Pedro Almodovar's painting “The Skin I Live in” is one of the most controversial, shocking, and delightful works of the illustrious Spanish filmmaker. A non-standard storyline, complex issues and outstanding cast made the film immediately after its release the most discussed topic in the world of cinema. The picture became the subject of heated discussions and received extremely contradictory reviews. "The skin in which I live" did not leave anyone indifferent. Moreover, the film caused the audience equally admiration and disgust. To understand the reason for such a passion, we will take a brief excursion into the history that Pedro Almodovar presented to the public.
Brief introduction to the plot
The events of the film “The Skin I Live in” (2011) take place in the vicinity of Toledo. A few miles from the city is the private plastic surgery clinic El Cigarral. A huge mansion surrounded by a stone fence has not been visited by customers for a long time. There, Dr. Robert Ledgard works to create perfect skin. A brilliant surgeon transgresses all the laws of ethics. The main object of his experiments is the young woman Vera, locked in a windowless room under the supervision of cameras.
In outbursts of despair, the captive is engaged in self-mutilation, and sometimes finds no other way out of this situation, except to offer the doctor a life together. However, he coldly reacts to any emotional outbursts of women.
It would have continued like this, but once, returning to the mansion, Ledgard discovers a servant Mary bound to a chair with a gag in her mouth, and on the screen set to observe the captive, a man selflessly raping Vera. Robert slowly enters her room and points the barrel of a revolver at him. Two bullets go to the rapist, whose limp corpse fills the victim with blood.
Film structure: reviews
The naturalistic, at times repulsive and vile complication caused more negative reviews. “The skin in which I live” begins leisurely and even slightly tightened, as the audience noted. They watched the first part of the body horror without much enthusiasm, experiencing some confusion with a touch of disgust.
The rapist in a tiger costume caused particular indignation. The son of Marilia Seca, a dumb bastard with clearly criminal inclinations, skillfully played by actor Roberto Alamo, can cause bewilderment. The huge tiger licking the screen, taking off his pants on the doorstep of the mansion, is a grotesque that not everyone likes. However, the intrigue created by the director did the trick: most moviegoers continued watching and were not disappointed.
The failed intimacy of Vera and Robert, giving away the Stockholm syndrome, opens a series of flashbacks that have become a real shock therapy for unsuspecting spectators. The noir background behind Ledgard’s actions, revealed in the climax, and the dizzying denouement of the thriller led the audience to emotional catharsis. More than one week, film enthusiasts had to digest what they saw.
Antonio Banderas as Robert Ledgard
Antonio Banderas coped brilliantly with the role of the psychopath genius Robert Ledgard in the film “The Skin I Live in”. Already a mature actor perfectly got used to the image of a calculating plastic surgeon, who completely surrendered to sophisticated revenge. Restrained facial expressions, cynical remarks, unhurried grace of the beast created, coupled with references to the tragic events of six years ago, an indecently attractive type of maniac, which will prompt the viewer at the same time to sympathy, disgust and admiration.
The hero of Banderas is driven only by two ideas: the creation of perfect skin in memory of the deceased wife and revenge for the death of her beloved daughter. He embodies them in cruel experiments on Vera. He calmly wields a scalpel, creating his creation; changes the nature of his skin, transferring genetic information from pig cells to human. Now Vera is not afraid of a gas burner or mosquito bites. This modern Frankenstein, in which Ledgard has invested all his talent and hatred, strangely transforms into his Galatea, the object of the surgeon’s perverse passion and love.
Elena Anaya in the image of Vera
In the film “The Skin I Live in,” Elena Anaya played a rather complex psychological role of Vera. A surprisingly beautiful woman with crystal-clear skin and a fragile doll-like figure embodied the director’s conceptual idea of the inviolability of the human soul enclosed in the body - a shell with which the surgical knife and science can do anything. This is the essence of the name of the film "The Skin in which I live."
The plot of the film will make the viewer repeatedly change their mind about the main character. Her image is the most controversial. It contains the main mystery of the creation of the Spanish filmmaker. The body of Vera has undergone all possible transformations. But the violent operations, the closed premises, the hopelessness of the situation did not break her personality. Locked in a cage, she counts the days, drawing dates with a cosmetic pencil on the wall, trying her best not to lose the remnants of the mind in reality crazy to absurdity.
Was she really sympathetic to Ledgard, or was she controlled exclusively by the instinct of self-preservation? The viewer can only guess. Almodovar masterfully portrayed the complex relationships of movie characters, leaving this question open.
Marisa Paredes and her heroine Marilia
She took part in the filming of the film “The Skin I Live in” Marisa Paredes, playing the role of the servant of Marilia. Her heroine is not the last figure in the film. She is a storehouse of secrets of the Ledgard family. It is from her lips that confessions fly up, opening the veil over some of the causes of Robert’s emotional degradation.
Marilia is an accomplice in the insane actions of the surgeon. She is his guardian and faithful guardian. Faith, in its understanding, is a source of danger, an uncontrollable result of an experiment that is better to destroy before a catastrophe occurs.
She is not familiar with the concept of morality. Marilya’s life is subordinated to the care of Robert. She calmly looks at the killings and violence, if they are necessary for her ward. However, Ledgard’s feelings for Vera are met with a sharply negative reaction on her part, as something destructive and destructive.
“The skin in which I live”: “moral freak show” or the story of the personal tragedies of the heroes?
In the film “The Skin I Live in”, the actors showed an unprecedented diversity of images. However, none of them is the embodiment of absolute good or evil. Viewers perceive the heroes either as moral freaks, whose actions have no excuse, or as people who are broken by countless life tragedies. However, often these estimates merge, causing a shock reaction, which forces one to refrain, in principle, from clear definitions. How to relate to the madness of Ledgard? Is the fragile Vera innocent? Why does Marilia cover the horrific deeds Robert does at El Cigarral?
Was revenge justified?
And finally, the most important question: is Dr. Ledgard’s revenge embodied in the film “The Skin I Live in” justified? The plot, detailing the essence of the events of six years ago, is fully capable of making the viewer sympathize with the surgeon, and, most surprisingly, provoking a diametrically opposite reaction. Until the end, it remains unclear who in this story is the real sacrifice. People perceive the events of the film in two ways. Accordingly, reviews vary. "The skin in which I live" will lead to long thoughts and serious debates about the moral side of things.
Thierry Zhonke vs. Pedro Almodovar
The picture itself was shot based on the work of the French writer Thierry Zhonke "Tarantula", which gained popularity thanks to the sensational creation of Pedro Almodovar.
There were many who wanted to compare the film with its foundation. The shocking naturalism of the tabloid horror story made many recognize its superiority over the movie masterpiece. However, there were other reviews. “The skin that I live in,” according to some moviegoers, is the exceptional case when a film surpasses a book. However, viewing Almodovar’s paintings and reading Zhonka’s novel are complementary actions, since these creations have some significant differences in the plot.
The quintessence of Pedro Almodovar
In general, both the critics and the audience received the picture enthusiastically. The non-trivial plot, gorgeous close-ups, atmospheric musical compositions of Alberto Iglesias, skillfully selected costumes and scenery made this film a masterpiece of Almodovar's film “The Skin I Live in”.
The actors gave 100 percent. The heroes of Banderas, Anaya, Paredes want to believe. They evoke a truly explosive mixture of conflicting emotions. The basis for it was created by the stunning game of Blanca Suarez as Norma Ledgard and Han Cornet in the image of Vicente.
The key scenes of the film are accompanied by the piercing voice of the singer Concha Buyka, who performs the quivering composition Por el amor de amar about bright dreams that have long died in the souls of the main characters.