THE SKIN I LIVE IN

Original Title: La piel que habito

Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar
Run time: 117 minutes

Just when you thought no movie could ever surprise you with the sickest twist, Almodovar came with his latest film about sexual identity, revenge, betrayal, loneliness and science fiction wrapped in the skin of thriller. He also dare to explore themes many other directors are afraid to absorb.

Almodovar has also succeeded to bring another side of Antonio Banderas mainstream audiences only known as the voice behind Puss in Boots or Zorro. Banderas acted as the mad but brilliant scientist Dr. Robert Ledgard, driven by his personal problems to repair human skin (and the hole in his soul). He attempted to create a synthetic skin through transgenesis by doing some experiment on human being, regardless of bio ethic.

At the beginning Ledgard held captive Vera (Elena Anaya) in his luxurious mansion for reasons later will be unfolded, including why and how is Vera being there. She wears some sort of skin tight body suit and constantly watched. The back story is that Robert's young wife badly burned in a car accident and something tragic also happened to his daughter.

With devious plot, Almodovar manages to slip so many psychological layers from each characters, Ledger's ambition which leave no space for emotion, Vera's psychopathic needs and the lust for scientific advancement into the film without looking as if it is something cheesy. In terms of cinematography nothing is new and Banderas has successfully acted as a mad scientist minus the comical stuff that usual happen to these characters. Don't forget the twist itself manages the viewers to squirm.