"Rollicking Struggle"

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Screen International's Barry Byrne, filing from Madrid, has given Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces a mixed-positive (or a positive-mixed) review. "A lavish, noirish melodrama sparkling with Almodovar's trademark humor, the film will thrill his loyal fanbase but perhaps leave a more general public dazed rather than dazzled," he says.

"Ravishing in its artifice and outfitted with all of Almodovar's stylistic tricks, this tale of desire, power, duplicity and fate is self-consciously steeped in noir conventions and provides Penelope Cruz with a sleek post-Oscar vehicle.

"[And yet] the director can't quite bring himself to treat his characters with the Olympian detachment noir usually demands. Characters in the Almodovar universe can't do deadpan delivery, and perhaps throwing in the towel, Almodovar deliciously parodies the typical Veronica Lake-Alan Ladd repartee when he has the lip reader interpret what they're saying in a marvellous monotone monologue.

"Yet ultimately, Almodovar doesn't seem comfortable in the cramped noir world of the Madrid film studio and mansion he has built for his pawns, and the second half of the film sees the characters flee to the wide open spaces of the island of Lanzarote. There, the film slips into lush, romantic melodrama against a bleak volcanic landscape.

"With the action moving ponderously towards a baffling denouement, we enter the terrain of high melodrama - sensational revelations and narrative twists. In the midst of all this, there's an over-long clip from the quirky comedy film-within-a-film.

"It's symptomatic of the strain in Broken Embraces, which sees the clashing genres of noir, melodrama and comedy vie for supremacy, but it's a rollicking struggle that, in the hands of consummate ringmaster Almodovar, is a joy to watch."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 19, 2009 at 2:13 PM

comment #1

George Prager says ...

And you wonder why movie reviewers are getting the boot at an alarming rate?

Posted by George Prager at March 19, 2009 2:42 PM

comment #2

lazarus says ...

Who cares if the general public is dazed? As part of the "loyal fanbase", it sounds good to me. Bad Education received mixed reviews as well and it may be his best film of the decade.

Regardless, this guy has a recent track record that's pretty much unparalleled.

Posted by lazarus at March 19, 2009 2:46 PM

comment #3

Gaydos says ...

Another view, this one from Jonathan Holland of VARIETY:

"Partly a film about films and partly a film about love, Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces" can't quite decide where its allegiances lie. A restless, rangy and frankly enjoyable genre-juggler that combines melodrama, comedy and more noir-hued darkness than ever before, the pic is held together by the extraordinary force of Almodovar's cinematic personality. But while its four-way in extremis love story dazzles, it never really catches fire..."

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939885.html?categoryid=31&cs=1

Posted by Gaydos at March 19, 2009 2:49 PM

comment #4

Alexander says ...

"With the action moving ponderously towards a baffling denouement, we enter the terrain of high melodrama - sensational revelations and narrative twists..."

That roughly sounds like almost every Almodovar film. Which is a great thing!

Posted by Alexander at March 19, 2009 7:10 PM

comment #5

BurmaShave says ...

BAD EDUCATION was tough going for me the first two viewings, but I've come to appreciate it as one of his best films. So I consider first take reviews of his work to be particularly useless.

Posted by BurmaShave at March 19, 2009 11:59 PM

comment #6

Rich S. says ...

At least it's not Catwoman.

Posted by Rich S. at March 20, 2009 5:09 AM

comment #7

Edward says ...

I'll see it because, I'm in love with Penelope Cruz.

Posted by Edward at March 20, 2009 12:39 PM

comment #8

penalty says ...

I think that she didn't do a great job in VCB, at least not Oscar-worthy. Her character only shouts and I think she's really annoying. I hope the members of the Academy don't give her the Oscar and I will be very disappointed if they do. I really think that Amy, Taraji, Viola or Marisa did a better job than her and I hope that one of them wins. master cleanse secrets

Posted by penalty at March 24, 2009 12:49 PM

comment #9

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Posted by ich liabe dick at September 28, 2010 9:32 AM

comment #10