| TALK TO HER |
| Starring Javier Camara, Dario Grandinetti, Rosario Flores, Leonor Watling, Mariola Fuentes, Geraldine Chaplin Directed by Pedro Almodovar ***� out of **** Two men sit beside each other in a theatre. They do not know each other, but they will. One is Benigno (Javier Camara), a male nurse who looks after his great love who, Alicia (Leonor Watling) is in a coma. In her comatose state, Alicia is a greater influence on Benigno�s life than she was when conscious in the short time they knew each other. Lydia (Rosario Flores) is a female matador who becomes involved with a journalist, Marco (Dario Grandinetti). When a bullfight goes awry she too ends up in a coma in the same hospital as Alicia, and there Benigno and Marco befriend each other (although I use the word �befriend� a bit hesitantly). Talk to Her is about men in love with women who can�t communicate anything at all, and how the two men talk to each other. But Spanish director Almodovar (All About My Mother, Live Flesh) always has a dark edge in his films, and this one is no exception. The final third of the film presents an interesting development that ensures that Talk to Her talks with the viewer long after the lights come back on. That�s Almodovar�s staying power. He gives us stories that look relatively standard on the surface but simmers with psychological depth. Of the little he gives us of the characters, we can successfully piece together their histories and get to know them. Interestingly, in Talk to Her, we get to know people through others talking about them. Talk to Her received Oscar nominations for best director and original screenplay. Bizarrely, Spain did not enter the film into the competition as their foreign feature of the year, and consequently it wasn�t nominated. That�s a shame, since the movie would�ve won. I haven�t seen many of Almadovar�s films, but critics seem to be in agreement that this is a crowning achievement for the illustrious director. Just as the film started, two young women (students, maybe) came into the cinema and loudly made themselves at home. As the film concluded and the credits started to roll, I heard the one exclaim to the other: �Dis pateties!� Meaning: the film was pathetic. This demonstrates the point that Almodovar�s films engage one�s mind and soul first, the heart second. For the viewer who doesn�t communicate back with the film and is inable � for whatever reason � to understand its meaning (this film is more accessible than his earlier work), then surely it is not �fun to watch� in the sense that Adam Sandler is �fun to watch�. Do not see this film if you�re not prepared for the unconventional and adventurous. Talk to Her is a colourful exploration of life, love and everything else. It is a quietly startling experience of top acting and scripting that deserves all the praise it gets. |
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