VoR
Take it or leave it
Almodovar's first major English-language movie, starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton.
If this had been in Spanish, with some of his regular cadre of actors starring, I think it would have been a 10/10 instant classic for me. It has so many of the hallmarks of a great Almodovar, albiet a fair bit more ruminative and with fewer twists and turns.
Unfortunately, a lot of the dialogue was really distractingly stilted and unnatural, in the way that you often get with writers working in their second language. It was more apparent in the first half and then either it eased off or I got used to it, but it never quite rose above it, and the performances both felt a little constrained as a result.
Some lovely individual moments from both women though, and as you'd expect the colour palette and soundtrack were gorgeous.
I'd expect it to miss out on the Oscars, although Almodovar movies do tend to defy the odds in the acting categories. Swinton is being pushed in Lead and Moore in supporting I believe, but Moore is clearly the main character of the movie in terms of screen time and point of view.
As it is, just a high seven for me. Not a totally failed experiment by any means, but I hope he goes back to Spanish for any future films he makes.
If this had been in Spanish, with some of his regular cadre of actors starring, I think it would have been a 10/10 instant classic for me. It has so many of the hallmarks of a great Almodovar, albiet a fair bit more ruminative and with fewer twists and turns.
Unfortunately, a lot of the dialogue was really distractingly stilted and unnatural, in the way that you often get with writers working in their second language. It was more apparent in the first half and then either it eased off or I got used to it, but it never quite rose above it, and the performances both felt a little constrained as a result.
Some lovely individual moments from both women though, and as you'd expect the colour palette and soundtrack were gorgeous.
I'd expect it to miss out on the Oscars, although Almodovar movies do tend to defy the odds in the acting categories. Swinton is being pushed in Lead and Moore in supporting I believe, but Moore is clearly the main character of the movie in terms of screen time and point of view.
As it is, just a high seven for me. Not a totally failed experiment by any means, but I hope he goes back to Spanish for any future films he makes.
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