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A glorious, sexy reteaming of the master and his muse
Luscious:
Volver
11-24-06 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
Volver
11-24-06 "Knight Thoughts" web exclusive
By Richard Knight, Jr.
Penelope Cruz, star of Volver, last teamed with Almodóvar (he’s billed with just the one word now – as in DeMille, Spielberg, and
Cher) on what I have many times hailed as his masterpiece, 1999’s All About My Mother. Since leaving his stable of players, she’s
gone on to several high profile but spectacularly bad, big budget pictures. These included the dreadful camp of Vanilla Sky with then
“boyfriend” Tom Cruise, Sahara with the next “boyfriend” Matthew McConaughey and Head in the Clouds with Charlize Theron whom
she shared an onscreen kiss with but who, to the chagrin I’m sure of many lesbians, did not become her “girlfriend.” Throughout
these and several other misfires, Cruz has never quite lived up to the promise she offered in her thrilling native Spanish language
films.
Finally re-teamed with Almodóvar on Volver, however, Cruz delivers on the promise. As Raimunda, the mother of the sexed up
nymphet daughter, Cruz gives a magnificent and revelatory performance. Raimunda lives in Madrid and is saddled with Paco, a
drunken husband and the libidinous inclinations of her Lolita like daughter Paula. She works hard for the money, toiling as an illicit
hairdresser along with her nervous, whining sister Sole who keeps complaining that the ghost of their mother (Carmen Maura) is
haunting her after a visit to their aunt Irene in La Mancha, the village of their birth. The melodrama builds as Almodóvar, who
obviously based his script on Mildred Pierce (one of the subplots finds Raimunda temporarily taking over a restaurant) and elements
of Psycho, tosses in escalating elements of mystery and suspense. Eventually, Raimunda sees the ghost of the mother, who has
come back to make amends and act as a Guardian Angel and the two have some very affecting scenes together.
All this is framed in the vivid, candy bright color palette the gay director is noted for. Cruz is spectacularly dishy, with her Jennifer
Lopez sized hips, ample décolletage, and hair piled on her head, like a sexy Mildred Pierce if essayed by Sophia Loren (and there’s
more than a nod to Loren’s own great mother role, Two Women, in Almodóvar’s script as well). But this Mildred has good reasons to
protect her naughty Veda and in playing out this scenario, Almodóvar does for his source material what Todd Haynes did for Douglas
Sirk when he made Far From Heaven. He reimagines and boils down the overdone melodrama until it’s poignant and effecting. The
music score by Albert Inglesias helps tremendously in this subtle, emotional transition (as did Elmer Bernstein’s score for Far From
Heaven) until, by the end, as in that film, we subconsciously hear the music with different ears as we’re being moved by the
performances on the screen.
Lately, a crop of young filmmakers has risen to steal some of the master’s thunder but the deeply satisfying Volver, stylish and
thrilling, proves that there is only one Almodóvar.
Cher) on what I have many times hailed as his masterpiece, 1999’s All About My Mother. Since leaving his stable of players, she’s
gone on to several high profile but spectacularly bad, big budget pictures. These included the dreadful camp of Vanilla Sky with then
“boyfriend” Tom Cruise, Sahara with the next “boyfriend” Matthew McConaughey and Head in the Clouds with Charlize Theron whom
she shared an onscreen kiss with but who, to the chagrin I’m sure of many lesbians, did not become her “girlfriend.” Throughout
these and several other misfires, Cruz has never quite lived up to the promise she offered in her thrilling native Spanish language
films.
Finally re-teamed with Almodóvar on Volver, however, Cruz delivers on the promise. As Raimunda, the mother of the sexed up
nymphet daughter, Cruz gives a magnificent and revelatory performance. Raimunda lives in Madrid and is saddled with Paco, a
drunken husband and the libidinous inclinations of her Lolita like daughter Paula. She works hard for the money, toiling as an illicit
hairdresser along with her nervous, whining sister Sole who keeps complaining that the ghost of their mother (Carmen Maura) is
haunting her after a visit to their aunt Irene in La Mancha, the village of their birth. The melodrama builds as Almodóvar, who
obviously based his script on Mildred Pierce (one of the subplots finds Raimunda temporarily taking over a restaurant) and elements
of Psycho, tosses in escalating elements of mystery and suspense. Eventually, Raimunda sees the ghost of the mother, who has
come back to make amends and act as a Guardian Angel and the two have some very affecting scenes together.
All this is framed in the vivid, candy bright color palette the gay director is noted for. Cruz is spectacularly dishy, with her Jennifer
Lopez sized hips, ample décolletage, and hair piled on her head, like a sexy Mildred Pierce if essayed by Sophia Loren (and there’s
more than a nod to Loren’s own great mother role, Two Women, in Almodóvar’s script as well). But this Mildred has good reasons to
protect her naughty Veda and in playing out this scenario, Almodóvar does for his source material what Todd Haynes did for Douglas
Sirk when he made Far From Heaven. He reimagines and boils down the overdone melodrama until it’s poignant and effecting. The
music score by Albert Inglesias helps tremendously in this subtle, emotional transition (as did Elmer Bernstein’s score for Far From
Heaven) until, by the end, as in that film, we subconsciously hear the music with different ears as we’re being moved by the
performances on the screen.
Lately, a crop of young filmmakers has risen to steal some of the master’s thunder but the deeply satisfying Volver, stylish and
thrilling, proves that there is only one Almodóvar.
