night falls on
La Ley del Deseo
(Law of Desire), 1987
Directed by Pedro Almodovar and starring Antonio Banderas, Eusebio Ponce and Carmen Maura
This is that story of a passive-agressive repressed homo named, Anotnio (played deliciously by a hot young Antonio Banderas) who becomes obsessed with Pablo (Eusebio Ponce), a handsome and sophisticated film director. Pablo, however, is dating Juan, a tender sensitive guy who loves Pablo, but is leaving town in part because he mistakenly believes Pablo doesn't love him in return. Although Pablo is, in fact, crazy about Juan he does have a few committment issues. During his last night in Madrid, and after mucho booze and coke, Juan allows himself to be seduced by a girl at a disco. Pablo is crushed and leaves, meeting Antonio shortly thereafter. The main sex scene between the two actors is really convincing and utterly hot! Antonio loses his virginity and his heart to Pablo on their first night together. Antonio, naturally becomes smitten but Pablo's heart still belongs to Juan.
Once Antonio realizes what rotten chances he has of making Pablo his own, he snaps. He hops on his motorcycle and drives all the way to the Trafalgar coastline to tell him (Juan) that Pablo no longer loves him, and ultimately, pushes him off a cliff to his death.
For several weeks prior to the murder, Antonio and Pablo had been keeping in touch by mail, with Pablo using the pseudonym "Laura P.", a character in his latest screenplay that was loosely based on Pablo's transsexual sister, Tina (the gifted and hilarious Carmen Maura). Like my other favorite directors that love to exploit the ineptitude of police as a whole, it's Tina that Almodovar uses to kick the cops' asses and tell 'em off when it needs to be done! Pablo loses his memory in a car crash, and the police investigating Juan's murder find it pretty suspicious forJuan's ex-boyfriend to have suddenly developed amnesia AND for his sister to resemble Laura P's physical description. But without all his mental faculties, Pablo is unable to prevent Tina from meeting and being seduced by Antonio who has only seduced Tina to be nearPablo. A hostage situation and a final sex scene develop as a desperate Antonio is the next and final casualty in a smouldering and bloody showdown with police.
The moral of the story is that straight boys can be tremendously cute, just like stray dogs, and also like stray dogs, they are better left unfed! |
