. Simmering beneath all this is a dramatic (and slightly hammy) revenge drama – we learn that the doctor has vowed to avenge his daughter’s death.
But who is the beautiful woman (Elena Anaya) that he keeps locked away in his mansion - and why is she wearing a body stocking?
True to its fairy-tale feel, the film is populated with clichéd stock characters – the beautiful but mentally unstable daughter, the feuding brothers, the over protective mother – all of whom appear and reappear as the twisting plot unfolds through a series of flashbacks.
Despite the over-boiled characterisation and a plot that can only be described as ridiculous, there is something strangely compelling about this film. Performances are strong throughout and the directing is so deadpan that you find yourself totally absorbed, so that it’s only when you step back that you realise how outlandish this story is.
Almodovar’s unusual film boasts the most outrageous plot twist of the year - and perhaps the most far-fetched storyline. But, much like its protagonist, The Skin I Live In is as brilliant as it is ludicrous.
Antonio Banderas (reunited with director Almodovar for the first time since Atame!) plays the part of a revered, but deranged plastic surgeon, on the cusp of a breakthrough in the field of skin transplants. Simmering beneath all this is a dramatic (and slightly hammy) revenge drama – we learn that the doctor has vowed to avenge his daughter’s death.
But who is the beautiful woman (Elena Anaya) that he keeps locked away in his mansion - and why is she wearing a body stocking?
True to its fairy-tale feel, the film is populated with clichéd stock characters – the beautiful but mentally unstable daughter, the feuding brothers, the over protective mother – all of whom appear and reappear as the twisting plot unfolds through a series of flashbacks.
Despite the over-boiled characterisation and a plot that can only be described as ridiculous, there is something strangely compelling about this film. Performances are strong throughout and the directing is so deadpan that you find yourself totally absorbed, so that it’s only when you step back that you realise how outlandish this story is.
Almodovar’s unusual film boasts the most outrageous plot twist of the year - and perhaps the most far-fetched storyline. But, much like its protagonist, The Skin I Live In is as brilliant as it is ludicrous.
