THE SKIN I LIVE IN directed by Pedro Almodóvar, written by Almodóvar with the collaboration of Agustín Almodóvar, with Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya and Marisa Paredes. A Mongrel Media release. 117 minutes. Subtitled. Opens Friday (October 28). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NNN
The Frankensteinish plot may be a departure for him, but The Skin I Live In has all of Pedro Almodóvar trademark kitsch, over-the-top melodrama and recurring questions about sexual identity and voyeurism.
Antonio Banderas, the director’s early muse, plays suave plastic surgeon Robert Ledgard, a mad scientist of sorts who experiments with engineered skin on Vera (Elena Anaya), a fetching lab rat he keeps locked in his home.
To reveal anything more about the plot would only ruin the fun of all the jaw-dropping revelations and startling shifts from tragedy to dark comedy. Let’s just say that at one point a guy shows up in a tiger costume ready to rape and commit murder. In any other filmmaker’s hands, this would be impossible to swallow, but Almodóvar makes it into a weird and delectable dish.
