On October 12, 2011 I did a Q and A with Pedro Almodovar, Antonio Banderas and Elana Anaya following the preview screening of The Skin I Live In. The screening was a private event for members of The National Board of Review and I can only say in general that we discussed, among other things, the process of adapting the original novel, developing the characters, and the making of the film. Here is a link to my original review on the web site of The National Board of Review.

Original review posted on October 12, 2011

Thomas W. Campbell

The Skin I Live in, the new film by Pedro Almodovar, is a deliciously dark and twisted tale that is masterfully told and beautifully shot. The cinematography is by veteran José Luis Alcaine, who last worked with Almodovar on Bad Education (2004). Alcaine’s work is classical and assured, reminiscent of John Alcott’s cinematography for Stanley Kubrick in The Shining and Clockwork Orange. The image has a classical and substantial look that fully supports the carefully crafted screenplay and restrained but simmering performances. Although much of the film fits comfortably into the horror film genre there are no creeping hand held shots with forced POV perspectives. Almodovar abhors the cheesy tricks of genre storytelling – almost as much as he loves to exploit the conventions and expectations that the narrative presents. The Skin I Live In is foremost a melodrama, filled with the passions and risks, roller coaster emotions, and the dark twists one would hope for. It’s also a mystery that announces itself gradually, a thriller, a crime story and, most unexpectedly, a bittersweet and dangerous tale of love and loss.

The three central characters in the film live in a stately mansion on the outskirts of Toledo, Spain that is spacious, elegantly furnished, and comes equipped with some additional odd features – a room that is locked from the outside, security cameras that watch an inhabitant’s every move and, in the basement, a world-class surgical laboratory. Marilla, played by Marisa Paredes (Huma in All About My Mother and veteran of numerous Almodovar films) is the housekeeper and mother figure who literally keeps an eye on Vera (Elena Enaya). Marilla keeps an eye on a closed circuit camera that projects images from the younger woman’s spacious room – a room that is also a prison with heavy doors that are locked from the outside. The master of the house is Dr. Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas), a famous plastic surgeon who has pioneered revolutionary techniques for facial reconstruction. It is Ledgard who lords over Vera and we soon learn that his attempt to develop a super durable human skin replacement is related in some way to his captivity and domination of the woman. Vera, young, beautiful and rebellious, is also the central mystery of the film – why is she there and what is happening to her?

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