Director: Pedro Almodovar
Almodovar has lately been known for his melodramatic, artful, and sometimes literary films of female friendship. But there was a time when he did thrillers, and in this film he goes back to those roots. The Skin I Live in is Almodovar by way of David Cronenberg body horror. The plot is wild, unpredictable, and sometimes even wacky. But it also allows Almodovar to take on many of the same themes he's known for, like identity and perception. This is a film about how physical perception can change our self-identity. When your self-perception changes, does your identity change as well? or is the other way around?
On the outside the film seems like some wacky campy B-movie, but Almodovar is a smart man who makes fascinating points and asks thoughtful questions with material that could otherwise have been wasted on a dumb sensationalist film. Almodovar's style is clean, beautiful, and clinical, and that formalist sheen on the film complements the theme of things that are beautiful and controlled on the outside, are not necessarily beautiful and controlled on the inside. I can't say too much of the story, because it truly has to be experienced to be believed. But I can say that of all Almodovar movies I've seen, this one may just be my favorite thus far.
Grade: A-
