LIVE FLESH

"Taking a Ruth Rendell book as his starting point, Almodóvar gives it the unique treatment he applies to all his filmed stories. For one thing, the characters openly – and often - enjoy sex; for another, they are always more complex and guilty than the usual run of film characters, as if they had stepped out of Almodóvar’s group of friends that he knows intimately. And thirdly, there is always ample humour derived from the weakness of human nature as displayed by each of us in varying ways. He loves the contradictions that make us unique; he loves to show the venality we try to hide; he revels in exposing guilt and in balancing that with showing how generous we all can be. Nobody is labelled ‘baddie’ or ‘goodie’ in Almodóvar’s films, and the sense of drama is always balanced with the joy of life. Live Flesh is a sparkling and mature entertainment told and performed with the passion of artists."
Andrew L. Urban

"Few directors of recent years are as audacious and compelling as Spain's Pedro Almodovar, and with his latest film, there is evidence considerable growth and maturity. The director has taken a very British story by renowned mystery writer Ruth Rendell, and turned it into a masterful political thriller, complex, witty and stylish. Everything about this film seems so perfect, from the multilayered script, its unpredictable characters and events, its fluid, seamless construction and the director's astute visualisation. Live Flesh is a compelling and fascinating tale, intricately unfolded and beautifully acted. As the junkie whose life is transformed, Italy's Francesca Neri is a revelation, delivering a boldly etched performance rich in complex detail, while the extraordinary Angela Molina makes a bewitching Clara. Liberto Rabal also impresses as the central figure bent on revenge. It's all here in true Almodovar style, and the result is a bewitching and entertaining tale of power, sex, corruption and passion. It's the director's best work in years and a marvellous piece of intelligent cinema."
Paul Fischer

"More restrained than some of Almodovar's previous films, this is still the work of a director who's proudly unrepressed. Explicit political messages at the start and finish are reinforced in between by a lively visual surface. Bright primary colors painted on a children's shelter, David's T-shirt with the Tasmanian Devil playing basketball, combine sensual excitement with democratic everyday life. In a relaxed way, the film is frankly turned on by the bodies of its massively good-looking actors (both male and female), and as usual Almodovar calmly accepts behavior others might see as offensive or disturbed: not everyone is going to be charmed by a dumb hunk who thinks of himself as a victim while behaving like a virtual stalker. The major problem, though, is that Almodovar's mainly optimistic and open-ended approach to character doesn't quite fit with his intermittent idea that he's making a doom-driven, fatalistic thriller. The plot mechanics, reliant on coincidence, still seem a little jokey and arbitrary, and while the concluding confrontation has a tragic result, a sense of final, inevitable doom is deliberately swerved away from...which is OK but makes the film seem, in the end, rather pointless. But it's a pleasure while it lasts."
Jake Wilson