Written & Directed By: Pedro Almodovar
Based on the Novel “WHAT ARE YOU GOING THROUGH” By: Sigrid Nunez
Cinematography: Edu Grau
Editor: Teresa Font
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola, Juan Diego Botto, Alex Hogh Andersen, Victoria Luengo, Esther McGregor
Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.
This isn’t a bad film. In fact, it’s almost frustrating that it isn’t, because there’s so much to admire here, and yet so little that I actually connected with.
Every frame is beautiful. The colors, compositions, interiors, costumes, and carefully chosen shots often look like paintings. There’s a rhythm to it, too, almost like a beautifully directed stage production. But after a while, It started feeling less like one was watching a movie and more like I was visiting a very expensive museum exhibit And while appreciated, just wasn’t necessarily having a good time.
The biggest problem for me is that the dialogue often feels written rather than spoken. The characters seem to deliver information rather than reveal emotion. It’s almost like reading a very wordy novel where the author tells you everything, leaving you to create the images and feelings yourself. Except this is a movie Qqand Pedro Almodóvar is giving us all those images already.
There are moments of genuine beauty and meaning, but emotionally, the film feels strangely cold. Almost like a modern 1950s melodrama that forgot to turn up the melodrama.
And that’s particularly disappointing because Almodóvar is one of my favorite filmmakers. He has always had this wonderful ability to make chaos feel ordinary, make the mundane feel fascinating, and turn emotional extremes into something colorful, funny, messy, and alive.
Here, everything feels much more controlled. Almost too controlled.
The film eventually becomes monotonous, like listening to someone tell you a story when you keep waiting for them to finally get to the point and then realizing you’re not particularly interested in the point.
I also couldn’t shake the feeling that this was partly an appreciation piece for its two magnificent leading actresses. If you’re already a fan of them, there’s plenty here to admire. And honestly, they deserve to be celebrated. But the movie sometimes feels more devoted to their presence than interested in giving us something emotionally involving around them.
It’s gorgeous. It’s sophisticated. It’s carefully constructed. There’s absolutely nothing technically wrong with it And maybe that’s the problem.
I kept waiting for the movie to surprise me, move me, shake me or at least make me feel something beyond “That’s a lovely shot.”
It almost feels like watching a Vogue fashion spread: beautifully designed, impeccably photographed, sophisticated enough to discuss over cocktails, but after a while you’re wondering where the actual story went.
Ultimately, The film feels like a film to study, admire, dissect, and appreciate more than one to simply enjoy And maybe that’s exactly what Almodóvar intended.
But for me, it was like going on a date with someone who has plenty of qualities you admire. They’re intelligent, beautiful, interesting, accomplished, and probably wonderful to other people. There just isn’t any chemistry. So you wish them well And if everyone else wants to rave about them, I won’t argue.
Though by the end if you can afford it. You want to know who the interior designer and costume designer were. As those are immaculate.
Grade: B-
