Not only skin deep

The Skin I Live In (2011) - dir. Pedro Almodóvar - 5 stars

Prolific Spanish director tells a grim tale of love and revenge intertwined with queer identity and more twists than any other Almodóvar film to date.  In its treatment of time and film noir elements, the film harkens back to “Bad Education,” but Almodóvar manages to delve into a form of queer identity he had never dwelled on previously, which renders “the Skin I Live In” as a unique and worthwhile film.  All in all, maravilloso.

Robert (Antonio Banderas) is a very successful plastic surgeon who specializes in skin transplants for burn patients.  His dedication to his career is also fuelled by his past life, which isn’t the rosiest of stories.  When his professional intentions cross paths with his personal desire to replicate and take revenge, he is propelled into a spiral where he ventures into uncharted territory with his new research.  Research soon becomes personal though for both captive and captor as the psychological impact of his actions take root deeper than the skin he’s fashioning.

The script is as tight as it can get with a good supply of comedic breaks, the signature of Almodóvar .  Without this lighter treatment, the film could have ended up on the horror side.  What probably attracted Almodóvar to this multi-faceted story wasn’t the horror piece though but more the identity and personal revenge aspects.  All characters have a deep and genuine grudge against another which serves as a rich springboard for them to play out their destinies.  Of course, they’re are all interlinked with each other so there is rarely an exact definition of good or evil in the film so no judgements can easily be made, again a signature of Almodóvar.  It is rather a fantastic study in forced identity which easily steals the spotlight from the cast despite the brilliant acting by Antonio Banderas and long-time Almodóvar diva Marisa Paredes.

Almodóvar's consistency in the depth of his stories is staggering, and his frequent excursions in film are equally rewarding.  “The Skin I Live In” is no exception with its unique subject matter of forced sexual identity and proves to be a film that will become a classic of his oeuvre.