THE SKIN I LIVE IN (La piel que habito) (2011) (R) 117 mins. **** D: Pedro Almodovar. Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Jan Cornet.
After a tragedy left his wife permanently disfigured, a brilliant plastic surgeon has developed a synthetic skin that can withstand any kind of damage. While openly sharing his findings with his colleagues, he is secretly testing his work on a patient "living" at his home.
Almodovar has created a science fiction/horror/thriller hybrid that I'm sure most audiences will be completely unprepared for. At once it appears to be like "Frankenstein" but as the story unfolds it evolves into something far more complex, far more sinister leaving the viewer bewildered.
Going beyond the small description I gave above, it is best to not know much of anything about this film. As I watched I thought it was going one way, then it turned out to be going another way that I thought was pretty seedy and disturbing but it turns out that's not what I was seeing and was shown something far more disturbing. I'll leave it at that.
Antonio Banderas is great as the doctor and Anaya is memorable as his patient. Their relationship is quite complex and layered.
Give this one a look, just be prepared for the possibility it may end up somewhere you as viewer may not be willing to go.
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